Alex Bengard (born March 13, 1979) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Career

College

Bengard played one year of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

before transferring to

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

. During his senior year Bengard broke the CSUDH single-season points record and earned the CCAA First Team All-Conference award, was named a First Team All-American, and won the Division 2 NCAA National Championship.

Professional

Bengard was drafted in the fifth round (57th overall) in the

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 program. Round 1 Round 1 trade ...

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

. He played in 7 MLS games for Galaxy in his two years with the team, winning the 2001 U.S. Open Cup and the 2002 MLS Cup, before being waived at the end of the 2002 season. Bengard dropped down a level to play in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

, with

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

in 2003 and with

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in 2004. After briefly playing with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

's reserves in 2007, Bengard returned to Southern California to work as a coach for local youth soccer organization Legends FC. He also played with Legends'

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

team

Los Angeles Storm LA Laguna FC was an American soccer team based in the Los Angeles area, United States. Founded in 2010, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL) (now USL League Two), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Sou ...

in 2007. In addition to his coaching work, Bengard also occasionally plays with the amateur

Hollywood United Hollywood United is an American amateur soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1988, the team plays in Region IV of the United States Adult Soccer Association, a network of amateur leagues at the fifth tier of th ...

, which plays in the Los Angeles-based

USASA The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NISA ...

-affiliated Coast Soccer League. Bengard was part of the Hollywood team which beat

3-2 in the first round of the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bengard, Alex 1979 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros men's soccer players LA Galaxy players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players LA Laguna FC players Hollywood United players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks A-League (1995–2004) players