Jeff Parke

Jeff Parke

Personal information
Full name	Jeff Parke
Date of birth	(1982-03-23) March 23, 1982
Place of birth	Downingtown, Pennsylvania, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Defender
Youth career
2000–2003	Drexel Dragons
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)
National team‡
2012	United States	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 17, 2014. † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of December 17, 2014

Jeff Parke (born March 23, 1982)^[2] is a former American soccer player.

Professional career

Parke with New York Red Bulls

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 but he chose not to sign with Seattle.^[3] Instead, on March 31, 2009 Parke signed a one-year contract with 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]

Jeff Parke of the Seattle Sounders is defending against attacking midfielder Patrick Nyarko of the Chicago Fire (Saturday, April 28, 2012)

On January 14, 2014, Parke was traded to D.C. United in exchange for Ethan White.^[7]

International

On January 5, 2012 Parke was called into camp for the U.S. Men's National 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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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

• List of current MLS players
• Drexel Dragons
• Drexel University

References

External links

• MLS player profile
• Jeff Parke at National-Football-Teams.com