Alexander Ray DeJohn (born May 10, 1991) is an American professional

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 who plays as a defender. Born in

Marlboro, New Jersey Marlboro Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township had a ...

, DeJohn played

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 ...

for the

Old Dominion Monarchs The Old Dominion Monarchs are composed of 18 intercollegiate athletic teams representing Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, sailing, soccer, swimming, and tennis. Wo ...

before being drafted in the

2013 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft was a secondary draft that was held by Major League Soccer via conference call on January 22, 2013. The draft was four rounds with all 19 MLS clubs participating. Selection order The official selection order was a ...

by the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

as the 42nd pick (80th overall). Despite being drafted, DeJohn moved to Finland and joined

Ekenäs IF Ekenäs Idrottsförening (abbreviated EIF or Ekenäs IF) is a sports club from Ekenäs, Raseborg in Finland. EIF was formed in 1905 and they are one of the oldest clubs in the south-west of Finland. The men's football first team currently pla ...

before moving to

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...

club TPS. DeJohn spent two seasons in Finland before moving to Norway with

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

. He then moved to Sweden and signed with Dalkurd. In 2019, DeJohn moved back to the United States and signed with Orlando City where he played two seasons.

Early life and college

Born in

, DeJohn began his career with the Players Development Academy, where he played with the PDA Cruyff side. In 2009, DeJohn entered

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

where he played

for the

. He played with the Monarchs for four years, playing 66 games and scoring 2 goals. Following the 2012 season, DeJohn was named into the second team CAA All-Conference squad.

Career

While playing

for the

, DeJohn spent the summer of 2011 playing with the

Central Jersey Spartans Central Jersey Spartans was an American soccer team based in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 2009, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid Atlanti ...

of the

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

Ekenäs IF and TPS

On January 22, 2013, DeJohn was selected by the

with the 42nd pick in the

MLS Supplemental Draft The MLS Supplemental Draft had a number of incarnations in US soccer: From 1996 to 1999, all players playing in the United States playing professionally in the United Soccer Leagues were eligible for the MLS Supplemental Draft, where they could be ...

(80th overall in the

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the le ...

). Later in 2013, DeJohn moved to Finland and joined

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the third level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. The II divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kakkonen (Finnish for 'Number Two' ...

(third division) club

. He made his debut for the club on April 28, 2013, against

Gnistan IF Gnistan (''The Spark'' in English) is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Ykkönen, the second tier of the Finnish league system. IF Gnistan play their home matches at Must ...

, starting in the 4–1 defeat. He scored his first goal for the club on May 25 against LPS, finding the net in the 3–0 victory. Following his first season in Finland, DeJohn signed with

(first division) club TPS. He made his debut for TPS on January 24, 2014, against

Inter Turku Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku and colloquially known as Inter, is a professional football club based in Turku, Finland, that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded in 1 ...

, starting in a 3–2 defeat. He scored his goal for the club on February 19 against

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; fi, Maarianhamina ; la, Portus Mariae) is the capital city, capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finland, Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government of Åland, Government and Parliament of Åland, ...

, scoring the opener in a 2–2 draw.

Start and Dalkurd

Following his two seasons in Finland, DeJohn moved to Norway and signed with

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

club

. He made his club debut on April 7, 2015, against

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Viken county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger be ...

, starting as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. DeJohn stayed with Start for two seasons before moving to Sweden and signing with

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

club Dalkurd. His debut for Dalkurd was on March 5, 2017, against

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

. He started as the match ended in a 0–0 draw. During the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

season, DeJohn helped Dalkurd finish in second place and earn promotion to the

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

. DeJohn scored his first goals in the Swedish top tier on August 27, 2018, against Hammarby, a brace during a 3–2 defeat.

Orlando City

On January 10, 2019, DeJohn returned to the United States and joined

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club Orlando City. He made his debut on March 2 against

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

, starting in the 2–2 draw. Following his first season with Orlando, DeJohn had his contract option declined before re-signing with the club on November 27, 2019. On December 2, 2020, following the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

season, DeJohn had his contract declined again and was thus released.

Atlanta United

On February 9, 2021, DeJohn joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

. However, a month later, on March 12, DeJohn signed with

side

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

. According to Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley, the club had an agreement with DeJohn that he could terminate his contract if he receives and accepts an opportunity with a club in Major League Soccer. On May 1, 2021, DeJohn appeared for

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professiona ...

, the club's reserve affiliate in the

, against

OKC Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessman ...

. He then made his debut for Atlanta United on May 9, 2021, in a 1–1 draw against

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2 ...

, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute. DeJohn's contract option was declined by Atlanta following the 2022 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeJohn, Alex 1991 births Living people People from Marlboro Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey American soccer players Association football defenders Old Dominion Monarchs men's soccer players Central Jersey Spartans players Ekenäs IF players Turun Palloseura footballers IK Start players Dalkurd FF players Orlando City SC players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Atlanta United FC players Atlanta United 2 players USL League Two players Kakkonen players Veikkausliiga players Eliteserien players Superettan players Allsvenskan players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Soccer players from New Jersey New England Revolution draft picks American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate footballers in Finland American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in Norway American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate footballers in Sweden