Jeff Parke

Jeff Parke

Personal information
Full name	Jeff Parke
Date of birth	March 23, 1982 (1982-03-23)
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	132	(1)
2009	Vancouver Whitecaps	7	(0)
2010–	Seattle Sounders FC	48	(1)
National team‡
2012–	United States	1	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of November 7, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of January 25, 2012

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.

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 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. On March 17, 2010 Parke was placed on the roster for the Seattle Sounders FC.

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.

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.

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	7	0	5	0	0	0	-	-	12	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		7	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
Career total			187	2	16	0	9	0	6	0	222	2

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 University

External links

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