Joshua Ford (born November 6, 1987) is a retired American

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 ...

player. He is currently an assistant coach for

Tacoma Defiance Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, is an American professional soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the national soccer pyramid, as the reserve team of Seattle Sounders ...

of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Career

College and Amateur

Ford attended the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

where he set school records with 50 shutouts, 85 consecutive starts and 54 wins during his four years. He was also named Third Team All-Big East in 2007 and 2009, First Team All-Big East in 2010, First Team College Soccer News All-American and Big East Goalkeeper of the Year. Ford spent two seasons with the

Rhode Island Stingrays Rhode Island Stingrays was an American soccer team based in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after ...

of 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 syste ...

Professional

On January 18, 2011, Ford was selected in the first round (11th overall) of the

2011 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft is a secondary draft that was held by Major League Soccer on January 18, 2011. The draft consisted of three rounds with each of the 18 MLS clubs participating. The return of the Supplemental Draft after a two-year h ...

Seattle Sounders FC 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 ...

. On March 9, Ford won the job as the number three goalkeeper for Seattle over Bryan Meredith. He was officially signed by Seattle on March 14, 2011. After not making a single appearance for the Sounders, Ford was loaned to

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

Orange County Blues FC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games a ...

. He made his professional debut on May 10, 2014 and assisted on a game-winning goal by

Gibson Bardsley Gibson Bardsley (born July 23, 1989) is an American soccer player. Career Youth and College Bardsley was born in San Clemente, California and attended Mount Si High School, and played four years of college soccer at Western Washington Univers ...

in a 1–0 away win over

Oklahoma City Energy FC Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessman ...

. In December 2014, Seattle declined Ford's contract option for 2015 and he entered the

2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2014 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 12, 2014 (Stage 1) and December 18, 2014 (Stage 2). All 20 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of finish ...

. In stage two of the draft Ford was selected by expansion side

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

. On May 29, 2015, it was announced that Ford had joined the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers on a short-term loan. Ford signed with

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

club

San Antonio FC San Antonio FC is a professional soccer club based in San Antonio, Texas. It competes in the USL Championship, the second-highest level of the United States soccer league system, as a member of the Western Conference. History San Antonio F ...

on February 12, 2016.

Personal

Ford grew up in

Liverpool, New York Liverpool is a lakeside village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. Its population was 2,347 at the 2010 census. The name was adopted from the city of Liverpool in the United Kingdom. The village is on Onondaga Lake, in the western part ...

where he helped lead his school team to two state championship finals. Ford is the younger brother of Stanley Ford who also played college soccer at UConn.

Career statistics

''Statistics accurate as of May 10, 2014''

References

External links

*
UConn Huskies bio
1987 births Living people American soccer players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Rhode Island Stingrays players Seattle Sounders FC players Orange County SC players Orlando City SC players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players San Antonio FC players Association football goalkeepers People from Liverpool, New York Soccer players from New York (state) Seattle Sounders FC draft picks USL League Two players USL Championship players North American Soccer League players Major League Soccer players Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff Liverpool High School alumni {{US-footy-goalkeeper-stub