Christopher Wheeler Tierney (born January 9, 1986) 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. He spent his entire 11-year career in

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 ...

with 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 ...

, primarily as a defender. Tierney scored 13 goals, including one at

MLS Cup 2014 MLS Cup 2014 was the 19th edition of the MLS Cup, the match that determined the champion of Major League Soccer's 2014 season. It is also the last MLS Cup to be held before the league's rebranding in 2015. The Western Conference Champions LA G ...

, and contributed 40 assists in 245 appearances.

Career

College

After playing high school soccer at the

Noble and Greenough School The Noble and Greenough School, commonly known as Nobles, is a coeducational, nonsectarian day and five-day boarding school for students in grades seven through twelve. It is near Boston on a campus that borders the Charles River in Dedham, Massa ...

Dedham, Massachusetts Dedham ( ) is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,364 at the 2020 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest b ...

, Tierney 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 ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, appearing in 79 games with the Cavaliers, starting 38, and scoring 11 goals and adding 16 assists in his four-year career. As a senior, he scored a career-high seven goals, and assisted on seven more, helping his team to advance to the NCAA College Cup in 2006 for the first time since 1997. Tierney also played club soccer in the Boston Bolts youth program, under New England assistant coach

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English football player and coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley. He became a professional player in 1973 with Plymouth Argyle, where he scored ...

Professional

Tierney was drafted in the first round (13th overall) in the 2008

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 ...

. He made his full professional debut for Revolution on July 1, 2008, registering two assists in a

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 ...

third-round game against

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 ...

. He also played in the final of the 2008 SuperLiga, in which Revolution beat

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

on penalty kicks after a 2–2 tie; Tierney scored one of the shootout goals. Tierney became a regular starter for the Revolution during the 2010 season, starting in a variety of positions across the Revs' midfield and back line, including left back, center-back, right back, left midfielder, center defensive midfielder, center midfielder, and center attacking midfielder. He scored his first professional goal on September 4, 2010 in a match against 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 ...

. The goal tied the game at 1, and New England went on to win 3–1. He scored the goal to tie it 1–1 in the 2014 MLS Cup Final. Tierney is known for his accurate and fast crosses, whipped in from the left. Tierney was named the Midnight Riders Man of the Year for the 2016 season. He missed most of the 2018 season due to an

ACL injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

. On November 15, 2018, Tierney announced his decision to retire from playing professional soccer. He had appeared in 273 total matches for the Revolution, scoring 13 goals and earning 40 assists.

Honors

New England Revolution *

North American SuperLiga The SuperLiga was an official North American association football competition between teams from the Liga MX of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada, the top divisions in each country. The competition was sanctioned by CON ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

* Midnight Riders Man of the Year:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tierney, Chris 1986 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Association football utility players Major League Soccer All-Stars Major League Soccer players New England Revolution draft picks New England Revolution players Noble and Greenough School alumni People from Wellesley, Massachusetts Soccer players from Massachusetts Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players