After playing the role of good soldier for the past season and a half, defender Julius James’ days are over with D.C. United, released by the team ahead of its trip to Southern California.
James played 31 regular season games since joining D.C. in the middle of 2009, making 24 starts, but he’s never been a first-choice centerback, not under Tom Soehn, Curt Onalfo or Ben Olsen.
Accordingly, he fell out of favor again this offseason after United nabbed Perry Kitchen in the draft and signed Rodrigo Brasesco from Uruguay. Either one of those two could partner with Dejan Jakovic in the back to start the season while Devon McTavish and rookie Ethan White remain in a reserve capacity.
*Speaking of White, the former Maryland defender, Kitchen and Conor Shanosky are all among the provisional 30-player list for the U.S. under-20 national team which will participate in the CONCACAF Championship next month in Guatemala (the U.S. faces Suriname on Mar. 29 at 8 p.m. ET and Panama on April 2 at 6 p.m. ET in Group B play). The official call-ups will come soon, including a potential Honduras call-up for Andy Najar. If so, will he accept? We’ll have to see.
*On the D.C. United injury front, goalkeeper Steve Cronin (wrist) and Junior Carreiro (ankle) did not travel to California. The team should have news on the goalkeeping front on Friday, but one player not in the plans is Woodbridge native Andrew Dykstra, who was recently released by the Chicago Fire. Dykstra, 25, made 17 starts for the Fire last year but lost his spot to up-and-coming Sean Johnson, and Chicago signed veteran Jon Conway this offseason. Dykstra said he’s weighing opportunities in Scandinavia and USL.
*Colombian forward Sergio Villarreal has joined D.C. United on trial, and the team also picked up some allocation money from the Los Angeles Galaxy in return for an international roster spot.
