Jeff Parke

Jeff Parke

Personal information
Full name	Jeff Parke
Date of birth	(1982-03-23) March 23, 1982 (age 42)
Place of birth	Downingtown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
1999–2000	FC Delco
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2003	Drexel Dragons	68	(7)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2004–2008	New York Red Bulls[1]	132	(1)
2009	Vancouver Whitecaps	7	(0)
2010–2012	Seattle Sounders FC	78	(1)
2013	Philadelphia Union	31	(0)
2014	D.C. United	13	(0)
Total		261	(2)
International career‡
2012	United States	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of December 17, 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of December 17, 2014

Jeff Parke (born March 23, 1982)^[2] is an American former soccer player. He played 11 seasons in Major League Soccer, appearing in over 250 matches.

Youth

Parke played for powerhouse youth club FC Delco. He then played four years of college soccer at Drexel University.

Professional

New York

Parke was drafted by the MetroStars with 60th and last overall pick of the 2004 MLS SuperDraft. He played in the 2005 pre-season, scoring the game-winning goal against Norway's Viking FK in the 2005 La Manga Cup, which helped him earn a starting spot on the MLS team. He remained an important part of the team's defense in 2005 and 2006, quickly becoming one of the team's stalwarts on the back line. In 2006, he started a career-high 31 games, was named Red Bulls' Ironman of the Year for logging in a team-high 2,771 minutes, and was named Co-Unsung Player of the Year by members of the soccer media, sharing that honor with Seth Stammler. In 2007 Parke continued to be a fixture in the Red Bull lineup, appearing in 28 matches including 27 starts. In 2008, he appeared in 24 league matches for New York Red Bulls.

Other MLS clubs

On November 26, 2008, Parke was selected by Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft, but he chose not to sign with Seattle.^[3] Instead, on March 31, 2009, Parke signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL First Division.^[4]

In May 2010, Parke did sign with Seattle.^[5] He remained with the club for three seasons and was voted Seattle's defender of the year in both 2011 and 2012. In December 2012, Parke was traded to his hometown side Philadelphia Union in exchange for a 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft pick and allocation money.^[6]

On January 14, 2014, Parke was traded to D.C. United in exchange for Ethan White.^[7] Parke played only 13 games for the club, before a combination of foot injuries and migraines requiring inner-ear surgery sidelined him for the rest of the season.^[8]

International

On January 5, 2012, Parke was called into camp for the United States men's national soccer team in preparation for friendly matches against Venezuela and Panama. He made his international debut against Panama, coming on in the 55th minute for Chris Wondolowski after Geoff Cameron received a red card.^[9]

Drug controversy

On October 16, 2008, Parke, along with goalkeeper Jon Conway, was suspended for 10 matches each and fined 10 percent of their annual salaries after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. Parke and Conway tested positive for androstenedione (ATD) and boldenone metabolites, two banned performance-enhancing steroids, after taking an over-the-counter supplement they purchased at The Vitamin Shoppe. The suspensions are currently the longest in MLS history.^[10]

Career statistics

Honors

New York Red Bulls

• Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (1): 2008

Seattle Sounders FC

• Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2): 2010, 2011

See also

• Drexel Dragons

References

External links

• Jeff Parke at Major League Soccer
• Jeff Parke at National-Football-Teams.com

This page was last edited on 29 March 2024, at 12:18