team roster 2004 SEASON STATS Goals Assists Points 2 0 4 NAME: Ryan Nelsen POSITION: D HEIGHT: 6-1 WEIGHT:196 BIRTHDATE: October 18, 1977 HOMETOWN: Christchurch, New Zealand LAST CLUB: Stanford

Professional

2004: Ryan Nelsen fully blossomed into his role as captain in his fourth season with the Black-and-Red. As part of United's revamped three-man back line, he was a vocal leader on both ends of the pitch, helping anchor the defense and becoming involved in the attack. Nelsen earned his second consecutive All-Star nod, being named to the first XI for the Eastern Conference, but was forced to sit out due to an injury. Upon his return to the Black-and-Red, he invigorated the defensive unit, helping D.C. United to earn shutouts in three of the team's final six League matches on the season.

2003: In his third season with D.C. United, this versatile leader was a force to be reckoned with, floating dauntingly between midfield and defense. The New Zealand international was named team captain by Head Coach Ray Hudson, replacing Marco Etcheverry as the club’s new skipper. On 7/2, Nelsen broke the ice in the 29th minute in Dallas for his only goal of the season to give United a 1-0 lead. The Black-and-Red went on to win 3-1, capturing their first road win of the season. Nelsen was honored as United’s only representative in the MLS All-Star game in the league’s midseason classic. He finished the regular season by accepting the club’s ADT Defender of the Year Award.

2002: The New Zealand international had a breakout season by showing his worth all over the pitch for the Black-and-Red. Nelsen was United's second leading goal scorer with four tallies throughout the season. The former Stanford Cardinal took Eddie Pope's spot as the man-in-the-middle of the United defense on 5/4 against Chicago, and from there he established himself as one of the most physical and dependable forces in MLS. The Kiwi missed three games due to national team duty with New Zealand playing in the Oceania Nations Cup in July. Nelsen missed the final three games of the season due to a right MCL sprain suffered vs. NE on 9/7. Nelsen's offensive prowess first showed in United's 3-2 win over NE on 6/8, in which he scored his first two career goals and added an assist on the other DC tally. Nelsen also earned a goal and an assist against SJ on 8/31, helping the Black-and-Red earn a 4-2 triumph over the defending champion Earthquakes.

2001: Nelsen played the full 90 minutes at right back in a friendly v. Bayer Leverkusen (5/23). He missed five league matches (6/2-6/23) due to World Cup qualifying duty with New Zealand. Nelsen started in central defense and played the full 90 v. LA (7/7), making his first appearance in a league match since May 30. He also saw action at left back in a 3-5-2 alignment during the season. Nelsen finished the year with two assists, recording his first v. MIA (8/1) in 2-2 draw, and tallying his second v. TB (9/1).

International

2004: Nelsen missed two games for United while captaining New Zealand in Oceania Nations Cup play. The All-Whites performed strongly in the tournament, but couldn't recover from an early upset loss to Vanuatu. 2002: Nelsen joined his New Zealand teammates to host the Oceania Cup. The defender tallied three goals, including a tournament winning tally against Australia, as the Kiwis swept through the competition.

2001: Nelsen was called in to national team duty by New Zealand in June, forcing him to miss five MLS matches. He played in all 6 qualifiers for the Kiwis, but New Zealand lost the Oceania berth to Australia in a home and away series. Nelsen finished 2001 having registered a total of 19 international senior caps for his country.

2000: Nelsen was a member of the New Zealand Under-23 team which competed to go to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but lost to South Africa in the qualifier. He also played with New Zealand National Team in Tahiti at the Confederation Cup in the summer of 2000.

1999: Nelsen appeared in all three matches for New Zealand at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico, which included a spot in the starting eleven against Brazil and Germany. He came on as a substitute in a loss to the United States.

College

In two seasons with Stanford, Nelsen started all 41 of his appearances while tallying eight goals and eight assists. Prior to attending Stanford, he played two seasons at Greensboro College, where he started all 41 games in his two seasons, recording 40 points on 14 goals and 12 assists.

2000: As a senior at Stanford, Nelsen was named a First Team NSCAA/adidas All-American, in addition to being selected as the Pac 10's Player of the Year. He was also a First Team Far West All-American, a member of the Pac 10's First Team All-Academic Squad and a Second Team SoccerTimes.com All-American. Nelsen was honored as the 2000 NSCAA/adidas Scholar Athlete of the Year. He started all 22 matches for the Cardinal, which posted an 18-3-1 record and earned a berth in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. Playing as a defensive midfielder, Nelsen helped anchor a defense that led the nation with a 0.44 goals against average. His senior campaign included All-Tournament Selections at the Nike/Goal Rush Classic, the Dartmouth Soccer Classic (Defensive MVP), the Stanford/Nike Invitational and the Cal adidas-Legacy Classic.

1999: As a junior, Nelsen was named Stanford's MVP by his teammates. He also earned NSCAA Far West Region All-America and MPSF All-Federation Second Team honors and was named the Royal Sun and Alliance 'Young Player of the Year' in New Zealand soccer.

1998: Nelsen was named an NSCAA Third Team All-American. He was also selected as the team's MVP after leading Greensboro to the Division III Final Four, where he was honored as a member of the Final Four All-Tournament Team.

1997: Nelsen was named the Dixie Conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman at Greensboro College in North Carolina.

Aquired

Selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft