Ben Dragavon (born December 31, 1983) is a former American

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 is currently an assistant coach for

Seattle Reign FC OL Reign is an American professional women's soccer team based in Seattle, Washington. Founded by Bill and Teresa Predmore in 2012 as Seattle Reign FC, it was one of eight inaugural members of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). In 2020, ...

in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a professional women's soccer league at the top of the United States league system. It is owned by the teams and, until 2020, was under a management contract with the United States Soccer Federatio ...

Personal life

Career

Youth and College

Dragavon graduated from

Monroe High School Monroe High School may refer to: *Monroe High School (Tehachapi) — Tehachapi, California *Monroe High School (Los Angeles) — Los Angeles, California * Monroe High School (Florida) — the former high school for negro students in Co ...

in 2002. In 2001, he backstopped the Bearcats to the Washington State 3A High School Championship. He then attended

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 2002 to 2005. He finished his career at WWU with the team's all-time record in shutouts. He is also third on the school's list with a 1.38 GAA.

Professional

On July 20, 2006, the

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 ...

signed him as a back-up to

Chris Eylander Chris Eylander (born March 14, 1984) is a former American soccer player. Career Youth and College Eylander had an outstanding youth career. He won the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Washington State youth soccer championship with his club team, Federal W ...

when the Seattle's backup goalkeeper

James Ward James Ward may refer to: Military *James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1864) (1833–?), American Civil War sailor * James Ward (Medal of Honor, 1890) (1854–1901), American Indian Wars soldier *James Allen Ward (1919–1941), New Zealand pilot and Vi ...

was injured. He played no games that season, but saw time in four games in 2007. On July 16, 2007, 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 ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League picked Dragavon in the seventh round of the 2007 MISL Supplemental Draft. However, he did not sign with the Wave. During the winter of 2007–2008, he played indoor soccer with the Seattle Wolves FC of the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) is an indoor soccer league with mostly semi-professional teams; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo ...

. Dragavon signed a contract in early 2009 to become part of the

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 ...

League-Wide Reserve Goalkeeper Pool. During the early part of 2009 he was called up by

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

to provide cover for

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...

while regular reserve keeper

was out injured. He made his MLS debut for Seattle on April 11, 2009, in a game against the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

, when Keller was sent off for handling outside the penalty area. He was on the bench for

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 ...

during their 5–0 loss to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

on October 25, 2009. In early March 2010, Dragavon pre-signed a two-year contract with the Aztex, against whom he made his USL debut in 2009, but he was released before the season started after failing his medical.

Coaching

In 2012, Dragavon became the

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

coach for the

USL PDL 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 ...

club

Seattle Sounders FC U-23 Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced int ...

. He made an appearance as goalkeeper for the Sounders U-23 team versus

Washington Crossfire Crossfire Redmond, previously the Seattle Wolves and Washington Crossfire, is an American soccer organization based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of t ...

on May 31, 2013. In 2013, he became the goalkeeper coach for

of the

. He became a full-time assistant coach in 2017.

Honors

;Seattle Sounders *

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 ...

Championship:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Commissioner's Cup:

References

External links

Sounders player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragavon, Ben 1983 births Living people American soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Seattle Sounders FC players Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players Association football goalkeepers Western Washington University alumni Soccer players from Washington (state) USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USL League Two players OL Reign non-playing staff Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff American women's soccer coaches People from Monroe, Washington Tacoma Stars (2003–) players Professional Arena Soccer League players Player-coaches