Ryan Johnson (soccer)
 Johnson with the Earthquakes in August 2010 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | November 26, 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Kingston, Jamaica | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2005 | Oregon State Beavers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2002 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 6 | (2) |
| 2005 | Boulder Rapids Reserve | 9 | (12) |
| 2006 | Real Salt Lake | 7 | (0) |
| 2006 | Chicago Fire | 3 | (0) |
| 2007 | Östers | 14 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | New Jersey Ironmen (indoor) | 3 | (1) |
| 2008–2011 | San Jose Earthquakes | 99 | (17) |
| 2011–2012 | Toronto FC | 43 | (10) |
| 2013 | Portland Timbers | 29 | (9) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006– | Jamaica | 34 | (8) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 27, 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Ryan Johnson (born November 26, 1984 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican soccer player.
Career
Youth and college
Johnson was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to the Boston area with his family while he was still an infant.[1] He played high school soccer and basketball at Melrose High School in Massachusetts, where he was a Middlesex League and Eastern Mass League soccer all-star. He attended Oregon State University on a sports scholarship and played college soccer there from 2002 to 2005,[2] where he scored 18 goals and assisted on 30 while appearing in 76 matches. He also spent two seasons in the USL Premier Development League, playing for Cape Cod Crusaders and Boulder Rapids Reserve.
Professional
Johnson was drafted in the third round, 26th overall, by Real Salt Lake in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. On July 25, 2006, Johnson was traded to the Chicago Fire, after only appearing in 7 matches with Salt Lake. In the remainder of the 2006 season, Johnson played 3 matches for the Fire and failed to agree on a new contract with the team at season's end.
In early 2007, he was trialing with various teams in Scandinavia and eventually got a short-term contract with Swedish side Östers IF (then at Superettan), that stretched from March 2007 to July 2007. Because of Östers' then surplus of centre forwards and their then lack of a natural second striker, they chose not to extend his contract any further and instead loaned Anatolij Ponomarev from GAIS. In 2007 he was on a trial in FK Bodø/Glimt where he played one game against Leknes FK. He scored the last goal in the 8-1 win.
After a short stint playing indoor soccer with the New Jersey Ironmen, Johnson signed with the San Jose Earthquakes for the 2008 MLS season. At the end of the 2009 MLS season, Johnson was named team MVP as the team's leading goalscorer.
On July 14, 2011, the San Jose Earthquakes traded Johnson, an international roster spot and allocation money to Toronto FC for Nana Attakora, Alan Gordon and Jacob Peterson.[3] On July 20 Johnson made his debut for Toronto in a 1-0 home loss to FC Dallas.[4] Three days later against Sporting Kansas City Johnson scored his first goal of the season and for Toronto while also assisting newly acquired Danny Koevermans, the game ended as a 4-2 away defeat.[5] On August 2, in the return leg of the preliminary round of the CONCACAF Champions League, Johnson scored a superb volley in the 37th minute, followed by a goal in the 47th from a misplaced pass by the Real Esteli F.C. keeper. The two goals put Toronto FC into the group stage for the second straight year on an aggregate of 4-2.[6]
Johnson continued his goal scoring form at the beginning of the 2012 season after scoring in both legs of the Champions League Quarter finals against Los Angeles Galaxy he scored a stunning goal against Seattle Sounders on March 17. Johnson's goal against the Sounders earned him goal of the week.[7] Johnson was awarded the George Gross Memorial Trophy as the 2012 Canadian Championship's best player.[8]
Johnson was traded to the Portland Timbers on December 12, 2012.[9]
International
Johnson made his debut with the Jamaica national football team on April 12, 2006 in a friendly against the United States, playing the first 70 minutes. Johnson was rewarded for his outstanding 2009 MLS season with a recall to the Jamaica national football team in January 2010 for a friendly match versus Canada and a February 2010 match versus Argentina. Johnson scored his first national team goal in a 2-1 loss to Argentina in Mar del Plata on February 10, 2010. Johnson continued his strong performances with the national team by scoring the winning goal versus Costa Rica in September 2010.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 10, 2010 | Estadio José María Minella, Mar del Plata, Argentina |  Argentina |
0 – 1 | 2 – 1 | International Friendly |
| 2 | September 5, 2010 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica |  Costa Rica |
1 – 0 | 1 – 0 | International Friendly |
| 3 | November 29, 2010 | Stade En Camée, Rivière-Pilote, Martinique | .svg.png){kind=small} Guadeloupe |
2 – 0 | 2 – 0 | 2010 Caribbean Championship |
| 4 | June 7, 2011 | The Home Depot Center, Carson, United States |  Grenada |
2 – 0 | 4 – 0 | 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 5 | June 13, 2011 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States |  Honduras |
1 – 0 | 1 – 0 | 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 6 | September 2, 2011 | Quito, Ecuador |  Ecuador |
2 – 4 | 2 – 5 | International Friendly |
| 7 | February 24, 2012 | Catherine Hall Sports Complex, Montego Bay, Jamaica |  Cuba |
1 – 0 | 3 – 0 | International Friendly |
| 8 | June 8, 2012 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica |  Guatemala |
2 – 0 | 2 – 1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Toronto FC
Individual
References
- ↑ Dell'Apa, Frank (June 3, 2006). No Longer a State Secret. Boston Globe. p. C1. ISSN 0743-1791.
- ↑ Staff (December 31, 2001). FALL ALL-SCHOLASTICS; Boys Soccer; The Boston Herald presents the top stars from Eastern Mass. boys soccer. Boston Herald. p. 61. ISSN 0738-5854.
- ↑ http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2011/07/johnson-jumps-toronto
- ↑ New-Look Reds Sunk By Strike From Shea from TorontoFC.ca, Posted 20 July 2011.
- ↑ Kansas City Doubles Toronto from TorontoFC.ca, Posted 23 July 2011.
- ↑ CCL Group Stage Awaits Toronto
- ↑ Toronto's Johnson tops Estrada for AT&T Goal of the Week
- ↑ Johnson Wins George Gross Trophy
- ↑ http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/12/timbers-acquire-ryan-johnson-milos-kocic-toronto-fc-exchange-joe-bendik-2013-superdraft
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryan Johnson (soccer). |
- MLS player profile
- Ryan Johnson at National-Football-Teams.com
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