Braeden Cloutier (born October 3, 1974) is an American soccer coach and former player who is the former head coach of

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games ...

. As a player, he spent five seasons in Major Soccer League and over twelve in various indoor leagues.

Early life

Cloutier grew up in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

where he attended Northwest High School. In July 1992, he left high school and moved to Germany to play for

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

. He entered Hamburg's youth system, playing on their undefeated championship youth team of 1992–93.

Professional

In 1993, he moved to the Hamburger SV reserve team for the 1993–94

Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord ( en, Regional League North) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regional ...

season.

Indoor

In 1994, he returned to the United States and signed with the

Las Vegas Dustdevils The Las Vegas Dustdevils were an indoor soccer team based out of Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). The team won the league championship in 1994, but folded after their second season. Hi ...

of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. On June 8, 1994, the Dustdevils traded Cloutier to the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

in exchange for Tom Crane. He spent the 1994 season in San Diego, scoring thirteen goals in twenty-seven games. In the fall of 1994, he signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the National Professional Soccer League. At the time, the CISL and NPSL were in vicious competition and had refused to allow players to move between the two leagues. Cloutier's move from the Sockers to the Wings led to an unsuccessful legal action by the Sockers to prevent him from playing in Wichita. Despite the legal threats, Cloutier spent the entire 1994–1995 season in Wichita. In June 1995, the Sockers announced they had signed Cloutier for the upcoming CISL season. He denied it and sat out the season as the Wings and Sockers continued their legal battles over his playing rights. He returned to the Wings in the fall for the 1995–1996 NPSL season. In 1996, he finally returned to the Sockers for the summer indoor season.

Major League Soccer

In February 1997, the MetroStars selected Cloutier in the second round (fifteenth overall) of the

1997 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 2, 1997. Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 trades References {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Mls Supplemental Draft ...

. He spent the 1997 season with the MetroStars then in October loaned him to the Wichita Wings for the 1997–1998 NPSL season. On January 31, 1998, the MetroStars traded him to the San Jose Earthquakes for a second round pick in the 1998 MLS College Draft. Cloutier spent two seasons in San Jose. The Earthquakes released him at the end of the 1999 season and on October 20, 1999, he signed a three-year contract with the Wichita Wings. He spent two winter indoor season with the Wings. In 2000, he played with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in th ...

in the

USL A-League 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 ...

. On May 12, 2001, 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 compe ...

claimed Cloutier off waivers from San Jose after Cloutier didn't resign with the Clash in 1999. Cloutier opted to sit out the 12 month restriction from Major League Soccer then signed with the Revolution in 2001. He was a key piece off the bench and spot starts for the Revs in the run to the 2002 MLS Cup game. He played two seasons with the New England Revolution and retired before the start of the 2003 season, due to injury complications in his hip.

Indoor

He then signed with the Cleveland Force in the Major Indoor Soccer League on February 7, 2003 and played six games through the rest of the season. He returned to the Force for the 2003–2004 season. On June 15, 2004, the Force sent Cloutier, along with

Nevio Pizzolitto Nevio Pizzolitto (born August 26, 1976) is a Canadian soccer player who most recently played for Montreal Impact in the North American Soccer League. Career Youth Pizzolitto began playing youth soccer with the Sporting-Patriotes of the Qu ...

, to the

in exchange for

Robbie Aristodemo Robert David Aristodemo (born May 20, 1977) is a professional soccer midfielder who is the current head coach for Montverde Academy's varsity girls team, the Orlando Kicks FC of United Women's Soccer, and an assistant coach with the Major Arena ...

. The league suspended the Sockers during the season and the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

claimed Cloutier in the dispersal draft. He did not move to Milwaukee, but remained in San Diego where he played for the

in the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

. In 2009, he signed with the

of the

Coaching

Youth

Orange County SC

In February 2015, Cloutier was named as assistant coach for Orange County Blues FC under Head Coach

Oliver Wyss Oliver Wyss (born August 29, 1974) is the President of Soccer Operations and General Manager for the Orange County SC. Biography Wyss was born in Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, an ...

. He continued as assistant coach when Logan Pause was announced as head coach in Jan 2017. In December 2017, Cloutier was named Head Coach for the 2017-2018 season. Cloutier was relieved of his duties as head coach after 6 years at the club, including 4 as head coach in 2021.

References

External links

MetroStars Player Profile

Charleston Battery Player Profile

San Diego Sockers player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cloutier, Braeden 1974 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Soccer players from Wichita, Kansas Charleston Battery players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major League Soccer players Major Soccer League players New York Red Bulls players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players New England Revolution players Orange County Blue Star players Professional Arena Soccer League players San Diego Sockers (CISL) players San Diego Sockers (PASL) players San Jose Earthquakes players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players A-League (1995–2004) players USL League Two players New York Red Bulls draft picks LA Galaxy non-playing staff Orange County SC coaches Association football forwards Association football midfielders American soccer coaches