Chester, Pa. – The Philadelphia Union have acquired central defender Ethan White and the No. 1 ranking in the MLS allocation order from D.C. United in exchange for Jeff Parke and the No. 6 allocation ranking, the club announced today.
White, who signed with United as a Homegrown Player in 2010, joins the Union after three years in D.C.
"I want express how incredible it was for me to represent a such great team, city and group of supporters," Parke said. "For reasons that I can only describe as a personal matter, I am leaving my home town and this great club. This has been an extremely difficult decision for me, but I want to thank the Union fans, coaches, players and staff for helping make last year awesome while playing for my hometown club. My heart and home are in Philly and you have all been fantastic to me from day one. I will miss you and want you to know how grateful I will always be to everyone who made my experience here such a memorable one."
“We want to thank Jeff for his hard work and contributions to the Union during this past season,” added Union team manager John Hackworth. “We think Ethan is a very talented defender and we are excited to add him to our squad. Additionally, having the number one ranking in the MLS allocation ranking is a great opportunity for us to improve our roster.”
The shift in allocation order is a major part of this deal because US national team midfielder Maurice Edu could be returning to MLS after playing last year with Stoke City of the English Premier League and the Union would now have first crack at him.
The 23-year-old White, meanwhile racked up over 3,000 MLS regular season minutes in three seasons with United, appearing in 38 games and starting in 34. This past season, the central defender started in 14 matches in MLS play, logging 1,099 minutes. He also helped lead D.C. United to a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy in 2013, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 shutout road win against Real Salt Lake.
Prior to signing with D.C. United, White spent two years at the University of Maryland, where he earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors in his first year (2009) and was named to the All-ACC Second Team (2010) during his sophomore campaign. Alongside Philadelphia Union teammates Zac MacMath and Matt Kassel, White helped lead the Terrapins to a 6-1-1 in 2010 record on their way to becoming ACC Postseason Tournament Champions.
The Maryland native has experience on the international level, being named to the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team under coach Thomas Rongen in 2010 and earning a call-up to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland that year. With a 3-0 victory over hosts Northern Ireland, White helped the U.S. U-20 squad win the Milk Cup title while again playing alongside MacMath.
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