Patrick Edward Joseph Ianni (born June 15, 1985) 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 ...

defender. He played 9 seasons in

MLS 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 ...

for the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

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 ...

, and Chicago Fire.

Career

College and amateur

Ianni played high school soccer for four years at Lodi High School, where he was a two time

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

All-American and a 2002-03 McDonald's All-American. Ianni 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 ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

for three seasons. Following his sophomore season, he was named 2004 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year along with

C. J. Klaas C.J. Klaas (born August 23, 1983 in Rockford, Illinois) is an American soccer player who played for U.S. at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and spent two seasons with the Seattle Sounders (1994–2008), Seattle Sounders in the USL First Div ...

. He was a semifinalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

Award after his junior season. Ianni was a 1st-team All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

for 2004 and 2005 and was

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...

2nd-team All-American in 2005. He also played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

with the

Southern California Seahorses Southern California Seahorses are an American soccer team based in La Mirada, California. Founded in 2001, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the camp ...

Professional

Houston Dynamo

On January 20, 2006, Ianni was selected with the 8th overall pick by the

in the

2006 MLS SuperDraft The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroStars for the fift ...

. He made his Dynamo and

debut on June 17, 2006, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win over

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

. Ianni made 4 total appearances, 2 in the MLS regular season and 2 in the

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 ...

. The Dynamo would win

MLS Cup 2006 MLS Cup 2006 was the 11th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), and took place on November 12, 2006. It was contested between the New England Revolution and the Houston Dynamo to decide the champion of th ...

, but Ianni did not appear in the playoffs. Patrick Ianni in 2008

In May 2007, Ianni was loaned to the

California Victory The California Victory was a USL First Division professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California. It was an expansion team for the 2007 season, but ceased operation in September of that year after parent club Deportivo Alavés withdre ...

of 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 b ...

, but he was recalled to Houston after making 2 appearances for the Victory. He made his first appearance of the season for the Dynamo on June 7, coming off the bench in a 2–1 victory against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, la ...

. On June 24, Ianni made his first career MLS start and scored his first career goal in the 81st minute, giving Houston a 1–0 win over the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

. Ianni made his debut in a continental competition on July 25, getting the start in a 1–0 victory over

Club América Club de Fútbol América S.A. de C.V., commonly known as Club América or simply América, is a professional football club based in Mexico City. Nicknamed ''Las Águilas'' (The Eagles), it competes in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football ...

in the

North American SuperLiga The SuperLiga was an official North American association football competition between teams from the Liga MX of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada, the top divisions in each country. The competition was sanctioned by CON ...

. On August 14, Ianni picked up his first career red card in the SuperLiga semifinals against

Pachuca Pachuca (; ote, Nju̱nthe), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of whic ...

, a match Houston would lose 4–3 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. Ianni ended the season with 1 goal from 16 regular season appearances, helping the Dynamo finish 2nd in the Western Conference. Houston would go on to win

MLS Cup 2007 MLS Cup 2007 was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup, the post-season championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. It was played on November 18, 2007, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., between the ...

, but Ianni did not appear in the playoffs. During the 2008 season, Ianni made 17 appearances in the MLS regular season and had 1 assist, helping Houston finish top of the Western Conference. He did not play in Houston's two playoff games. In continental play, Ianni made 2 appearances in the

2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup The 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 43rd edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It was the final edition und ...

, helping the Dynamo reach the semifinal, where they lost to

Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

3–0 on aggregate, and five appearances in

2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League The 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League was the first edition of the CONCACAF club football championship modelled after the UEFA Champions League, replacing the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, and overall the 44th edition of the premier football club co ...

group stage, helping Houston finish 2nd in their group. He also made 3 appearances in the

2008 North American SuperLiga The 2008 North American SuperLiga was the second edition of the SuperLiga competition. The top four Major League Soccer and Liga MX teams by point totals at the end of the season earned qualification. All games of the tournament were broadcast liv ...

, helping the Dynamo reach the final, where they lost 6–5 to the New England Revolution in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

Seattle Sounders FC

On January 26, 2009, Houston traded Ianni to the

in exchange for a conditional pick in the

2010 MLS SuperDraft 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. He made his Sounders debut on May 16, 2009, a 1–1 draw with

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

. On July 11 Ianni scored his first goal for the Sounders off a

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick, scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before d ...

to give Seattle a 2–1 win against his former club

. The goal was named the MLS Goal of the Week and was nominated for the 2009 MLS Goal of the Year. He ended the regular season with 1 goal and 2 assists in 17 appearances, helping the Sounders finish 3rd in the Western Conference and qualify for the playoffs. Ianni made 1 appearance in the playoffs as Seattle lost to Houston 1–0 on aggregate in the first round. He also made 5 appearances in the

, including a start in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, a 2–1 victory over

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

During the 2010 season, Ianni made 25 MLS regular season appearances, a career high, as the Sounders finished 4th in the Western Conference and qualified for the playoffs. He appeared in both legs of their matchup with 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 ...

, but Seattle lost 3–1 on aggregate. Ianni made 3 appearances during the Sounders run in the 2010 Open Cup. He started the

as Seattle beat 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 ...

2–1 to win back to back Open Cup titles. He also made 2 appearances in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

. After being on the bench for the first two games, Ianni made his first appearance of the 2011 on March 25, getting the start in a 1–1 draw with Houston. He scored his first goal of the season on May 28 in a 2–1 win for Seattle against

. Ianni ended the regular season with 1 goal from 16 appearances, helping the Sounders finish 2nd in the conference and qualify for the playoffs. However, Ianni did not feature in either of Seattle's two playoff games. He made 1 appearance in the 2011 Open Cup, a 3–1 win over the Galaxy in the quarterfinals, as the Sounders won their third straight Open Cup title. Ianni also played 5 times in the Champions League, once in the

preliminary round A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

and 4 times in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

, helping Seattle finish 2nd in their group. On June 20, 2012, Ianni scored to help Seattle to a 1–1 draw with

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

. His acrobatic volley was named the MLS Goal of the Week and later was voted the

MLS Goal of the Year 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 Canad ...

. Ianni made 16 appearances and scored 1 goal in the MLS regular season, helping the Sounders finish 3rd in the Western Conference. He did not appear in any of Seattle's 4 playoff games. Ianni made 3 appearances in the 2012 Open Cup, helping the Sounders become the third team to reach four consecutive Open Cup finals and the first since 1937. In the

, Ianni got the start and played 118 minutes before being sent off for his second yellow card. Sporting Kansas City would go on to win the match 3–2 on

. He also made 2 appearances in the 2012–13 CCL group stage, helping Seattle finish top of their group. In January 2013, Ianni broke his foot during preseason fitness testing. He made his first appearance of the season on July 28, getting the start in a 1–1 draw with

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

. Ianni made 9 appearances during the regular season as the Sounders finished 4th in the conference and qualified for the playoffs. Ianni did not make an appearance for Seattle in the playoffs.

Chicago Fire

On January 15, 2014, Ianni was traded to the Chicago Fire along with teammate

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado Jhon Kennedy Hurtado Valencia (born May 16, 1984) is a Colombian footballer who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer. Career Professional Hurtado began his career in the youth ranks of Deportivo Cali. In 2004, he began his profess ...

and the 13th overall pick in the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center ...

in exchange for

Jalil Anibaba Jalil Anibaba (; born October 19, 1988) is an American former professional soccer player who last played in Major League Soccer for Columbus Crew. He is currently a club ambassador for Nashville SC. Career College and amateur Anibaba grew up i ...

, the 8th overall selection in the 2014 SuperDraft, and a conditional third-round pick in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...

. He made his Fire debut on March 16, coming off the bench in a 1–1 draw with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

. Ianni made 12 league appearances and 2 in the Open Cup as Chicago finished 9th in the Eastern Conference, missing out on the playoffs. On November 18, 2014, Chicago declined his contract option for the 2015 season. Ianni announced his retirement from professional soccer on January 12, 2015.

Orange County FC

He came out of retirement in 2018 to play for semi-professional NPSL side

Orange County FC Orange County FC is an American soccer club based in Lake Forest, California that currently plays in the United Premier Soccer League. They previously played in the National Premier Soccer League and SoCal Premier League. The club's colors are ...

International

Ianni was a member of the U.S. U-20 national team at the

2005 FIFA World Youth Championship The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship was the 15th edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It took place in the Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. Venues Qualification The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA Worl ...

in the Netherlands, and the U.S. U-23 national team at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing.

Personal life

Ianni was born and raised in

Lodi, California Lodi ( ) is a city located in San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County, California, in the center portion of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cen ...

. He attended Lodi High School and

, where he majored in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. Ianni is the brother of retired soccer player Tayt Ianni, who won an

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

, played for the San Jose Clash in

, and earned a cap for the U.S. national team.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Club

;Houston Dynamo *

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 ...

MLS Cup (2):

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

;Seattle Sounders FC *

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 ...

(3):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Individual

MLS Goal of the Year Award 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 ...

(1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ianni, Patrick 1985 births Living people American soccer players American people of Italian descent Soccer players from California Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Southern California Seahorses players Houston Dynamo FC players California Victory players Seattle Sounders FC players Chicago Fire FC players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players of the United States People from Lodi, California Houston Dynamo FC draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL First Division players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Association football defenders National Premier Soccer League players