Jerrod Laventure (born January 15, 1983) is an American-born Haitian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

currently playing for

Jersey Express The Jersey Express is a team in the American Basketball Association based in Paterson, New Jersey. The team was formed in 2005 as the Newark Express. Marsha Blount is the owner of the team. Inaugural season (2005–06) The Express ended the r ...

in the

USL Premier Development League 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 ...

Career

College

Laventure played college soccer at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...

, where in four seasons he scored 14 goals and assisted on 12. He was named to the Big East first team after recording eight goals and six assists in 2004. After his senior season he was invited to the 2005 MLS Player Combine which led to him joining the MetroStars reserve team.

Professional

Laventure signed a developmental contract with the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

on April 12, 2006. He made his MLS debut July 8, 2006 as a substitute in a game against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

, and scored his first professional goal on July 19, 2006 - a spectacular 30-yard chip over

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 ...

goalkeeper Noah Palmer which won him the Goal of the Week Award. Laventure started his first game for the Red Bulls against the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

of the

USL Second Division 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 the U.S. Open Cup. Laventure was released by the Red Bulls on March 17, 2008, and subsequently joined

Newark Ironbound Express Jersey Express was an American soccer team based in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey, Springfield, New Jersey. Founded in 2007, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, ...

in the

for the 2008 PDL season. Laventure scored 9 goals in 13 games in his first season for Ironbound, helping the team reach the post-season playoffs at the first attempt.

International

In 2007, Laventure was called up to the Haitian national team, but did not play for the country.Jerrod Laventure interview
/ref> In 2008, he was called up again, and started two matches against El Salvador in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Personal

In November 2006 he, along with his then-

team mates

Seth Stammler Seth Stammler (born September 29, 1981 in Columbus, Ohio) is a retired American soccer player. Career College Stammler attended Gahanna Middle School East and Gahanna Lincoln High School, and played four years of college soccer at the Univer ...

and

Jozy Altidore Josmer Volmy "Jozy" Altidore ( ; born November 6, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club New England Revolution. Altidore made his professional debut in 2006, at the age of 16, with ...

, accompanied Haitian-born Grammy Award winning musician

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

on a six-day service trip to Haiti for Jean's charitable organization, Yéle Haiti.

References

External links

Player profile
- MLSnet
Player profile
- MetroFanatic 1983 births Living people Haitian men's footballers Haiti men's international footballers American sportspeople of Haitian descent American men's soccer players Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer players New York Red Bulls players Jersey Express S.C. players Major League Soccer players USL League Two players Men's association football forwards {{Haiti-footy-bio-stub