Eddie Gaven (born October 25, 1986) is an American former soccer player who played 11 seasons in Major League Soccer, primarily with 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 ...

. In July 2012, Gaven became the youngest player to play in 250 MLS matches at 25 years and 257 days old.

Youth

Gaven was born in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, and attended

Steinert High School Steinert High School (also formally known as Hamilton High School East) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of three secondary high schools that are part of the Hamilton Townsh ...

. He did not play

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 ...

; instead, Gaven spent two years training with other young Americans at the USSF's Bradenton Academy.

Career

Professional

Gaven became (at the time, since passed by

Freddy Adu Fredua Koranteng Adu (born June 2, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who played as an attacking midfielder. The last club he played for was Ettan Fotboll club Österlen FF. From before the time of his signing with D.C. United at ...

) the youngest player to sign with MLS. At the age of 16 years and two months, Gaven was drafted by the MetroStars with the twelfth overall pick 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 ...

. He became the youngest player in team history on his debut on June 14, 2003 against

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and became the youngest player in team history to score a goal, which he did in just his second game, against

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 ...

on July 5. With the game tied at two, Metro coach

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of Toronto FC. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton University, Bradley coached in the American college game and Maj ...

used a loophole in MLS's substitution rules, which allowed a fourth substitution in a game but only for a goalkeeper. Bradley first exchanged the playing positions of Metro goalie Tim Howard and midfielder Mark Lisi, then substituted Gaven into goal for Lisi as the fourth "goalkeeper only" sub. After only 10 seconds of play, the ball went out of play and Gaven and Howard switched places, with Gaven moving to midfield and Howard back into goal. Gaven then went on to score the game-winner in overtime. In the process, Gaven became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history. The goalkeeper fourth-substitution rule was eliminated after the season, largely due to the outcry following Gaven's goal. After becoming an automatic starter and coming into his own with the MetroStars in 2004, Gaven became the youngest player ever voted in to start the

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star ...

, finished the MLS season with seven goals and seven assists, and became the youngest player in league history to be named to the

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 ...

. Gaven ended the 2005 MLS season with eight goals and four assists. Just before the 2006 season, Gaven was traded to

along with the rights to defender

Chris Leitch Chris Leitch (born April 1, 1979 in Pickerington, Ohio) is a retired American soccer player who is currently the general manager and a former head coach for the San Jose Earthquakes. Career College Leitch played college soccer at the Univer ...

for striker

Edson Buddle Edson Michael Buddle (born May 21, 1981) is an American retired Footballer who is currently the head coach of USL League Two side Westchester Flames. He is one of only 11 players to have scored 100 goals in Major League Soccer history. Buddle ...

. With the Crew, Gaven played nearly every game in 2006, scoring four goals. In 2007, he appeared in 27 games for Columbus scoring five goals and tallying seven assists. Gaven's 2008 season resulted in lower output, three goals and two assists, due in part to starting the season injured. In the Eastern Conference Championship game, Gaven propelled the Crew into their first MLS Cup Final with a game-winning goal; the Crew went on to win the Final. Gaven-burch

During the 2010 MLS season in a game against the Philadelphia Union, Gaven was forced to play in goal for the second time in his MLS career after goalkeeper William Hesmer went out of the game with a shoulder injury. The Crew had used all three substitutions prior to Hesmer's injury. Gaven was scored on by Sebastian LeToux during the final minutes of the game, but made two saves to help the Crew win the game 3–1. Gaven would go on to win MLS Save of the Week honors for one of the saves. Gaven signed a contract extension for two years plus option years with Columbus on November 14, 2011. Gaven missed most of the 2013 season after an injury suffered during a

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

match. He retired following the 2013 season.

International

Gaven played every minute for the

U.S. 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 ...

in the 2003 Under-17 World Championship in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. He then became the youngest player (17 years 104 days) in

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch language, Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CON ...

history to appear in an Olympic qualifier when he played for the U.S. Under-23 team in a 2–0 victory over Canada on February 5, 2004. He then became the fourth youngest player in US history to get his a senior cap, doing so in a 1–1 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 populou ...

on July 11, 2004. In 2005, after continuing his solid play with the MetroStars, Gaven was part of the U.S. Under-20 team at the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Wor ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Coaching

Following his retirement from soccer in 2013, he moved to Ave Maria University as Head Men's Soccer Coach in March 2016.

Personal

Gaven is a devout Catholic.

Career statistics

Honors

;Columbus Crew *

: 2004 * Major League Soccer MLS Cup:

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; ...

* Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield:

, 2009

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaven, Eddie 1986 births 2007 Copa América players American soccer players Columbus Crew players Living people New York Red Bulls players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Soccer players from New Jersey Sportspeople from Mercer County, New Jersey Steinert High School alumni United States men's international soccer players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players New York Red Bulls draft picks Association football midfielders Catholics from New Jersey