Benjamin Arthur Hunter (born 16 June 1985) is an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Career

Youth and College

Hunter grew up in

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

, attended Queen Elizabeth's High School, and was a member of the junior academy at English professional club

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...

prior to his moving to the United States in 2003 to attend and play

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 ...

at the

University of Rio Grande The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College (originally Rio Grande College) is a private university and public community college merged into one institution in Rio Grande, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commissio ...

in Ohio. At Rio Grande, Hunter totaled 43 goals and 17 assists in two seasons, and led the team to the NAIA national title in 2003, while being named the 2004 American Mideast Conference South Division Player of the Year and earning All-Conference and All-Regional honors. He transferred to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

as a junior, where he amassed 17 goals and 10 assists for 44 points in 41 games played. Hunter also played in the

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 ...

with

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

, where he scored the game-winning goal against the professional

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

in 2006. Hunter also went on to represent Great Britain at the World University games in Bangkok, Thailand in 2007.

Professional

Hunter was drafted by

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

in the fourth round (49th overall) of the

2007 MLS SuperDraft The 2007 MLS SuperDraft was held in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 12, 2007. It was the eighth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection belonged to expansion team Toronto FC. The SuperDraft was followed by the 2007 MLS Supp ...

, Hunter appeared in 24 games for Columbus along with four appearances on loan with

Cleveland City Stars The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009. The club fo ...

during the 2007 season. Hunter signed with the

of the USL Division in 2008, and was part of the team which won the 2009 USL championship.

Honors

Richmond Kickers

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

Champions (1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

External links

Richmond Kickers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Ben 1985 births Living people Footballers from Doncaster English men's footballers Men's association football forwards North Carolina Fusion U23 players Columbus Crew players Cleveland City Stars players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Richmond Kickers players Real Maryland F.C. players North Ferriby United A.F.C. players Matlock Town F.C. players USL League Two players USL Second Division players University of Rio Grande alumni Columbus Crew draft picks English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers