As many other wily veterans on this list, Dax McCarty's career started far before just one decade ago (you don't look a day over 20, Dax). The central midfielder played his college ball at the University of North Carolina, being drafted No. 6 overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas. He played five seasons there, then was traded to DC United in 2010. After just 13 matches with DC, he was traded to the New York Red Bulls in 2011. He amassed 12 goals and 30 assists across his nine seasons prior to 2014. McCarty and RBNY won the Supporters' Shield in 2013. In 2014, where we start off for the purpose of this series, Dax was still with the Red Bulls.
McCarty opened his account in 2014 in a March match at the Chicago Fire. It took the reigning Supporters' Shield champs eight matches to finally record a victory on the season. They got hot later on in the season, stringing results together. In August, McCarty beat Bobby Shuttleworth with an absurd chip from outside the box that very few players could pull off. He added one last goal on the year to make three on the season, tied for the most goals in this time frame. His career-high was set the previous year, with 4. The Red Bulls ended up finishing in fourth in the East. They defeated Sporting Kansas City upset the first seeded DC United to clinch a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals. Perhaps as revenge for the chip earlier in the year, the New England Revolution sent McCarty's squad home in the ECF. McCarty played every minute of the playoff run.
New York turned down a trade offer that would have sent McCarty to the expansion side Orlando City SC following the 2014 season. He was subsequently named captain of the Red Bulls in 2015. It was the right decision, as manager Jesse Marsch and his RBNY team took home their second Supporters' Shield in three years. McCarty scored once, off a trick play free kick, poetically against the Orlando team that tried to trade for him. More importantly, he assisted 8 goals, a career-high in that category. He assisted twice against Philadelphia in the penultimate match of the campaign. The Red Bulls were hit by the Shield curse, beating DC, but falling to Columbus in the Eastern Conference Finals. Dax was named to the 2015 MLS Best XI, as well as the MLS All-Star Team.
The year of 2016 was more of the same for the club, a lot of winning. The Bulls fell just a few points shy of another Shield, finishing atop the Eastern Conference once again. Dax scored his first career brace in the iconic 7-0 edition of the Hudson River Derby. He opened the scoring just three minutes in on a header, then scored another header at 51' The Yankee Stadium match was dubbed "The Red Wedding." McCarty provided another five helpers during this match, while also adding one more goal against Philly in October, a 66' match winner. The playoff disappointment continued when the Montreal Impact sent the Red Bull’s packing.
In January of 2017, the Red Bulls traded McCarty to the Chicago Fire in exchange for $400K in allocation money. The trade reportedly took Dax himself by surprise, as it happened just after his wedding. After finishing dead last the previous season, Dax's influence was apparently enough to make them a playoff team. They improved to third place, with McCarty assisting 5 more goals. It was short lived, as the very team that traded him months prior came into Bridgeview, IL and smacked Chicago 4-0. McCarty was named a 2017 MLS All-Star. The next year was back to mediocrity, as Chicago finished in 10th place in 2018. McCarty assisted 3 goals on the year, but it was a bleak season for his club this time around.
In 2019, it was a heartbreaker for the Chicago Fire. They missed the playoffs by just three points. Dax scored just once in his time in Chicago, it came against Montreal on an assist from Bastian Schweinsteiger. After finishing with a goal and four assists in 2019, McCarty's journey with Chicago had come to an end.
It was announced on November 12, 2019 that Dax McCarty had been traded to expansion side Nashville SC for a second round pick and $100K in allocation money. He scored his first, and only, regular season Nashville goal up to this point in September of his first season, versus Atlanta. Nashville qualified for the 2020's play-in format as the seventh seed. They rolled through Inter Miami CF by a scoreline of 3-0, with McCarty scoring the third goal from distance. Then, they faced off with the second seeded Toronto FC, who they were able to defeat 1-0. Nashville's run came to an end in the next match, as the eventual champions in Columbus Crew sent them home.
Dax McCarty has assisted three or more goals in every single season during this 2014-2023 span, a model of consistency. He added exactly three in 2021, as well as 2022, and currently in in 2023. In 2021, Nashville finished in third place, improving upon their inaugural season. They were able to defeat Orlando 3-1 in round one, but the task of defeating Philadelphia in penalties was too tall, as Nashville managed to miss every single one. In 2022, Nashville moved over to the Western Conference, qualifying for the playoffs as the fifth seed. The LA Galaxy knocked them out straight away.
Here in 2023, Nashville SC moved right back to the Eastern Conference, where they have once again clinched a playoff spot, currently the seventh seed. With the help of Dax, they have made it to the postseason in every year of their existence. As mentioned previously, he has registered another 3 assists on the campaign. Nashville have two matches remaining in the regular season, before they embark on another playoff journey with the hopes of making a huge first round upset. Dax McCarty has been one of the most consistent names and faces in Major League Soccer for what feels like forever, he places at #61.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS |
2023 | NSH | 1,820* | 0* | 3* |
2022 | NSH | 1,776 | 0 | 3 |
2021 | NSH | 2,067 | 0 | 3 |
2020 | NSH | 1,678 | 1 | 4 |
2019 | CHI | 2,850 | 1 | 4 |
2018 | CHI | 2,259 | 0 | 3 |
2017 | CHI | 2,465 | 0 | 5 |
2016 | RBNY | 2,268 | 3 | 5 |
2015 | RBNY | 2,777 | 1 | 8 |
2014 | RBNY | 2,661 | 3 | 3 |
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