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Steven Lenhart

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Steven Lenhart
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-08-28) August 28, 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
2000–2004 Irvine Strikers
2004 Point Loma Nazarene Sealions
2005–2007 Azusa Pacific Cougars
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007 Southern California Seahorses 6 (3)
2008–2010 Columbus Crew 63 (13)
2011–2016 San Jose Earthquakes 72 (20)
2017 FC Imabari 4 (0)
Total 145 (36)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of May 2, 2017

Steven Lenhart (born August 28, 1986) is a former American soccer player who is currently an assistant coach with the Westmont Warriors in NCAA Division II[1]

Career

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College and amateur

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Lenhart grew up in Yorba Linda, California, and attended Esperanza High School. He attended Point Loma Nazarene University for one year before transferring to Azusa Pacific University. He tallied 38 goals and 12 assists in his 61 career collegiate games for Azusa Pacific, and was named a NAIA All-American in 2007. He was also named to the NAIA All-Tournament Team in 2006 and 2007, was honored as the NAIA Tournament's Outstanding Offensive Player in 2006[2] and 2007, and was MVP of the 2007 NAIA Tournament while helping lead Azusa Pacific to the 2007 NAIA national title over Concordia University, Irvine.[3] During his college years, Lenhart also played for the Southern California Seahorses in the USL Premier Development League.[citation needed]

Professional

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Lenhart was selected by the Columbus Crew as the 48th overall selection in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. He made his professional debut on May 31, 2008, as a second-half substitute against Chivas USA, and scored his first goal on June 21, 2008, against Los Angeles Galaxy.[4] His rookie season ended with five goals across 12 appearances in the regular season and playoffs, with a dramatic tying goal in stoppage time of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal versus the Kansas City Wizards as well as winning MLS Cup.[5] Head coach Sigi Schmid subbed Lenhart into the last minutes of the final to show his appreciation for the contribution to the Crew's winning season.[4]

Lenhart scored three goals in the 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League, scoring his first goal in a 2–0 victory against the Puerto Rico Islanders, and claiming the other two in a come-from-behind 2–2 draw against Mexican side Toluca.[citation needed]

Lenhart netted his first goal of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League in the 79' minute in a 3–0 win over Joe Public F.C.[citation needed]

Lenhart scored 11 goals across all competitions for Columbus in the 2010 season.[citation needed]

On January 13, 2011, Lenhart was traded to the San Jose Earthquakes along with allocation money in exchange for the 15th pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.[6] On June 11, He scored his first hat trick of his professional career.[7] He signed a new contract with San Jose on November 30, 2011.[8] His cry of "Goonies never say die!" led to the Earthquakes adopting the rally cry (in reference to the Goonies film) the next year.[9]

On April 28, 2012, Lenhart would score both San Jose goals in a 2–1 victory against the Philadelphia Union, with the game winning goal coming in the third minute of second half stoppage time.[10] He scored another late goal, this time in the 85th minute off a header in a U.S. Open Cup game versus Minnesota Stars FC, which proved to be the game winner in a 1–0 victory in June.[11] In July, Lenhart scored a last-minute equalizer for 10-man San Jose against the Chicago Fire, his first game back since a four-game absence due to injury.[12]

After a brief stint with Japanese side FC Imabari, Lenhart announced his retirement from the game on May 2, 2017, due to ongoing symptoms from concussions.[13]


"He’s one of those guys that if you’re playing against him you hate it, but if he’s on your team then you love the guy. He’s always battling and he really likes getting reactions out of people, like if someone fouls him he’ll try to hold their hand to piss them off, and that stuff really gets to people,"

–Chris Wondolowski, former teammate[14]

Style of play

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Being typically deployed as a target man, Lenhart was a hard-working forward who was known for his physical play and last second heroics,[15][7] but was criticized for his dirtiness and needless aggression at times.[15][16][17] Sam Stejskal of The Athletic described Lenhart's style of play as "rough and sometimes flagrantly physical"' and that Lenhart "came to be viewed around the league as an unabashed villain."[18] Former Crew teammate Jason Garey praised his physicality, calling him "fearless and reckless, he's willing to put his body on the line at all times. It's great playing with him."[4][19]

Personal life

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In 2020, Lenhart participated in World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji.[20][21]

Career statistics

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As of March 23, 2014[22][better source needed]
Club Season League MLS Cup Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Champions League Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Columbus Crew 2008 10 4 2 1 – – 12 5
2009 26 3 2 0 1 0 – – 29 3
2010 27 6 2 0 4 2 6 3 39 11
San Jose Earthquakes 2011 14 5 – – 2 0 – – 16 5
2012 26 10 2 0 3 1 – – 31 11
2013 21 4 - - - - 4 0 25 4
2014 10 1 - - - - – – 10 1
2015 0 0 - - - - – – 0 0
2016 0 0 - - - - – – 0 0
Career total 134 33 8 1 10 3 10 3 162 40

Honors

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Columbus Crew

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San Jose Earthquakes

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References

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  1. ^ "Steven Lenhart". athletics.westmont.edu. August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  2. ^ "Steven Lenhart - Men's Soccer". Azusa Pacific University Athletics. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Green, Jordan (December 19, 2020). "APU legends: Steven Lenhart". ZU Media. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Merz, Craig (January 23, 2010). "Lenhart becoming Crew's 'Braveheart'". mlssoccer. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Cath, David (September 27, 2018). "Lucky No. 13 | A look at returnees' 2008 performances ahead of Saturday's honoring". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  6. ^ "Welcome to nginx eaa1a9e1db47ffcca16305566a6efba4!185.15.56.1". Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  7. ^ a b Lepper, Geoff (June 12, 2011). "Career night gives personal release to Lenhart | San Jose Earthquakes". sjearthquakes. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "Quakes trade for Salinas, ink Lenhart extension". MLS. November 30, 2011. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  9. ^ Lepper, Geoff (May 24, 2012). "Lenhart: "Goonies never say die!"". sjearthquakes. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  10. ^ "Recap: Late Lenhart goal leads Quakes past Union". sjearthquakes. April 28, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  11. ^ "USOC: Lenhart goal sends Quakes past Stars FC". sjearthquakes. September 6, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  12. ^ Lepper, Geoff (July 29, 2012). "Lenhart's "fairy tale" goal fits the script". sjearthquakes. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  13. ^ "【クラブ情報】スティーブン・レンハート選手 現役引退のお知らせ". FC Imbari. May 2, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  14. ^ http://americansoccernow.com/players/steven-lenhart [bare URL]
  15. ^ a b "Crew Cuts: Steven Lenhart". Columbus Monthly. April 7, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  16. ^ Wahl, Grant (February 27, 2013). "Grant Wahl: MLS preseason player survey, Part II". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  17. ^ Dure, Beau (October 30, 2012). "Earthquakes are best in MLS, but critics question style". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  18. ^ Stejskal, Sam (June 24, 2019). "Bash Brother revisited: How Steven Lenhart transformed from MLS supervillain to Zenned-out healer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  19. ^ Galarcep, Ives (April 30, 2012). "A look at MLS bad boy Steven Lenhart". sbisoccer.com. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Seimas, Jim (September 22, 2020). "Local team reflects on Eco-Challenge Fiji thrills, chills and spill". SantaCruzSentinel.com. Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  21. ^ Jones, J. Sam (September 7, 2020). "For ex-MLS striker Steven Lenhart, the "World's Toughest Race" is just latest part of his existential journey". mlssoccer. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  22. ^ "Steven Lenhart". sjearthquakes.com. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
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