Conor Patrick Casey (born July 25, 1981) is an American former

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 played for 16 seasons, finishing his career with

Columbus Crew SC 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 ...

, before turning to coaching with his former club

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, la ...

Playing career

Youth and college

Casey was born in New Hampshire, but moved to Colorado at age five, and considers

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

his hometown. He played soccer at Denver's South High School and went on to play two years of college soccer for the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

from 1999 to 2000. In his first year at the University of Portland, Casey was named best player of the year. In 2000, he led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in scoring with twenty-three goals and seven assists.

Professional

After playing well in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Casey signed a four-year contract with German club

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

. After finishing a year of playing with the club, Casey was loaned out in the 2001–02 season to

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

, where he scored seven goals in nineteen games. The subsequent year, Casey stayed with Dortmund, but only saw action in four games, scoring one goal. In 2003–04, he was again loaned to a second division club,

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the D ...

, scoring fourteen goals in thirty games. In 2004, Casey signed with Bundesliga club

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

, but scored only two goals and struggled with injuries during two-and-a-half seasons with the club. After being released by Mainz, Casey returned to America and signed with

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 ...

. Casey was originally allocated to

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 ...

and after 2 games with 0 goals and 0 assists, he was traded to his hometown club,

, on April 19, 2007, in exchange for

Riley O'Neill Riley O'Neill (born September 9, 1985) is a Canadian soccer coach and former player who serves as an assistant coach for Pacific FC. Club career On January 18, 2007 O'Neill was drafted by Colorado Rapids in the third round (36th overall) of th ...

and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. He played 15 games with the Rapids in 2007, scoring 2 goals and 3 assists. In 2008, he scored 11 goals and 2 assists in 21 games. Casey ended the 2009 MLS season, with 16 goals, just one less than leader

Jeff Cunningham Jeff Cunningham (born August 21, 1976) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He is Major League Soccer's third-all-time leader in regular-season goals scored with 134. Youth and college Cunningham was born ...

to go along with 1 assist in 24 games. He was named in the MLS Best XI in 2009. In 2010, Casey became the All Time goal scorer for the Colorado Rapids as he scored 13 goals and 6 assists in 27 games. Likewise in 2010, Casey was selected as the MVP for the 2010 MLS Cup championship though the representative of the award sponsor announced "Casey Conor" when awarding it. In 2011, Casey suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury in a July 16 game against the

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 ...

as he finished that season with 6 goals and 1 assist in 14 games. In 2012, Casey scored 2 goals and 3 assists in 18 games. On November 16, 2012, Casey was released by the

. On December 14, 2012, Casey was selected by

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 ...

in the first round of the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft, Stage 2. On January 23, 2015, it was announced that Casey had signed a new contract with the club for the 2015 season. After three seasons in Philadelphia, Casey signed with

on January 26, 2016.

International

Casey played at the 2001 World Youth Championship in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and then graduated to the senior United States national team, getting his first cap on March 31, 2004, against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. On July 7, 2005, Casey suffered a tear to his ACL while playing against Cuba in the U.S.'s opening game of the Gold Cup. He served as a late sub 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 territorie ...

during several matches in the

2009 Confederations Cup The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009, as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Joh ...

. Casey scored twice (his first ever Senior team goals) against Honduras in a critical world cup qualifier at San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on October 10, 2009. The unanimous

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

, Casey scored the U.S.'s first two goals, and was fouled to set up the game-winning free-kick goal by Landon Donovan. The win put the United States through to the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Managerial career

On January 26, 2017, Casey was hired by

as an assistant coach. On May 1, 2019, head coach Anthony Hudson was fired and Casey was promoted to interim head coach. In December 2021, Casey was announced as the new head coach of 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 Championship 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 ...

, becoming the sixth head coach in the club's history. Charleston and Casey mutually agreed to part ways on October 12, 2022.

Career statistics

Club

''Sources:''

International

''Source:''

Managerial

Honors

Colorado Rapids *

Eastern Conference Championship:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

MLS Cup:

United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Champions:

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Individual *

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 Conference ...

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

: 2010 *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

: 2009 *

– All Time Goal Scorer: 54 *

– All Time Hat Trick: 3

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Conor Living people 1981 births American soccer players American soccer coaches Soccer players from New Hampshire People from Dover, New Hampshire Sportspeople from Strafford County, New Hampshire Association football forwards University of Portland alumni Portland Pilots men's soccer players Borussia Dortmund II players Borussia Dortmund players Hannover 96 players Karlsruher SC players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players 1. FSV Mainz 05 II players Toronto FC players Colorado Rapids players Philadelphia Union players Columbus Crew players Regionalliga players Oberliga (football) players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Olympic soccer players of the United States United States men's international soccer players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup players Major League Soccer All-Stars CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Germany American expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate soccer players in Canada American expatriate sportspeople in Canada Colorado Rapids non-playing staff Colorado Rapids coaches Major League Soccer coaches Charleston Battery coaches Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Footballers at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in football