Gabe Eastman (born March 7, 1977 in

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

defender.

Career

College

Eastman attended Modesto Junior College, where he was voted his college soccer team's MVP in 1995.

Professional

Eastman began his professional career with his hometown team, the

Stanislaus County Cruisers California Gold was an American soccer team which began playing under the Gold moniker in 2002. The club was founded in 1997 as the Stanislaus County Cruisers. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), ...

in the

USISL D3-Pro League The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer (t ...

in 1997, and was voted Rookie of the Year in his debut season. He moved to play for Nashville Metros in 1998 and was equally successful, being voted to the All A-League First Team. Eastman was drafted with the first pick of the

1999 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft took place in Fort Lauderdale on the afternoon of Sunday, February 7. The second and third rounds of the 1999 MLS College Draft had taken place earlier that morning. In this supplemental draft, a nu ...

by Los Angeles Galaxy, but only made one single MLS appearance for them, as a substitute for Robin Fraser, three minutes before the end of a game against Colorado Rapids on March 20, 1999. The Galaxy sent him on loan to both

MLS Pro 40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

and to the Orange County Zodiac. He was waived by the Galaxy at the end of the 1999 season, and was picked up by the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

in the 1999 Waiver Draft. Again, Eastman never managed to hold down a regular spot with the team, and made just two league appearances for the Earthquakes, he requested his released half way through the 2000 campaign, and it was granted in June of 2000. He rejoined his first team,

Stanislaus United Cruisers California Gold was an American soccer team which began playing under the Gold moniker in 2002. The club was founded in 1997 as the Stanislaus County Cruisers. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), ...

, and played against San Jose in a US Open Cup game in late 2000 recording 1 assist. After spending two more years in the lower leagues, including a short sting with Charleston Battery in the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

, he retired from competitive soccer in the mid-2000s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eastman, Gabe Living people 1977 births American soccer players Association football defenders LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players Nashville Metros players Orange County Blue Star players San Jose Earthquakes players Stanislaus County Cruisers players Charleston Battery players A-League (1995–2004) players Virginia Beach Mariners players MLS Pro-40 players Soccer players from California LA Galaxy draft picks