Nicholas Noble (born September 1, 1984, in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

) 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. Noble is currently an assistant coach for the

West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer The West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer team is the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I soccer team of West Virginia University (WVU). Beginning with the 2012 season, the team was an affiliate member of the Mid-American Confe ...

team.

Career

College and amateur

Noble grew up in

Damascus, Maryland Damascus is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. In the early 20th century, there existed an incorporated municipality lasting a quarter century. It had a population of 17,224 as of t ...

, played soccer and attended

Georgetown Preparatory School Georgetown Preparatory School (also known as Georgetown Prep) is a Jesuit college-preparatory school in North Bethesda, Maryland for boys in ninth through twelfth grade. It has a 93-acre (380,000 square meters) campus. It is the only Jesuit board ...

from 1999 to 2003, played

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 Kingd ...

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

from 2003 to 2006, where he was a four-year starter for the Mountaineers appearing in 80 matches. He was named

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

Goalkeeper of the Year in 2006 under first-year head coach

Marlon LeBlanc Marlon LeBlanc (born October 6, 1976) is an American soccer coach who is currently head coach of Philadelphia Union II. Career Raised in East Windsor, New Jersey, LeBlanc played prep soccer at Hightstown High School before playing for the Penn S ...

. During his college years he also played with both

Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the ...

and

West Virginia Chaos West Virginia United (formerly West Virginia Chaos and West Virginia Alliance FC) is an American soccer team based in Charleston, West Virginia. Founded in 2003, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Hi ...

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 syste ...

Professional

Noble was drafted in the first round, 7th overall, by the Chicago Fire in the

2007 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft was held on January 18, 2007, following the SuperDraft (held on January 12, 2007), as teams filled out their developmental rosters. Changes from 2006 * 2007 expansion club Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (co ...

. He made his professional debut on July 1, 2008, in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

against

Cleveland City Stars The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009. The club fo ...

, but never made an MLS appearance for the Fire prior to his release on June 26, 2009. On December 13, 2009, Swedish

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

club

Ljungskile SK Ljungskile SK is a Swedish football club located in Ljungskile, a town within Uddevalla Municipality. They currently play in the Swedish third tier, Division 1. History Ljungskile SK, formed in 1926, is famous for their promotions between 19 ...

confirmed that they had signed Nick Noble. He quickly established himself as the club's top goal keeper and appeared in 59 league matches for Ljungskile. On December 22, 2011, Noble announced to his fans in Sweden that he had signed a contract to return to his home country and play for 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 play ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. On February 29, 2012, Noble was waived so the Galaxy could sign

Bill Gaudette William Gaudette (born September 14, 1981 in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania) is a retired American-born Puerto Rican footballer who played for several MLS teams and the Puerto Rican national team. Gaudette commenced his soccer career at Lower Dau ...

. Noble signed with

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

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer ...

in April, 2012. After the 2012 season he was nominated for the USL Goalkeeper of the Year award and his coach

Bill Becher Bill Becher (born 15 February 1965) is a former American soccer player and head coach. Player Youth Born in West Virginia, Becher grew up in St. Louis. He began his collegiate career at Lewis and Clark Community College. He then transferred to ...

called him one of the best goalkeepers that the club has ever had. The following year he was one of the top performing goalkeepers of the

2013 USL Pro season The 2013 USL Pro season was the 27th season of third-division soccer in the United States, and is the third season of the United Soccer Leagues' (USL) PRO professional competition. The number of teams increased from eleven to thirteen with Phoeni ...

and was selected for the All League Second Team. On November 29, 2017, the City Islanders announced Noble's retirement.

Coaching

Noble returned to his alma mater

in 2018, joining the men's soccer coaching staff.

References

External links

Austin Aztex bio

West Virginia coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noble, Nick 1984 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer players IMG Academy Bradenton players West Virginia United players Chicago Fire FC players Austin Aztex FC players Ljungskile SK players Penn FC players Men's association football goalkeepers Expatriate footballers in Sweden Chicago Fire FC draft picks USL League Two players USL First Division players Superettan players USL Championship players Soccer players from West Virginia People from Damascus, Maryland All-American college men's soccer players Harrisburg Heat (MASL) players Major Arena Soccer League players Sportspeople from Montgomery County, Maryland West Virginia Mountaineers men's soccer coaches