Roger Levesque

Roger Levesque

Personal information
Date of birth	(1981-01-22) January 22, 1981
Place of birth	Portland, Maine, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Midfielder, Forward
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2002	Stanford Cardinal	76	(29)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2005	San Jose Earthquakes	4	(0)
2003–2005	→ Seattle Sounders (loan)	73	(23)
2006–2008	Seattle Sounders	71	(11)
2009–2012	Seattle Sounders FC	53	(6)
Total		201	(40)
National team
2002	United States U23	2	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Roger Levesque (born January 22, 1981) is a retired American soccer player.

On January 28, 2010 he was ranked 19th in the USL First Division Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous decade.^[1] Levesque has become a Sounders fan favorite for his work rate, length of service with the club, his wit, and clever goal celebrations.^[2] His last game was Wednesday, July 18, 2012, in an exhibition match against Chelsea F.C.^[3]

After retiring from professional soccer, Levesque headed to the University of Washington's Foster School of Business to pursue a master's degree in business administration.^[4]

Career

High school and college

Born in Portland, Maine, Levesque led Falmouth High School in Falmouth, Maine to the 1996 and 1997 Maine state championships. In 1998, he was selected the state player of the year by the Maine Sunday Telegram. His 106 goals over 4 years at Falmouth places him at second most goals in Maine history. Levesque was also a standout basketball player, twice named Maine's Class C player of the year by the Lewiston Sun Journal, and leading Falmouth to state titles in 1997, and 1998. Roger also played for Maine Coast United leading them to 3 state titles and earning time with the United States U/23 National team

Levesque played college soccer at Stanford University from 1999 to 2002. After two seasons as a reserve, Levesque became a starter as a junior, and ended the season as a second-team All-American,^[5] having scored 14 goals and 9 assists. In his senior year he led the team in points with 7 goals and 13 assists, and was named a third team All-American.^[6] Stanford lost to UCLA that year in the NCAA Final.

Professional

Levesque was selected 23rd overall in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. Much of his rookie season was lost when he injured his ACL during a preseason game with the United States Under-23 national team. However, he did play three games with the Earthquakes and another nine on loan with the Seattle Sounders.

He continued to play on loan with the Sounders in 2004 and 2005. In 2004, he scored 8 goals and 4 assists in 27 games as the team reached the A-League championship. He scored four goals for the Sounders in the 2005 USL First Division USL-1 playoffs. His three goals led Seattle past the Portland Timbers and his stoppage time goal was the winner as Seattle beat the Montreal Impact 2-1. Seattle went on to win the 2005 Championship. The Earthquakes placed Levesque on waivers on November 16, 2005 after he played only one game that season with their first team.^[7]

Levesque in training in 2009.

In February 2006, Levesque signed a year-long deal to return to Seattle Sounders. He scored two goals and three assists during the regular season and led the team in minutes played. In 2007, he was named second team All-League. At the end of the season, he served as a guest player in two exhibition games with USL-1 teams, the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers, against MLS teams.^[8]

After a lengthy trial for most of early 2009, Levesque was signed by the expansion MLS franchise Seattle Sounders FC in March 2009.^[9] He was used primarily as a reserve player, occasionally appearing as a substitute or a starting player in games of lesser importance. He scored a goal against the Portland Timbers in the 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, as well as the winning goal against D.C. United in the Open Cup Final. He also scored the winning goal in the 89th minute against D.C. United a year later in 2010 MLS league play. In June 2011, Levesque scored 2 goals in the Sounders' 4-2 win against the New York Red Bulls, including his famous "scuba goal" celebration.^[10] On July 16, 2011 he scored another goal against the Colorado Rapids.

Honors

Seattle Sounders

• A-League Western Conference Championship (1): 2004
• USL First Division Championship (2): 2005, 2007
• USL First Division Commissioner's Cup (1): 2007

Seattle Sounders FC

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (3): 2009, 2010, 2011

See also

• List of current MLS players

References

External links

• MLS player profile
• 2007 Sounders Media Guide
• Ten Questions With Roger Levesque