Jason Farrell (born December 31, 1970 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

) is a former U.S. soccer

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who spent four seasons in Major League Soccer, two in the American Professional Soccer League, one in the A-League, three in the National Professional Soccer League and four 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 ...

. He won two outdoor and one indoor championship and currently coaches youth soccer in the Seattle area. Farrell is currently the head coach of Ballard FC in

USL League Two 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 ...

High school and college

Farrell grew up in

, attending

Shorecrest High School Shorecrest High School is a public high school (grades 9 through 12) in Shoreline, Washington, United States, one of two high schools in the Shoreline School District. Shorecrest was founded in 1961. Its mascot is Otis the Fighting Scot and stude ...

and playing in the Seattle Youth Soccer Association. After graduating from Shorecrest in 1989, he attended Skagit Valley College for one year before transferring to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

for another year. While he played soccer at both Skagit and UW, he did not gain significant recognition until transferring to

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seat ...

. Farrell played two seasons with SPU, graduating in 1992.

Professional

Following his graduation from SPU in 1992, there is a two-year gap in his career before Farrell signed with the expansion

Seattle Sounders 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 ...

of the American Professional Soccer League in 1994. He played three seasons in Seattle, winning the 1995 and 1996 championships. Farrell scored the final goal of the 1995 A-League Championship, which would also prove to be the final goal scored in the first tier of American Soccer prior to Major League Soccer's formation and takeover of that slot the following year. In the 1996 championship, he assisted on Joey Leonetti’s first goal in a 2-0 victory over the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. In 1995, Farrell signed with the indoor

Kansas City Attack The Kansas City Attack, previously the Atlanta Attack and later known as the Kansas City Comets, were an indoor soccer team based for most of its existence in Kansas City, Missouri. In its various incarnations the franchise played in the National ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). He would play two seasons in Kansas City, alternating between them and the outdoor Sounders. In 1996, the Attack lost in the finals, but took the championship in 1997, giving Farrell his third title. While he Farrell is listed in some sources as playing the 1997-1998 season with the Attack, he is not listed in their end of year statistics. In March 1997, 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 ...

of Major League Soccer selected Farrell in the second round (13th overall) of the

1997 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 2, 1997. Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 trades References {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Mls Supplemental Draft ...

. He played eighteen games, starting ten that season. Just more than three months after being the fourth player picked by the Chicago Fire in the

1997 MLS Expansion Draft The 1997 MLS Expansion Draft was held November 6, 1997. Two teams participated, the Chicago Fire and Miami Fusion F.C., both expansion Major League Soccer clubs starting play in the 1998 season. Format Each team in the league made ten players, in ...

on November 6, 1997, he was sent back to the Crew in exchange for

Frank Klopas Fotios "Frank" Klopas ( el, Φώτιος «Φρανκ» Κλόπας; born September 1, 1966) is an American former football player who played as a forward. Following his retirement, he served as a color commentator for the Chicago Fire bef ...

on February 19, 1998. Despite playing twenty-four games in the 2000 season, the Crew released Farrell after his relationship with head coach Tom Fitzgerald became acrimonious. In January 2001, Farrell was signed by the Wichita Wings of the NPSL after his good friend Jason Dunn was lost for the season due to a neck injury. Farrell helped solidify the midfield for the Wings, and he helped lead them to the playoffs. Unfortunately after the season, the Wings' franchise folded after 22 years, and Farrell moved back to the Pacific Northwest to rejoin the Sounders. On January 30, 2001 he signed with the sounders, playing the 2001 season with them. However, on August 31, 2001, he was loaned to the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

of MLS when

Brian Ching Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years. Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th ...

was injured. Farrell remained an unused substitute during his short stint in Los Angeles. On September 14, 2004, announced Farrell intention to retire at the end of the season.

Coaching

On February 20, 2006, Farrell joined the Sounders as an assistant coach. He spent only one season in that position before leaving to become an assistant at

in April 2007, but was not on the coaching roster during the 1997 collegiate season. He has also served as an assistant coach with Seattle University and youth clubs in the Seattle area. In 2007 Farrell joined Pacific Premier F

in Northern Snohomish County as their Coaching Director. In January 2010, he was named Technical Director of the Seattle United youth soccer club, as part of a coaching leadership team that also includes ex-Seattle Sounder Jim McAlister (American soccer), Jimmy McAlister. Farrell was named first-ever head coach of

side Ballard FC on January 6, 2022.

References

External links

*
2004 Seattle Sounders Media Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Jason 1970 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Columbus Crew players Kansas City Attack players LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Seattle Pacific Falcons men's soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Washington Huskies men's soccer players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players Seattle Redhawks men's soccer coaches Soccer players from Seattle Columbus Crew draft picks Association football midfielders Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) coaches USL League Two coaches