Chris Wingert (born June 16, 1982) is an American professional soccer player for

New York Cosmos B New York Cosmos B were an American soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that played in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system, as the reserve team of New York Cosmos. History ...

in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the Uni ...

. He spent fourteen seasons of his professional career in Major League Soccer (MLS) with the Columbus Crew (2004–2005), Colorado Rapids (2006–2007), Real Salt Lake (2007–2014, 2016–2017) and New York City FC (2015–2016). He was a starting defender with Real Salt Lake's

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

Championship team in 2009.

Career

College

Wingert attended

St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School , motto_translation = In Faith and in Gentleness , address = 1170 Montauk Highway , city = West Islip , county = ( Suffolk County) , state = New York , zipcod ...

and 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 K ...

for St. John's University, where he was the 2003 Hermann Trophy winner as that year's best collegiate player. During his college years Wingert also played with the

Brooklyn Knights Brooklyn Knights were an American soccer club based in New York City. Founded in 1999, the Knights currently field youth teams in the United Soccer Leagues Super-20 League and Super Y-League. The team also previously field a team in the USL Pr ...

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 syst ...

Professional

The

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 ...

drafted Wingert in the second round (twelfth overall) in the

2004 MLS SuperDraft The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in Am ...

. Despite his collegiate success, MLS teams were skeptical about his ability to adapt to the faster and more physical professional game. Nevertheless, Wingert managed to earn a spot on a very good Crew team and was a versatile member of the squad for two years. While in Columbus, he played as both a defender and a defensive midfielder. On January 20, 2006, the Crew traded Wingert to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

for a fourth-round pick in 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 Suppl ...

. On July 13, 2007,

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

acquired Wingert from Colorado for a first-round pick in the

2008 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft was held on January 24, 2008, six days after the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, as teams filled out their developmental rosters. Changes from 2007 * 2008 expansion club San Jose Earthquakes received the first pick in each ro ...

and a second-round pick in the 2009 supplemental draft. After eight years with Salt Lake, Wingert was selected in the tenth round of the

2014 MLS Expansion Draft The 2014 MLS Expansion Draft was a draft for the Major League Soccer expansion teams New York City FC and Orlando City SC that took place between November 19 and December 10, 2014. The first two rounds of the draft (which were known as the 2014 M ...

by expansion club

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned b ...

. The club also selected fellow Salt Lake teammate Ned Grabavoy. Wingert was waived by New York City on January 30, 2016. Three days later, on February 2, he was claimed off of waivers by

, starting his second stint with the club. He announced his retirement as a professional soccer player on February 19, 2018.

International

Wingert made his first international appearance for 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 territori ...

against Sweden on January 24, 2009.

Personal

Wingert is the son of Norm Wingert who played for the

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors wer ...

in the North American Soccer League.

Honors

Real Salt Lake

* Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2009 * Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Championship (1): 2009 * Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wingert, Chris 1982 births Living people American men's soccer players St. John's Red Storm men's soccer players Brooklyn Knights players Columbus Crew players Colorado Rapids players Real Salt Lake players New York City FC players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from New York (state) Columbus Crew draft picks United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Men's association football defenders Hermann Trophy men's winners All-American college men's soccer players St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School alumni