{"id":4491,"date":"2026-10-01T22:32:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T22:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=4491"},"modified":"2026-10-02T22:56:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T22:56:48","slug":"d-c-united-faces-bundesligas-sc-paderborn-07-in-international-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/?p=4491","title":{"rendered":"D.C. United Faces Bundesliga\u2019s SC Paderborn 07 in International Friendly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September 30, 2026 | Audi Field, Washington, D.C.<\/strong>
International Club Friendly<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 D.C. United stepped away from its Major League Soccer schedule Wednesday night to welcome German Bundesliga side SC Paderborn 07 to Audi Field for an international club friendly that brought together teams from two different soccer cultures in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The midweek matchup came during the FIFA international window and provided D.C. United with a rare opportunity to face European opposition. For Paderborn, the match was the conclusion of a weeklong visit to Washington, D.C., as the German club continued its first season back in the Bundesliga following promotion to Germany\u2019s top division earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SC Paderborn fans show their support of their team playing against DC United at Audi Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SC Paderborn fans show their support of their team playing against DC United at Audi Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SC Paderborn fans show their support of their team playing against DC United at Audi Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Paderborn\u2019s rise has been a significant one. The club, based in North Rhine-Westphalia, has competed across multiple levels of German soccer during its history and returned to the Bundesliga this season after earning promotion through the Bundesliga promotion\/relegation playoff in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D.C. United entered Wednesday\u2019s friendly just four days removed from a dramatic 3\u20133 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place. The Black-and-Red twice battled back from deficits in Vancouver, with defender Kimito Nono scoring twice and captain Lucas Bartlett adding another goal to earn a point on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Midfield airborne battle for possession in the DC United game against SC Paderborn played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SC Paderborn presses thru the middle in their game against DC United played at Audi Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SC Paderborn midfielder being heavily marked during a corner kick at their game against DC United payed at Audi Stadium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With another MLS match not scheduled until an October 10 visit to Inter Miami CF, Wednesday\u2019s friendly offered head coach Ren\u00e9 Weiler an opportunity to give minutes to a different group of players while maintaining match rhythm during the international break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

D.C. United started Alex Bono in goal, with Silvan Hefti, Lucas Bartlett and Sean Nealis among the experienced players in the lineup. Kamil Castillo, Brandon Servania, Jared Stroud, Oscar Avilez, Nikola Markovi\u0107 and Hosei Kijima were also among those given starting opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening stages were tightly contested, with neither side able to establish a decisive advantage. Paderborn gradually began finding more opportunities as the first half progressed, but D.C. United remained organized and kept the Bundesliga visitors off the scoreboard for nearly the entire opening 45 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DC United attack the goal in their game against SC Paderborn played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SC Paderborn midfielder showing to support the play in their game against DC United played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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DC United midfielder slowly trying to penetrate SC Paderborn defense at their game played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That changed just before halftime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Gabriel Vidovi\u0107 broke through for Paderborn, giving the visitors a 1\u20130 advantage heading into the break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paderborn made extensive changes for the second half, while D.C. United continued to search for an equalizer. The Black-and-Red were unable to find the goal they needed, and Vidovi\u0107\u2019s late first-half strike ultimately proved to be the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Airborne battle for possession during the game between SC Paderborn and DC United played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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SC Paderborn strike against DC United goalkeeper at their game played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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DC United under pressure by SC Paderborn defense at their game played at Audi Field<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 1\u20130 victory completed Paderborn\u2019s visit to the United States on a winning note, while D.C. United now turns its attention back to the MLS regular season and its October 10 road matchup against Inter Miami CF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final: D.C. United 0\u20131 SC Paderborn 07<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goal:<\/strong> Gabriel Vidovi\u0107 (SC Paderborn 07), 45+2\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story & Photos by Shawn Payne September 30, 2026 | Audi Field, Washington, D.C.International Club Friendly WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 D.C. United stepped away from its Major League Soccer schedule Wednesday night to welcome German Bundesliga side SC Paderborn 07 to Audi Field for an international club friendly that brought together teams from two different soccer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4485,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[28,25,21,95,50],"class_list":["post-4491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-friendly","tag-audi-stadium","tag-dc-united","tag-international-friendly","tag-sc-paderborn","tag-soccer"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4491"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4493,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4491\/revisions\/4493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/takethespacemedia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}