Steven Mitchell "Steve" Birnbaum (born January 23, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for D.C. United and the United States men's national soccer team.Birnbaum was born in Newport, California. His mother is Peggy (Schmidt) Birnbaum. He completed high school early at Northwood High School at age 17.Birnbaum played in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for Southern California club Pateadores. He played five years of college soccer at the University of California, Berkeley between 2009 and 2013, though redshirted the 2012 season. While at college, Birnbaum also appeared for USL PDL club Orange County Blue Star in 2010 and 2011. Wikipedia