Jeff Parke

Jeff Parke
Personal information
Full name Jeff Parke
Date of birth March 23, 1982 (1982-03-23) (age 29)
Place of birth Abington, Pennsylvania, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Seattle Sounders FC
Number 31
Youth career
2000–2003 Drexel Dragons
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 New York Red Bulls[1] 132 (1)
2009 Vancouver Whitecaps 11 (0)
2010– Seattle Sounders FC 48 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 7, 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).

Jeff Parke (born March 23, 1982 in Abington, Pennsylvania) is an American soccer player who currently plays for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.

Contents

Career

Parke played for powerhouse youth club FC Delco, and played four years of college soccer at Drexel University, before being 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.

On November 26, 2008, Parke was selected by Seattle Sounders FC in the third round of the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft,[2] but was released by the team before playing a game.

On March 31, 2009 Parke signed a one year contract with Vancouver Whitecaps of the USL First Division.[3] On March 17, 2010 Parke was placed on the roster for the Seattle Sounders FC.

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 androstatriendione (ATD) and boldenone metabolites, two banned performance enhancing substances, after taking an over the counter supplement they purchased at The Vitamin Shoppe. The suspensions are currently the longest in MLS history.[4]

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2004 New York Red Bulls Major League Soccer 28 1 1 0 2 0 - - 31 1
2005 21 0 0 0 0 0 - - 21 0
2006 31 0 2 0 2 0 - - 35 0
2007 28 0 1 0 2 0 - - 31 0
2008 24 0 1 0 0 0 - - 25 0
Canada League Canadian Championship League Cup North America Total
2009 Vancouver Whitecaps USL First Division 11 0 5 0 0 0 - - 16 0
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2010 Seattle Sounders FC Major League Soccer 20 0 3 0 1 0 2 0 26 0
2011 28 1 3 0 2 0 4 0 37 1
Total USA 180 2 11 0 9 0 6 0 206 2
Canada 11 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 16 0
Career total 191 2 16 0 9 0 6 0 222 2

Honors

New York Red Bulls

Seattle Sounders FC

See also

References

External links