Washington, D.C. - D.C. United announced today the game dates for the team's first round matches versus CD Guadalajara in the opening round of Copa Nissan Sudamericana. United will first face Chivas on Wednesday, September 26 at RFK Stadium (8:30 p.m. ET), while the return leg has been penned for Tuesday, October 2 in Guadalajara (9:15 p.m. local time).
The annual 34-team tournament is hosted by CONMEBOL, the South American Football Confederation, and since 2005 has included teams from CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. United qualified to participate in this year's tournament as a result of the club's third place finish in CONCACAF Champions' Cup. United defeated Olimpia by a 7-3 aggregate score before losing to CD Guadalajara by a 3-2 total scoreline. The club's +3 overall goal differential in the event was enough to out-pace the Houston Dynamo.
D.C. United was the first team from Major League Soccer to participate in the prestigious tournament, when it was invited to play in the 2005 edition of Copa Sudamericana. That year, D.C. faced Universidad Catolica of Chile in a two-game aggregate goal series, but lost in heartbreaking fashion. After a 1-1 draw at RFK Stadium on Sept. 13, United traveled to Santiago, Chile for the second leg on Sept. 22. The Black-and-Red went up 2-0, but eventually fell 3-2 (4-3 aggregate) to the hosts.
To accommodate United's first game in Copa Sudamericana, the club's Major League Soccer home game against Real Salt Lake previously scheduled for September 26 was rescheduled for September 12 (7:30 p.m. ET).
