Theodore "Ted” Ku-DiPietro (born January 28, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club D.C. United.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | January 28, 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Oakton, Virginia, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | D.C. United | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2019 | D.C. United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Loudoun United | 58 | (11) |
| 2022– | D.C. United | 65 | (7) |
| International career | |||
| 2023– | United States U23 | 5 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 29, 2024 | |||
Early life
editKu-DiPietro was born on January 28, 2002, in Oakton, Virginia. He attended Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, where he was a standout soccer player.[2] In 2018, as a sophomore, he was named first-team all-state.[3][4] Ku-DiPietro is of Chinese descent through his mother, and Polish and German descent through his father. "DiPietro" is the last name of his adoptive Italian grandfather.[4]
Club career
editLoudoun United
editKu-DiPietro played his first professional game with Loudoun United FC, on June 28, 2019, in a 2–1 win over Atlanta United 2.[5] Ku-DiPietro scored his first-ever professional goal in his first season with Loudoun United FC, on September 25, 2019, in the 68th minute of the team's 4–1 win over the Swope Park Rangers.[6] Ku-DiPietro also received his first-ever red card in the same match.
Ku-DiPietro signed his first professional contract with Loudoun on January 7, 2020.[7]
D.C. United
editAfter appearing three seasons with Loudoun, Ku-DiPietro became the 17th homegrown player to sign for D.C. United.[8] In the opening match of the 2023 season, he scored his first goal for the club – the game-winning goal in a 3–2 comeback victory over Toronto. After coming on as a second-half substitute, Ku-DiPietro assisted on Christian Benteke's game-tying goal in the 90th minute before scoring himself.[9] As a result, he was named to Major League Soccer's Team of the Matchday for week one.[10]
International career
editHe was called up to the United States U-23 team for the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, and scored his first international goal as the United States came from behind to beat Honduras 2–1.[11]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of October 29, 2024[12]
| Club | Season | League | U.S. Open Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Loudoun United | 2019 | USL | 9 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2020 | 9 | 1 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 2021 | 30 | 7 | — | — | 30 | 7 | ||||
| 2022 | 10 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 11 | — | — | 58 | 11 | ||||
| D.C. United | 2022 | MLS | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 5 | |||
| 2024 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 30 | 3 | ||
| Total | 65 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 70 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 123 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 128 | 19 | ||
- ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup
Personal life
editKu-DiPietro was born into a family of nine children, and six (including himself) have played soccer at least at the youth level.[4][13] His older brother, Michael, played for the Marymount Saints men's soccer team before graduating with a Business Administration degree.[14][13] His younger sister, Hope, signed a letter of intent to play with the George Washington Colonials women's soccer team in the Fall 2023 season.[15][13]
References
edit- ^ "Theodore Ku-DiPietro". D.C. United. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
- ^ Facinoli, Dave (June 4, 2018). "Madison, Oakton win region soccer titles". Inside Nova. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ "Boys soccer Class 6 all-state teams announced". Prince William Times. June 15, 2018. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c Steven Goff (January 13, 2022). "Ted Ku-DiPietro's path to D.C. United was one of a kind". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
- ^ "Loudoun United Win First Match at Home against Atlanta United 2, 2–1". June 28, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
- ^ "Loudoun United FC vs. Swope Park Rangers - September 25, 2019 | USLChampionship.com". www.uslchampionship.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ "Loudoun United FC welcome back eight players for the 2020 season". January 7, 2020. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
- ^ "D.C. United Sign Midfielder Ted Ku-DiPietro to Homegrown Deal". D.C. United. January 13, 2022.
- ^ Goff, Steven (February 25, 2023). "D.C. United storms back, wins season opener on goal deep in stoppage time". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ Sigal, Jonathan (February 28, 2023). "Team of the Matchday: Who shined brightest on MLS is Back weekend?". Major League Soccer. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
Ku-DiPietro had 1g/1a off the bench in a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Toronto FC – including a stoppage-time winner.
- ^ "ASN: USYNT analysis: Thoughts on the U-17 World Cup roster, and the PanAm games". americansoccernow.com. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
- ^ Theodore Ku-DiPietro at Soccerway. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
- ^ a b c Goff, Steven (March 2, 2023). "Ted Ku-DiPietro, a homegrown talent, brings 'a hunger' to D.C. United". Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
- ^ "Michael Ku-Dipietro - 2017 - Men's Soccer". Marymount University. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ https://twitter.com/GFRsoccer/status/1596996859066978304 [bare URL]