Eddie Gaven
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Eddie Gaven | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Columbus Crew | ||
| Number | 12 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 June, 2007 | |||
Eddie Gaven (born October 25, 1986 in Hamilton Township, New Jersey) is an American soccer player who plays for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer.
Gaven grew up in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey. He played high school soccer there while a freshman at Steinert High School.[1]
Gaven became the youngest player to sign with MLS, doing so at the age of 16 years and two months (since passed by Freddy Adu), joining the league after having spent two years training with other young Americans at the USSF's Bradenton Academy. Eddie was drafted by the MetroStars with the twelfth overall pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. He became the youngest player in team history on his debut on June 14, 2003 against Chicago and became the youngest player in team history to score a goal, which he did in just his second game, against D.C. United on July 5th. With the game tied at two, Metro coach Bob Bradley used a loophole in the substitution rule, moving Metro goalie Tim Howard out of the net and putting on Gaven as a fourth "goalkeeper only" sub. After less than a minute in goal, Gaven and Howard switched places and Gaven went on to score the game winner with just seconds left in overtime[1]. In the process, he became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history (the loophole was eliminated after the season, largely due to outcry following Gaven's goal).
Gaven played every minute for the U.S. in the 2003 Under-17 World Championship in Finland and then became the youngest player in CONCACAF history to appear in an Olympic qualifier when he played for the U.S. Under-23 team. His rise did not end there. After becoming an automatic starter and coming into his own with the MetroStars in 2004, Gaven became the youngest player ever voted in to start the MLS All-Star Game, and the fourth youngest player in US history to get his first cap, doing so against Poland on July 11th. He finished the MLS season with seven goals and seven assists and became the youngest player in league history to be named to the MLS Best XI.
In 2005, after continuing his solid play with the MetroStars, Gaven was part of the U.S. Under-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. He ended the MLS season with eight goals and four assists. Just before the 2006 season, Gaven was traded to Columbus along with the rights to defender Chris Leitch for striker Edson Buddle. With the Crew, Gaven played nearly every game in 2006, scoring 4 goals. In 2007 he appeared in 27 games for Columbus scoring five goals and tallying seven assists.
Career statistics
[2] Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |2003||rowspan="3"|MetroStars||rowspan="3"|Major League Soccer||27||5|||||||||||||||| |- |2004||30||4|||||||||||||||| |- |2005||30||8|||||||||||||||| |- |2006||rowspan="3"|Columbus Crew||rowspan="3"|Major League Soccer||31||7|||||||||||||||| |- |2007||14||1|||||||||||||||| |- |2008|||||||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 3132||25|||||||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 5132||25|||||||||||||||| |}
See also
References
- ^ Haley, Craig. "Gaven working to regain magic", The Times (Trenton), June 19, 2007. Accessed July 8, 2007. " Gaven's slump was unexpected considering his vast success. In 2001, after his freshman year at Steinert High, he was invited into the U.S. residency program at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla."
- ^ GAVEN (Eddie Gaven) - Columbus Crew and United States
External links
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