Shaun Francis (born 2 October 1986) is a Jamaican

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 ...

who last played for

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

in 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, p ...

Early life

Personal

Francis was born in

Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population w ...

to Joy and Carlton Francis. He attended Glenmuir High School where he played soccer. While at Glenmuir he was an All-Island, Ben Francis Cup, and Dá Costa Cup Champion, as well as a member of an All-Conference Team.

College and Youth

Francis played three years of

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 K ...

at Lindsey Wilson College between 2007 and 2009 entering as a Sophomore. As a Sophomore he appeared in 21 matches and scored his first collegiate goal on 29 October against

Campbellsville University Campbellsville University (CU) is a private Christian university in Campbellsville, Kentucky. It was founded as Russell Creek Academy and enrolls more than 12,000 students. The university offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. In 2 ...

. His only goal of the season. As a

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

he appeared in 18 matches and scored three goals. Prior to his Senior season Francis was named a team captain and appeared in 22 matches once again scoring three goals. Lindsey Wilson and Francis went on to win the 2009

NAIA Men's Soccer Championship The NAIA Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament to determine the national champions of NAIA men's collegiate soccer in the United States and Canada. It has been held annually since 1959. The most successful program is Quincy (IL), w ...

with Francis being named to the All- Mid South first team. During his college years Francis also played with both the

Indiana Invaders The Indiana Invaders was an American soccer team based in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1998, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Divisi ...

and the

Thunder Bay Chill Thunder Bay Chill Soccer Club is a Canadian soccer team based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 2000, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Chapples Park S ...

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 ...

. In 2008 he made two appearances with the

going goalless. In 2009 he made twelve appearances with the

while scoring three goals as Thunder Bay finished second in the Heartland division.

Club career

Columbus Crew

2010 season

Needing a left footed defender 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 ...

selected Francis in the fourth round (63rd overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft. Trading Stefani Miglioranzi to the LA Galaxy to acquire the pick used to select him. He was signed by the Crew in March to fill one of the club's four developmental roster spots, but slowed by an ankle injury would not make his professional debut until 7 July in a U.S. Open Cup match against Charleston. He would make his MLS league debut ten days later against

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 17 July and went on to appear in 12 of Columbus' 30 matches as Columbus finished second in the Eastern Conference. He also appeared in both of Columbus'

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

matches and three of four U.S. Open Cup. Including the Open Cup Final against

Seattle 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 regio ...

. A match Columbus lost 2–1. Francis also made his debut in International Club competition when he appeared in all six of Columbus' matches in the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage. He would go goalless across all competitions.

2011 season

Francis remained with Columbus for the 2011 season and made his season debut on 4 June against the

. He went on to appear in 6 of Columbus' league matches but did not appear in any other competition.

2012 season

Francis began the 2012 season with Columbus and made his season debut on 10 March against

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. He would appear in ten of Columbus' league matches as well as one match in the U.S. Open Cup before being waived in June 2017 due to roster constraints. He would not sign with another team in 2012. Quakes_francis_20

Charlotte Eagles

Francis 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 ...

side

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

on 27 March for the 2013 season. He made his USL Pro debut on 13 April against Antigua and scored his first professional goal on 5 May against Richmond. He appeared in twelve of Charlotte's first fifteen matches scoring three goals with two assists as well as appearing in one U.S. Open Cup match.

Chicago Fire

On 10 July Francis signed with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer for the remainder of the 2013 season. He would make only appearance with Chicago's first team; a 1–3 defeat against

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

San Jose Earthquakes

2014 season

At the conclusion of 2013, Chicago declined its contract option on Francis and he entered the

2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 12, 2013 (Stage 1) and December 18, 2013 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the ...

. Francis was selected in stage two of the draft by San Jose Earthquakes and he signed with the club in January. He would make his San Jose debut in the season opener against

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 2 ...

and appeared in 20 of San Jose's 34 league matches as San Jose finished last in the Western Conference. He appeared in the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time since 2010 when he appeared in the second leg against

Deportivo Toluca F.C. Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega ...

in the

championship stage In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. A match that San Jose would lose on penalties. He also appeared in both of San Jose's U.S. Open Cup matches and went goalless across all competitions.

2015 season

Francis remained with San Jose for the 2015 season and made his season debut on 7 March in the season opener 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 ...

. He appeared in 23 of San Jose's 34 league matches without scoring a goal as San Jose finished seventh in the Western Conference; missing the

playoffs. Francis also appeared in both of San Jose's U.S. Open Cup matches. Although he didn't score in regulation time during either of the U.S. Open Cup he did convert the final shot of the

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 pe ...

against Sacramento Republic FC of the

USL 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, p ...

2016 season

Francis remained with San Jose for the 2016 season and made his season debut on 6 March in the season opener against

. He appeared in 18 of San Jose's 34 league matches without scoring a goal as San Jose finished ninth in the Western Conference; missing the

playoffs.

2017 season

Francis began the 2017 season with San Jose, made his season debut on 4 March in the season opener against

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, and appeared in San Jose's first eight games. On 13 July while with the Jamaica national team he was traded to the Montreal Impact for general allocation money.

Montreal Impact

On 13 July, Francis was traded to the Montreal Impact of

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 ...

where he finished the remainder of the 2017 season. He made his Montreal debut on 5 August against

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

and appeared in six of Montreal's last fourteen league matches without scoring.

Louisville City

The Impact opted not to re-sign Francis following the 2017 season and on 9 March he signed with

side

. He made his Louisville debut on 17 March against Nashville and appeared in 17 of Louisville's 34 league matches. He also made his first appearance in the U.S. Open Cup since 2015 when he came on as a substitute against both Nashville and the Chicago Fire. Helping Louisville reach the quarter finals of the U.S. Open Cup for the first in its history. Although he did not make an appearance in the

USL Cup The USL Championship Final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports lea ...

playoffs he was named to the match squad for all four of Louisville's matches as Francis and Louisville won the USL Cup Final.

International

Francis earned his first cap for Jamaica national team squad during a friendly game against

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of Gr ...

on 10 October 2010. Francis scored his first senior national team goal in a 2–0 victory over Guadeloupe in the

2010 Caribbean Championship The 2010 Caribbean Cup (also known as Digicel Caribbean Cup 2010 for sponsorship reasons) was the 2010 edition of the Caribbean Cup, Caribbean Championship, an international association football, football championship for national teams affiliat ...

on 29 November 2010.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Jamaica's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

Columbus Crew SC 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 ...

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

Runners-up (1): 2010

(1):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

International

Jamaica *

Caribbean Cup The Caribbean Cup was the championship tournament for national association football teams that are members of the Caribbean Football Union. The first competition, established by Shell and run by former England Cricket fast bowler Fred Rumsey, wa ...

: 2010 *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Runner-up:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

References

External links

*
Lindsey Wilson bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Shaun 1986 births Living people People from Mandeville, Jamaica Men's association football defenders Jamaican footballers Jamaican expatriate footballers Jamaica men's international footballers Indiana Invaders players Thunder Bay Chill players Columbus Crew players Charlotte Eagles players Chicago Fire FC players San Jose Earthquakes players CF Montréal players Louisville City FC players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Expatriate soccer players in Canada USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Columbus Crew draft picks Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders men's soccer players Sporting Central Academy F.C. players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players