Best seasons in D.C. United history

Started in 1996, Major League Soccer is among the youngest professional sports leagues in North America. However, the league has expanded rapidly since kicking off with 10 teams nearly 27 years ago.

The latest expansion enabled MLS to triple its initial size by its 28th season—St. Louis City became the 29th MLS club by opening its league account against Austin FC on February 25. By comparison, the NFL took 76 seasons to reach 29 teams. The NHL took 84 seasons and the NBA took 50. MLB, meanwhile, didn't reach 29 teams until 1998, 122 years after the formation of the National League and 97 after the American League. Those leagues grew at a snail's pace compared to MLS.

With MLS reaching the 29-team mark, and because the league is solidly in the later years of its "young adult" phase, there's plenty of ways to dig into the data that chronicles the league's lore. One angle is to look into the best seasons in each franchise's history. Luckily, there's now just enough data to make this a worthwhile endeavor.

To tackle this slice of MLS's past, JustWatch compiled a list of the five best seasons in D.C. United history using data from FBref.com. Seasons were first ranked on how far the team went in the playoffs, then ties were broken by points, goal difference, and goals for. All tiebreakers were calculated on a per-match basis to account for varying season lengths.

Curious to find out which seasons made the cut as the best in D.C. United history? Read on through to find out.

#5. 1998
- Playoffs: Lost in MLS Cup final
- Wins-shootout wins-losses: 24-7-8
- Points: 58 (1.81 per match)
- Goals for: 74 (2.31)
- Goals against: 48 (1.50)
- Goal difference: 26 (0.81)
- Top scorer: Roy Lassiter (18 goals scored)
- Goalkeeper: Scott Garlick

#4. 2004
- Playoffs: Won MLS Cup
- Wins-draws-losses: 11-9-10
- Points: 42 (1.40 per match)
- Goals for: 43 (1.43)
- Goals against: 42 (1.40)
- Goal difference: 1 (0.03)
- Top scorer: Alecko Eskandarian (10 goals scored)
- Goalkeeper: Troy Perkins

#3. 1996
- Playoffs: Won MLS Cup
- Wins-shootout wins-losses: 16-1-16
- Points: 46 (1.44 per match)
- Goals for: 62 (1.94)
- Goals against: 56 (1.75)
- Goal difference: 6 (0.19)
- Top scorer: Raúl Díaz Arce (23 goals scored)
- Goalkeeper: Jeff Causey

#2. 1997
- Playoffs: Won MLS Cup
- Wins-shootout wins-losses: 21-4-11
- Points: 55 (1.72 per match)
- Goals for: 70 (2.19)
- Goals against: 53 (1.66)
- Goal difference: 17 (0.53)
- Top scorer: Jaime Moreno (16 goals scored)
- Goalkeeper: Scott Garlick

#1. 1999
- Playoffs: Won MLS Cup
- Wins-shootout wins-losses: 23-6-9
- Points: 57 (1.78 per match)
- Goals for: 65 (2.03)
- Goals against: 43 (1.34)
- Goal difference: 22 (0.69)
- Top scorer: Roy Lassiter (18 goals scored)
- Goalkeeper: Tom Presthus