The countdown to the kickoff of D.C. United's 2005 season officially gets underway on Friday. The players will gather at RFK Stadium in the morning for a formal team meeting with the technical staff. The team will undergo physicals examinations on Saturday and Sunday.
The Black-and-Red will train Monday and Tuesday of next week at RFK Stadium before heading to the IMG Soccer Academy in Florida on Feb. 2. All members of the Black-and-Red are scheduled to be present including Troy Perkins, fresh from his training assignment with English Premiership club Bolton Wanderers FC.
Alecko Eskandarian, Ben Olsen, and Nick Rimando will be the only team members not in attendance, as they were called up to the U.S. national team training camp in Carson, Calif., earlier this week as the Americans prepare to face Trinidad & Tobago in a World Cup qualifier on Feb. 9.
In the community
D.C. United held their annual Martin Luther King Dream Cup on Jan. 17, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. The 7 vs. 7 tournament consisted of 16 teams in four divisions ranging in ages U-10 Boys through U-14/15 Boys.
MSC Dragons Black won the U-10 division 9-2 over their counterparts, MSC Dragons Green. Top prize in the U-12 division also went to a team from the MSC Dragon Club team. The Olney Fusion captured the U-14 crown by taking down the Potomac Cougars White team 5-1 in the final. The MSC Dragons won the U14/15 Premier Division with a shutout victory over the Potomac Cougars 1-0.
United midfielder Joshua Gros was on hand to sign autographs during the tournament.
Also making appearances in the community were goalkeeper Nick Rimando and forward Santino Quaranta, who attended the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association Workshop held in Cole Field House at College Park on Jan. 23.
