Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | January 28, 2002 | ||
Place of birth | Oakton, Virginia, United States | ||
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 | 41 | (6) |
International career | |||
2023– | United States U23 | 5 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of April 11, 2024 |
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.
Ku-DiPietro was a standout player at Oakton High School in his hometown of Oakton, Virginia, [2] being named first-team all-state as a sophomore in 2018. [3] [4] Ku-DiPietro is of German and Chinese (where the "Ku" in his last name comes from) descent through his mother, and Polish descent through his father ("DiPietro" is the last name of his adoptive Italian grandfather). [4]
Ku-DiPietro played his first professional game on June 28, 2019, winning 2–1 against Atlanta United 2. [5] Ku-DiPietro scored his first-ever professional goal in his first season with Loudoun United, 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]
After 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]
Due to having a mix of German, Chinese, Polish and Italian ancestry while being born in the United States, Ku-DiPietro is eligible to play for one of five different national teams, including: the United States, Germany, China, Poland and Italy. [4]
He 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]
Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | 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 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
Total | 41 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 44 | 6 | ||||
Career total | 99 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 17 |
Ku-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]
Ku-DiPietro had 1g/1a off the bench in a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Toronto FC – including a stoppage-time winner.