Brad Evans

At 39 years old, Brad Evans has this physical status:

Bradley Ray Evans (born April 20, 1985) is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in Phoenix, Evans was drafted out of University of California, Irvine in the second round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew, where he stayed for two seasons before being selected in the Expansion Draft by the Sounders in 2008.

He won "Player of the Week" honors in October 2012 for a two-goal performance against FC Dallas.

Evans has appeared five times for the under-20 national team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, and 27 times for the senior national team, including the 2009 Gold Cup.

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Early life and career

Evans was born in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was raised with his brother and two sisters. Evans played for 4 seasons for the school's squad at Mountain Pointe High School, scoring 54 goals. During his junior and senior seasons, he was named all-state and team captain. He also spent ten seasons with the Tempe Warriors youth team. He is married to Becky, supports Liverpool, and adores Zinedine Zidane. While playing college soccer, the midfielder attended the University of California, Irvine, and majored in social sciences with a minor in education. Evans, who played for the University of Irvine, scored a record 31 goals in his four-year career and graduated as the school's career leader in total points at 73. In 2005 and 2006, he was voted Big West Offensive Player of the Year and 2006, and in 2006, he was an All-American.

Evans appeared in the Premier Development League with Orange County Blue Star and future US international Sacha Kljestan. During the 2004 season, Evans played 6 games and scored 4 goals. In a 1–0 victory over the San Diego Gauchos at UC Irvine in 2005, he played in a single match during the 2005 season. During his third season with Blue Star, Evans scored twice in victories over Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

Club career

Evans was drafted by the Columbus Crew in the second round (15th overall) during the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. Evans only played the first of three combined games due to injury, according to coach Sigi Schmid. Columbus' fortune was that he was flexible and Columbus' triumph. The midfielder made his MLS debut against the New York Red Bulls on April 7 and appeared in three other games without scoring a single goal in the 2007 season. Evans appeared in 26 games for the Crew during the 2008 season and scored the final goal in a 3–2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in May for his first MLS goal. During the final week of the regular season, the midfielder scored four more goals, including the MLS Goal of the Week, defeating D.C. United. He helped Columbus win the MLS Cup by starting in all four playoff games and scoring in a 2–0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards in the Conference Semifinals. During the MLS Cup final, Evans got up and played minutes, defeating the New York Red Bulls 3–1.

Evans was selected by Seattle Sounders FC with the tenth pick in the Expansion Draft three days after winning the MLS Cup, and then reunited with coach Sigi Schmid. On March 19, he scored his second goal in the 24th minute from a Fredy Montero pass, finishing between the legs of New York goalkeeper Danny Cerezo to begin the 2009 season. Evans made a regular starter for the first-year Sounders, scoring two more goals against San Jose in April and FC Dallas in October, naming him as the team's 4th top goalcorer behind Montero, Nate Jaqua, and Steve Zakuani. Evans appeared in the last 12 minutes of the United States Open Cup Final, where the Sounders claimed their first trophy by defeating a 10-man D.C. United 21-01 on September 2. He appeared in both playoff games as the Sounders lost 1–0 on aggregate to the Houston Dynamo in the Conference Semifinals.

Evans began the 2010 season by scoring in the 12th minute after Steve Zakuani's return to the Philadelphia Union. Evans did not score for the remainder of the season in MLS play in April, but he did assist with Michael Fucito's victory over the Kansas City Wizards in a 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution. Evans sustained a knee injury in June and was unable to play until the next season after a 3–2 loss to D.C. United. The midfielder returned to the Houston Dynamo in late March for 71 minutes in a 1–1 draw, missing the first two games of the season. On April 30, he received a two-goal and assistance award for his two-goal and assist appearance against Toronto FC. He scored in his first Champions League match against Comunicaciones in Group D, 2–1 loss at Washington, D.C. United, from a penalty earned by Fredy Montero, and he later scored in his first Champions League match, a 4–1 victory over Comunicaciones in Group D on August 16. In a 3–1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps clinch the Cascadia Cup, Evans scored his fourth league goal, his third from a penalty. Before playing both games of the MLS Cup playoffs, Evans assisted an lvaro Fernández goal against Chivas USA, where the Sounders lost 3–2 on aggregate to Real Salt Lake. Evans finished with a career-high 5 goals and 5 assists in all leagues and ranked 3rd in both goals and assists in MLS play.

Evans started the 2012 season by scoring in the Champions League Quarterfinals over Santos Laguna, a 2–1 win over Santos Laguna, later losing 7–3 on aggregate and being barred from the tournament. He was initially appointed as a second captain behind Mauro Rosales, but Fredy Montero was deemed the vice president's first captain. Evans started the first two games of the MLS season in March and won by a 2-0 victory over Houston from a penalty before strained his hamstring and missing the next match, a 1–0 loss to San Jose. In a 4–1 Open Cup semifinal victory over Chivas USA, the midfielder scored a goal and was a partner in a 2–0 draw with New York in July; as well as scoring an assist in a 2–0 victory over Chivas USA and a goal in a 6–2 victory over Chivas USA in August, the midfielder scored a goal. In a 3–2 victory over Marathón in September that qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals, he also scored the game-winning goal. After Zach Scott's red card 30 minutes into an eventual 0–0 draw with Real Salt Lake and 2 goals, Evans received his first "Player of the Week" award for playing as a defender. For the first time in franchise history, he appeared in all four MLS Playoff games, but the Sounders advanced to the Conference Final for the first time in franchise history, but Los Angeles Galaxy defeated the eventual champions. With 39 appearances and 6 goals in all leagues, the midfielder appeared for the Sounders in 29 MLS games and totaled 4 goals and 4 assists.

Evans became a free agent at the end of the 2017 season.

Evans joined Sporting Kansas City as a free agent on February 20, 2018. On December 17, 2018, he announced his retirement as an active participant.

International career

Evans, a member of the U-20 national team who played under Sigi Schmid's 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, was used as a replacement in a 0–0 draw with Germany and started right back in a 1–0 draw with Egypt in Group D, where he was an unused substitute. Evans was called up to the senior team of the 2009 Gold Cup, which included an opening group match at Qwest Field in Seattle. He won by 4–0 over Grenada on July 4 in the 63rd minute and was given an immediate yellow card for arriving too late, and Evans did not participate in a 2–0 win over Honduras but tied Haiti in a 2–2 draw. During a 2–1 quarterfinal victory over Panama on July 18, Evans was playing in the knockout stages, reaching in the 110th minute. In the Gold Cup final on July 26, he was an unused replacement in the 2–0 semifinal victory over Honduras on July 23 and the 5–0 loss to Mexico.

Evans was involved in a 2–1 friendly victory over El Salvador in February 2010 but did not participate in 2011. In 1–0 friendly victories over Venezuela in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, and Panama in January 2012. Evans was selected to the national team's training camp in January 2013 and played in a 0–0 friendly against Canada at BBVA Compass Stadium. He was later called back to play in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying as an unused substitute in a loss to Honduras. Jürgen Klinsmann, the United States' coach, added Evans to his camp roster for May and June, where he used the Sounders midfielder as a late-game replacement in a loss to Belgium, and let Evans get to the United States Soccer Federation as a right back instead of his usual midfield positions in the former match, a 2–1 victory for the United States in stoppage time.

Career statistics

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