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A. J. Soares

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A. J. Soares
Personal information
Full name Anthony James Soares
Date of birth (1988-11-28) November 28, 1988 (age 35)
Place of birth Solana Beach, California, United States
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Center back
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 California Golden Bears 77 (10)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010 Orange County Blue Star 1 (0)
2011–2014 New England Revolution 108 (6)
2015–2016 Viking 32 (0)
2016 AGF 6 (1)
Total 147 (7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Anthony James Soares (born November 28, 1988) is an American retired soccer player who played as a center back for Orange County Blue Star, New England Revolution, Viking and AGF.

Career

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Early life, college and amateur

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Soares was born in Solana Beach, California. He attended Torrey Pines High School where he was the captain for his junior and senior seasons, and won the 2005 Division 1 CIF Championship.

He played college soccer at the University of California, Berkeley. As the Cal co-captain in 2010, Soares was named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America First Team All American,[1] Pac-10 Player of the Year,[2] Goal.com Player of the Year.[3] Soares entered college at California as an attacking player, but head coach Kevin Grimes converted him to a central defender because of his size and strength.[4] However, he still managed to score five goals in his final collegiate season while anchoring a stingy Bear defense; during this campaign, he was named a semifinalist for the 2010 Hermann Trophy.[5]

In 2010 Soares made one appearance for Orange County Blue Star in the USL Premier Development League.[6]

Professional

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Soares was chosen by New England Revolution as the sixth overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.[7] He was voted New England's Defensive MVP in 2011. Soares started and played the entire 2014 MLS Cup. Soares was voted "Player's Player" and Defender of the Year for New England in 2014.[8]

In February 2015, Soares was presented as the newest addition to the Norwegian Tippeligaen club Viking FK.[9] On July 26, 2016, Soares signed a two-year contract with AGF.[10]

In November 2016, he retired from professional football, due to a serious head injury.

Personal life

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Soares' father is Portuguese and was born in the Azores.[11] He also holds an Italian passport.[12] He married Michele Mossman in 2014 in a ceremony in La Quinta, CA. The couple have three children.

References

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  1. ^ "CALIFORNIA DREAMING Revs take defender A.J. Soares". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  2. ^ "Soares Named Pac-10 Player of the Year in Bears' Title Run - the Daily Californian". Archived from the original on February 15, 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved 2011-01-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Cal's Soares discovers love for defending". December 1, 2010.
  5. ^ "Men's Semifinalists 2010". Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  6. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012.
  7. ^ "Revs draft A.J. Soares in MLS SuperDraft". Boston.com.
  8. ^ "Soares Receives Two Team Awards". October 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "Viking henter MLS-spiller". Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  10. ^ "AGF skriver med A. J. Soares". AGF Fodbold. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Frank Dell'Apa (February 11, 2011). "College star Soares doesn't mind coming in cold". Boston.com. Boston Globe. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  12. ^ Frank Dell'Apa (January 14, 2011). "Revolution draft aids defense". Boston.com. Boston Globe. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
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