Ben Swanson (born July 18, 1997) is an

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 ...

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

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Youth

Born in

Grove City, Ohio Grove City is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County, Ohio, United States which was founded in 1852. It is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 41,252 according to the 2020 Census. History Until the mid-19th century, ...

, Swanson graduated from

Grove City High School Grove City High School is a high school in Grove City, Ohio, United States. It is one of the five high schools in the South-Western City Schools, Franklin County, Ohio, South-Western City Schools district. It houses about 1,900 students in gra ...

. He joined the youth teams of

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an Soccer in the United States, 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 ( ...

in 2006, moving to the Crew Soccer Academy in 2010. In 2012, Swanson was invited to U.S. Soccer's Residency Program in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

. He had earned the invitation after being discovered while playing with Crew Academy teams in the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

. Swanson began practicing with the senior team in September 2014, and at the time of signing his first professional contract was the longest-tenured Crew Youth player in organization history.

Club career

Columbus Crew SC

On October 17, 2014,

MLS 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

announced that Swanson would sign a Homegrown Player contract with the club and would be formally added to the roster on January 1, 2015. He became the ninth, and youngest, Homegrown Player in club history once his contract became official. Swanson made his Columbus debut on May 27, 2015 in a 1–0 friendly defeat against

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

. Although just a friendly, it marked the first professional match of Swanson's career. Later in the season, he was chosen to take part in the 2015 MLS Homegrown Game alongside fellow Crew SC HGP

Matt Lampson Matt Lampson (born September 6, 1989) is an American football player who plays as a goalkeeper. Career Youth and College A team captain during his senior season, Lampson was the two-time MVP at St. Charles Preparatory School in 2006 and 2007 ...

. Swanson replaced

Dillon Serna Dillon Paul Serna (born March 25, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Colorado Rapids 2 in MLS Next Pro. He previously played in Major League Soccer for Colorado Rapids and in the USL Championship for ...

at halftime against Club América U20s, tallying a shot as the MLS players were defeated 1–1, 5–4 on penalties. He did not appear in any other match for Crew SC on the season, but was sent to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

late in the year to train with the reserve and youth teams of multiple clubs to help gain experience. Swanson finished his first professional season without having appeared in an official game for Crew SC. Although Swanson was sent on loan to begin the 2016 season, he was recalled midway through the year by Crew SC, with the club battling injuries and international call-ups. The attrition allowed Swanson to make his club and MLS debut on June 1, replacing

Mohammed Saeid Mohammed Khalid Saeid (born 24 December 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Superettan club Trelleborg. Born in Sweden, he represents the Eritrea national team. Career Saeid was spotted at age eleven by Fulham whil ...

in the 74th minute against

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

. He completed eight passes in the short time he was on the field, but could not prevent a 3–2 defeat for Crew SC. It would mark Swanson's only appearance on the season for Columbus, as he was recalled from loan and placed on the Season-Ending Injury List in July after undergoing surgery on his right

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder mak ...

. Swanson was again sent on loan to Pittsburgh to begin the 2017 season, but again suffered an injury that ruled him out for the season. He was recalled and placed on the Season-Ending Injury List on April 20 after undergoing surgery on his right

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular join ...

. He was expected to miss five to seven months after the surgery. On December 1, 2017, Crew SC declined Swanson's contract option, ending his 12-year affiliation with the club. Swanson was a part of the first team in Columbus for three seasons, but made just one appearance across all competitions for the club.

Loan to Pittsburgh Riverhounds

On March 17, 2016, Swanson was loaned to

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 ...

, Columbus' affiliate club in the

USL 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, p ...

. He made his Riverhounds and professional debut on April 17 in a home match against

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...

. Swanson came on as a substitute in the 42nd minute to replace

Nick Kolarac Nick Kolarac (born May 10, 1992) is a professional American soccer player who plays for Pittsburgh Hotspurs in the National Premier Soccer League. He played in two different professional leagues in the United States including the USL and MASL. ...

, receiving a yellow card in the 75th minute of a 2–2 draw. Two weeks later, Swanson earned his first career start, coming away to

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, 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 professiona ...

on April 30. He lasted 64 minutes before being replaced by

Corey Hertzog Corey Hertzog (born August 1, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Union Omaha in USL League One. Career College and amateur Hertzog attended Antietam Middle Senior H.S. scoring 107 career goals before enro ...

in a 1–1 draw. Swanson also appeared as a substitute on May 7 in a 3–1 defeat against

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yo ...

before being recalled by Columbus. After returning to Pittsburgh in June, he made two more appearances as a substitute, both times replacing

Lebogang Moloto Lebogang "Lebo" Moloto (born 21 May 1990) is a South African soccer player. Career Youth and college Moloto moved to the United States to play college soccer at Lindsey Wilson College in 2009. Moloto was offered a scholarship after his coach at ...

. However, Swanson was forced to undergo

surgery in late July, ruling him out for the season. He ended the season having made five appearances over two stints with the Riverhounds. On March 4, 2017 the Riverhounds announced that Swanson would be returning to the club on loan for a second consecutive season. He made his

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

debut on March 25 in the season opener against

, replacing fellow Crew SC loanee

Marshall Hollingsworth Marshall Hollingsworth (born August 6, 1993) is an American retired soccer player who played as a midfielder and fullback. After graduating from Wheaton College, he played professionally for Columbus Crew SC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and Lansi ...

in the 62nd minute of the 3–3 draw. A week later, Swanson started for the first time on the season against

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

, but was replaced by Michael Green in the 63rd minute of an eventual 1–0 defeat for the Riverhounds. Swanson also started in the third match of the season for Pittsburgh, away to

on April 8, but was forced off injured in the 13th minute after a hard foul by

Romario Williams Romario Garfield Williams (born 15 August 1994) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a forward for USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks. He is named after the legendary Brazilian footballer, Romário. Club career Y ...

. Swanson suffered an

injury that required surgery, prematurely ending his season for a second year in a row. He finished the season with just three appearances for Pittsburgh.

International career

Swanson has been called up at U18 and

U20 U20 or U-20 may refer to: Naval vessels * * , a sloop of the Royal Navy * , a submarine of the Austro-Hungarian Navy Other uses * Great truncated cuboctahedron * Meizu U20, a smartphone * Roland U-20, a synthesizer * Small nucleolar RNA SN ...

level by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was called up to the U18s for the first time in September 2013, as part of a 36-player training camp in

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

. Swanson made his first appearances for the U18s in 2014, taking part in the

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

International Tournament, International Tournament of

Václav Ježek Václav Ježek (1 October 1923, Zvolen – 27 August 1995, Prague) was the coach of the Czechoslovakia national football team when they won the 1976 European Championships. Career Chiefly remembered more as a famous coach than as a player, he be ...

, a December training camp in

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

, Spain, and captaining the side in a friendly against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in April. He continued to be called up by the U18s in 2015, earning an invite to the first camp of the year in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

in April, as well as the NTC Invitational Tournament in July. Swanson earned 15 caps for the U18s while eligible to play for the team. Swanson earned his first call-up to the U20s in August 2015, as he was selected to take part in the Stevan Vilotić-Cele Tournament. He started on his U20 debut, going 63 minutes in a 3–1 defeat to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

before being replaced by future club teammate Abuchi Obinwa. Swanson also appeared the next day against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, replacing James Murphy in the 74th minute of a 6–1 defeat for the US. Those caps were the only two appearances Swanson made for the U20s.

Career statistics

References

External links

Columbus profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, Ben 1997 births Living people People from Grove City, Ohio Sportspeople from Franklin County, Ohio American men's soccer players Soccer players from Ohio Men's association football midfielders Columbus Crew players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Homegrown Players (MLS)