David Stokes (born May 28, 1982,

Dumfries, Virginia Dumfries, officially the Town of Dumfries, is a town in Prince William County, Virginia. The population was 4,961 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Dumfries is located at (38.567853, −77.324591). According to the United States ...

) is an American former professional soccer player, who last played three seasons in Major League Soccer and two in the

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 ...

Early life and education

Stokes attended high school at C.D. Hylton High School in

Woodbridge, Virginia Woodbridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located south of Washington, D.C.. Bounded by the Occoquan and Potomac rivers, Woodbridge had 44,668 residents at the 2020 census. Woodbridge o ...

where he won back to back Virginia AAA state championships. His high school team received a #1 national ranking in 1998. Stokes played club soccer for the Braddock Road Youth Club, where he won three Virginia State Cups and a USYSA National Championship in 1999. Stokes also won an indoor National Championship with Braddock Road. Stokes then played three years of

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 ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

from 2000 to 2002. As a sophomore, Stokes was named Defensive MVP of the College Cup as he helped UNC to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

Club career

Professional

After finishing his junior season, Stokes signed a Project-40 contract with MLS. Hailed as the second-coming of

Eddie Pope George Edward Pope (born December 24, 1973) is an American former soccer player who last played for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and spent eleven years as a defender for the United States national team. He spent most of his career pla ...

, Stokes was selected 5th overall in the

2003 MLS SuperDraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 Generat ...

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Although Stokes' athleticism was clear, he did not receive the opportunity to play in regular season action during his rookie year. He did appear in U.S. Open Cup games for United, friendly matches (including a win against Blackburn Rovers) and made appearances on loan with the

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due ...

. After

Ray Hudson Raymond Wilfred Hudson (born 24 March 1955) is an English former professional football player and manager who currently works as a radio host for SiriusXM FC 157. He started playing professionally at 17, in 1973, with Newcastle United. Fans nic ...

was released, many expected Stokes to play a larger role in

Peter Nowak Piotr "Peter" Nowak (; born 5 July 1964) is a Polish professional football manager and former player. He was most recently in charge of Ekstraklasa club Jagiellonia Białystok. Nowak played in Europe for Polish clubs such as Zawisza Bydgoszcz ...

's team. Stokes had a promising beginning to the 2005 season in which he saw action in the CONCACAF champions cup and began the MLS regular season in the starting eleven. A concussion sidelined Stokes in the early part of his campaign. After recovering from this, he had another setback after he suffered a harsh tackle resulting in cartilage damage in his left ankle. The injury required surgery and ended Stokes' '05 season. Stokes worked hard to recover earlier than expected and arrived fit to play in the '06 preseason, but 2 quadriceps tears sidelined Stokes once again until the late summer. Stokes worked his way back into the first team after reserve team appearances but did not receive much playing time in his last season with DC. After his tenure with DC, Stokes overcame his injuries and signed with the Carolina Railhawks. He was able to return to school and continue to play as well. Stokes helped Carolina to back to back Southern Derby Cup championships and plans on graduating from UNC in the summer of 2009.

International

Stokes played for the

United States under-23 men's national soccer team The United States U-23 men's national soccer team, also known as the United States men's Olympic soccer team, is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is qualification into and competition at the quadri ...

in the qualification rounds, notching the game winning assist in the group phase play vs. Honduras which locked the team into first place going into the semi-final. This talented group failed to qualify, however, after losing to Mexico in Mexico in front of their crowd of 60,000+.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, David 1982 births Living people American men's soccer players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players North Carolina FC players D.C. United players USL First Division players Virginia Beach Mariners players North Carolina FC U23 players People from Dumfries, Virginia Sportspeople from Prince William County, Virginia USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Virginia United States men's under-23 international soccer players D.C. United draft picks Men's association football defenders