Ben Olsen

Ben Olsen was a soccer (football) midfielder who played for the United States at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He was on the US Men’s National Team from 1998-2007, earning 37 international caps, and helping the USA win the 2004 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Olsen played in college at the University of Virginia and was named the 1997 Soccer America Player of the Year. He then played mostly in Major League Soccer (MLS) in a 10-year career from 1998-2007, almost all of which was spent with DC United. He was a two-time MLS All-Star, was named the 1998 MLS Rookie of the Year, and the MVP of the 1999 MLS Cup.

While playing Olsen sustained a severe ankle fracture in a game in December 2000 which kept him off the pitch for 18 months and caused him to miss the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He did play for the US at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Olsen retired from playing in November 2009. He immediately joined DC United as an assistant coach, and then was soon named head coach, a position he held from 2010-20. In 2022 Olsen was named head coach of the Houston Dynamo FC in MLS.