Josh Rife

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Josh Rife (born December 29, 1979 in Honolulu, HI) is an American soccer defender, who currently plays for the Detroit Ignition in the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 2006, Rife married Charlotte Lady Eagles player Christy Timbers-Rife.

[edit] Youth

Rife played for the Texas Longhorns, a Dallas based soccer club, from the age of nine until he was eighteen years old. At the young age of eleven, he toured Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with a Venezualan youth team and played in a series of tournaments where he garnered local and national attention. Rife attended Denton High School in Denton, TX where he was a varsity starter all four years.

[edit] College

Upon graduation Rife played for Texas Christian University as a starting defender. After two years with the TCU, Rife transfered to soccer powerhouse Indiana University to pursue a higher level of play under legendary coach, Jerry Yeagley. During his two years at Indiana University, Rife started all 46 matches in the backfield. He was awarded first team All-Big Ten Selection in 2000 and 2001 and first team NSCAA All-Region selection in 2001. During his two years with Indiana University, they attained two College Cups, National Runner-Up and the Big Ten Tournament in 2001, and the 2000 regular season championship. The Hoosiers also boasted the fifth best single season GAA (goals against average) in NCAA history in 2001 with nine goals in 23 matches for a GAA of 0.37.

[edit] Professional

In 2003, Rife signed with the Charlotte Eagles, of the USL Second Division. The Eagles are a part of the Missionary Athletes International,(MAI), which is an organization that shares their message of Christianity through their love of soccer. Rife has played with the Charlotte Eagles from 2003 - 2007. In 2004, the team was a PSL National Finalist, in 2005, they were the USL-2 National Champions. 2006 brought them close to winning the championship again and in 2007 they lost in the semi finals. In 2005, Rife was named USL Division 2 Defender of the Year.

In 2005, Rife signed with the Philadelphia Kixx, a MISL team. He was named All-MISL Rookie Team in 2006 which consists of only two defenders for the entire league. The Detroit Ignition, a MISL team, signed Rife in 2006 for a two year contract.