Ethan White Signs Homegrown Deal With D.C. United

Filed under: D.C. United

D.C. United, the club with the most fruitful returns thus far from the fledgling MLS homegrown player initiative, has gone to the well once more.

United bolstered its thin back line by signing University of Maryland sophomore Ethan White to a homegrown contract Tuesday, making him the fourth Academy product added to D.C.'s senior roster in the past 15 months.

An alumnus of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland, White joins reigning MLS Rookie of the Year Andy Najar, goalkeeper Bill Hamid and midfielder Conor Shanosky as homegrown players.

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An athletic center back with uncanny composure in the back, White would have been a likely first-round pick in January's SuperDraft had he decided to decline United's contract offer. He started 43 games during the past two years, helping Maryland advance to the final eight of the NCAA tournament both seasons and win the 2010 ACC championship.

Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski will likely have another reloading project ahead of him next fall due to early exits. Goalkeeper Zac MacMath has already decided to pursue opportunities domestically and abroad, while midfielder Matt Kassel (a New York Red Bulls youth product) and striker Casey Townsend have been targeted by MLS as potential Generation Adidas signings.

White joins a United defensive corps that had just two natural center backs (Dejan Jakovic and Julius James) on the roster following the September trade of Carey Talley and the offseason departures of Juan Manuel Pena and Barry Rice. The Black and Red allowed the fourth most goals in MLS in 2010 while stumbling to a league-worst 6-20-4 record.

United is also in the market for a veteran center back to mentor the likes of White, Jakovic and James, and the club might have one as soon as Wednesday, when the team selects first in the second stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. (Jimmy Conrad, Cory Gibbs and Ryan Cochrane are among the options.) Should D.C. add another defender, White's best chance for early playing time may be in the reincarnated reserve league.

 

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