In 2018, D.C. United ended the season as one of the hottest teams in all of Major League Soccer. Having signed Wayne Rooney midway through the campaign, Ben Olsen’s side made an unlikely run into the playoffs, reeling off five wins in succession, seven in their last ten matches, and going unbeaten from September onwards.
They ultimately fell to the Columbus Crew on penalties in the playoffs, but the combination play of Rooney and Luciano Acosta, alongside with a blossoming defence, established the foundation for what was expected to be a terrific 2019 campaign in which a genuine run at an MLS Cup could be made.