Eric Alexander
FullnameEric Alexander
Birth dateApril 14, 1988 (age 38)
Birth placePortage, Michigan, US
Height6 ft 1 in
PositionMidfielder
Collegeyears 12006–2009
College 1Indiana Hoosiers
Years 12006
Clubs 1Kalamazoo Kingdom
Caps 18
Goals 12
Years 22007
Clubs 2West Michigan Edge
Caps 212
Goals 21
Years 32008–2009
Clubs 3Kalamazoo Outrage
Caps 317
Goals 34
Years 42010–2011
Clubs 4FC Dallas
Caps 439
Goals 42
Years 52011–2012
Clubs 5Portland Timbers
Caps 530
Goals 50
Years 62013–2014
Clubs 6New York Red Bulls
Caps 668
Goals 66
Years 72015–2016
Clubs 7Montreal Impact
Caps 732
Goals 70
Years 82015
Clubs 8→ FC Montreal (loan)
Caps 81
Goals 80
Years 92016–2018
Clubs 9Houston Dynamo
Caps 943
Goals 91
Years 102017
Clubs 10→ Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (loan)
Caps 101
Goals 100
Years 112019
Clubs 11FC Cincinnati
Caps 116
Goals 110
Years 122019
Clubs 12FC Dallas
Caps 120
Goals 120
Totalcaps257
Totalgoals16
Nationalyears 12011–2014
Nationalteam 1United States
Nationalcaps 12
Nationalgoals 10
PcupdateAugust 6, 2019
NtupdateFebruary 2, 2014

Eric Alexander (born April 14, 1988) is an American former professional soccer player.

Career

College and amateur

Alexander attended Portage Central High School, where he was named NSCAA/adidas Boys High School National Player of the Year and Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year in 2005, before playing college soccer for the Indiana University Hoosiers from 2006 to 2009. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in his first year, started all 22 matches and was named to the All-Big Ten first-team and the NSCAA/adidas Great Lakes All-Region second-team as a sophomore and a junior.

During his college years Alexander also played for Portage Soccer Club Kalamazoo Kingdom, West Michigan Edge and Kalamazoo Outrage in the USL Premier Development League.[1]

Professional

Alexander was drafted in the third round (44th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas.[2] He made his professional debut on March 27, 2010, in Dallas's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against Houston Dynamo.[3] After initially receiving limited time in his first season, Alexander started eleven consecutive matches to close the 2010 season and was a key player during FC Dallas' nineteen-game unbeaten streak. In all he would appear in 17 league matches scoring two goals and assisting on three.

Alexander was traded to Portland Timbers on August 19, 2011, after making 22 league appearances during the 2011 campaign for FC Dallas in exchange for Jeremy Hall.[4] In his first full season in Portland, Alexander appeared in 24 league matches and recorded a team leading 6 assists.

On February 11, 2013, Alexander was traded to New York Red Bulls in exchange for allocation money.[5] Alexander was an important player for New York in his first year at the club as he appeared in all 34 league matches and scored 4 goals, helping the club to its first major title the 2013 MLS Supporters' Shield. During the 2014 season Alexander once again appeared in all 34 league matches scoring 2 goals and assisting on 9 others.

On January 27, 2015, Alexander was traded to Montreal Impact alongside Ambroise Oyongo, an international player roster spot and allocation money for Felipe and the 1st pick in the MLS allocation ranking.[6] After a season and a half with Montreal, Alexander was traded to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for general and targeted allocation money.[7]

In his first year with the Dynamo, Alexander made only 10 appearances, 3 of them starts. In 2017 he helped the Dynamo make the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons, however Alexander suffered a MCL sprain on May 6 that caused him to miss 4 months. He was able to return to action on September 23 against New York City FC. Alexander appeared in all 5 of the Dynamo playoff games that season and got an assist on Mauro Manotas's goal that put the Dynamo up 2–1 against his former club the Portland Timbers in the Western Conference Semi Finals.[8]

Alexander was selected by FC Cincinnati in the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft.[9]

On August 9, 2019, Alexander returned to FC Dallas following his release from Cincinnati two days previously.[10][11] His FC Dallas contract expired at the end of 2019. Retired to finish college at Indiana University. Finishing MBA at Auburn University 2025 [12]

International

On December 21, 2010, Alexander was called up to the United States national team for a friendly game against Chile. He made his debut on January 22, 2011.

On January 3, 2014, he was again called up, this time as part of a 26-man roster that trained in Carson, California and São Paulo, Brazil as coach Jürgen Klinsmann prepared the side for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[13]

Honors

FC Dallas

New York Red Bulls

Houston Dynamo

Career statistics

Club

[8][14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeaguePlayoffs[a]Cup[b]Continental[c]Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Kalamazoo Kingdom2006USL PDL82–––82
West Michigan Edge2007USL PDL121–––121
Kalamazoo Outrage2008-09USL PDL174–––174
FC Dallas2010MLS17220––192
2011220–2030270
Total392202030462
Portland Timbers2011MLS60–00–60
2012240–10–250
Total300001000310
New York Red Bulls2013MLS3442120–385
2014342501030432
Total686713030817
Montreal Impact2015MLS200003000230
2016120–20–140
Total320005000370
FC Montreal (loan)2015USL10–––10
Houston Dynamo2016MLS100–00–100
20171205000–170
2018211–20–231
Total431502000501
Rio Grande Valley Toros (loan)2017USL10–––10
Career Total251161411306038317
  1. ^ Includes MLS Cup Playoffs and USL PDL playoffs matches.
  2. ^ Includes U.S. Open Cup and Canadian Championship matches.
  3. ^ Includes CONCACAF Champions Leaguematches.

References

  1. ^ Eric Alexander USL stats Archived April 13, 2014 at the Wayback Machine uslsoccer.com
  2. ^ 2010 MLS SuperDraft Archived January 19, 2010 at the Wayback Machine; mlsnet.com, January 2010
  3. ^ Alexander makes FC Dallas debut Archived July 21, 2011 at the Wayback Machine; stats.cbc.ca, March 27, 2010
  4. ^ Timbers acquire Eric Alexander Archived August 21, 2011 at the Wayback Machine; portlandtimbers.com, August 19, 2011
  5. ^ Red Bulls acquire Eric Alexander; newyorkredbulls.com, February 11, 2013
  6. ^ "L'Impact effectue une transaction majeure avec les Red Bulls". Montreal Impact. 2015-01-27. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  7. ^ Brisendine, Steve (July 22, 2016). "Houston get Eric Alexander from Impact as Montreal continue summer deals". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  8. ^ "Eric Alexander". houstondynamo.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  9. ^ "2018 Expansion Draft results: FC Cincinnati pick, trade big names". mlssoccer.com. 11 December 2018.
  10. ^ "FC Dallas Signs Eric Alexander | FC Dallas". Archived from the original on 2019-08-09.
  11. ^ "FC Cincinnati waive veteran midfielder Eric Alexander | MLSSoccer.com"
  12. ^ Bogert, Tom (October 29, 2019). "FC Dallas announces roster update: Club picks up 10 contract options, declines three". mlssoccer.com.
  13. ^ "U.S. names training camp roster". ESPNFC.com. January 3, 2014.
  14. ^ "E. Alexander". soccerway.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018.