Kofi Opare didn’t have time to think about playing against his old team and his old teammates, or to ponder what it might be like to see his first regular season minutes in a Black-and-Red uniform.
When Steven Birnbaum went down with a left ankle injury in the second minute of D.C. United’s 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy, it meant that Opare barely had time to get his heart rate up before taking the field.
Over the course of his 85-minute performance, however, the third-year centerback was crucial to locking down the Galaxy attack and earned himself a place on the MLS team of the week.
“He hasn’t had a lot of minutes for us or in the League,” said United Head Coach Ben Olsen. “But from what I’ve seen of Kofi, he’s a gamer. He has a mentality that he can step in and do the job, and [against the Galaxy] I thought he was great. It was a good match-up for him."
It was also his first regular season appearance since being acquired by United from the Galaxy in July 2014. While Opare started all four of the club’s CONCACAF Champions League group stage victories, he had to be satisfied with his reserve role behind the stalwart and durable starting pairing of Bobby Boswell, who has made 37 consecutive starts since rejoining D.C. United last year, and Birnbaum, who had played every minute of 23 straight games starting with his rookie debut in June.
“I was the next centerback in line so I had to make sure I was ready to go,” Opare said. “I’m glad I was able to contribute and that we got the victory.”
Against the Galaxy – for whom he’d made 11 starts in a season and a half - Opare showed no signs of rust, using his 6-foot-2, 190-pound build to win aerial challenges and establish his presence in the 18-yard box. He also took advantage of his familiarity with the players on the opposite side of the field, confidently winning challenges and keeping the ball moving.
Opare has the chance to continue to build on the performance while Birnbaum works his way back.
“That’s part of the profession,” Opare said. “It takes patience, and it takes hard work. That’s something that I try to do each and every day when I come to training because you never know what might happen. I was just trying to put myself in the best position possible to contribute if my name got called.”
