Troy Perkins (born July 29, 1981) is an American former

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. During his career, he played for clubs in the United States, Canada, and Norway. The 2006 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year award winner earned seven caps with the United States national team.

Career

College and amateur

Perkins is a graduate of

Thomas Worthington High School Thomas Worthington High School (TWHS) is a public school in Worthington, Ohio. The school was named Worthington High School until 1991, when sister school, Worthington Kilbourne High School, opened. With approximately 1700 students, TWHS is the l ...

, in Worthington, OH, and 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 ...

at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

and the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

. He was named third-team All-Conference USA in 2001, and second-team All-CUSA in 2002. He transferred to Evansville for his senior season. At Evansville, he allowed only twenty-one goals in nineteen matches, compiling a 1.09 goals-against-average. Perkins also played in the PDL for the

Cape Cod Crusaders Cape Cod Crusaders were an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when ...

in 2002.

Professional

Upon graduating in 2003, Perkins went undrafted. However, he was signed to a

developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied t ...

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 ...

. Not expected to contribute, Perkins was given an opportunity after both

Nick Rimando Nicholas Paul Rimando (born June 17, 1979) is an American retired soccer player who last played as a goalkeeper for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer and the United States national team. He holds the Major League Soccer records for career ...

and

Doug Warren Douglas Patrick Warren (born March 18, 1981 in Palatine, Illinois) is an American former soccer goalkeeper, who last played for the New England Revolution in Major League Soccer, in 2008. He was a member of the U.S. team at the 2001 FIFA Worl ...

lost their starting positions. Perkins proved up to the task, and went on to start sixteen games for the team, posting a 1.62 goals against average. Although Perkins was performing well, the team suffered during his tenure, and he was replaced near the end of the season with Nick Rimando, who would also start for United throughout the playoffs. In early 2005 he trained with

Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

, an

English Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club and in early 2006 he trained with Everton in Liverpool. During the 2006 season, Perkins was the starting goalkeeper for United, playing thirty of thirty-two games. He was also named 2006

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkepeer of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regula ...

, Best XI, and voted to the 2006 All Star Team. Perkins finished the 2007 MLS season with a 1.10 goals against average, eight shutouts, and sixteen wins, the most in the league. On December 20, 2007 Perkins signed a five-year contract with

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for it ...

, making him the first American to sign for the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

club. On January 13, 2010, returned to D.C. United in a complicated pre-draft trade deal in which United traded midfielder

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

, its first-round 2010 MLS SuperDraft pick, its #6 spot in the MLS allocation order, and allocation money to

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

in exchange for the Union's #1 spot in the allocation order. D.C. then used the #1 allocation ranking to re-acquire Perkins. Attempts were made to sign him by

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

and several French clubs, but nothing materialized and he returned to

. On December 17, 2010, Perkins was traded to

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 ...

for goalkeeper

Steve Cronin Steve Michael Cronin (born May 28, 1983 in Sacramento, California) is a retired American soccer player who most recently played for D.C. United of Major League Soccer. Career College and Amateur Cronin played college soccer at Santa Clara Unive ...

and allocation money. Perkins went into camp as the Timbers' first choice goalkeeper, but he missed the first six Timbers games after a knee injury Perkins suffered in training. Despite the injury, Perkins notched the Timbers' first-ever league shutout with their 1–0 victory 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 ...

on April 30, 2011. Perkins signed a new contract with Portland on November 28, 2011. Perkins began the 2012 season with the Timbers, however, on August 7, 2012, Perkins was traded to Montreal Impact for veteran Jamaican goaltender

Donovan Ricketts Donovan Ricketts (born 7 June 1977) is a Jamaican former professional association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and is currently an assistant coach for FC Tulsa in the USL Championship. Ricke ...

. Perkins stayed with Montreal through the 2014 season. On January 13, 2015, Perkins signed with

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 January 11, 2016, Perkins announced his retirement and joined the

Seattle Sounders FC Academy 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 ...

as a staff member.

International

Perkins has also played for the United States National Team, receiving his first cap against Sweden on January 21, 2009.

Personal life

While being a backup goalkeeper for D.C. United, Perkins also had a second job working at a sporting goods store in Fair Lakes, VA called Galyans (which is currently known as Dick's Sporting Goods). Beginning in 2006, Perkins worked a second job as a mortgage loan processor, leading United fans to put up a banner that said, "Troy Saves – and Loans." Perkins has revealed that his return to

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 ...

in 2010 was because his wife was unable to settle in Norway. Perkins considers that his training as a mortgage loan processor is important and has stated, "Goalies can usually play until they're around 40, so you have to think about a job after retirement," He has an "austere pregame routine, which entails shutting off all electronics and not talking to anyone for 24 hours. 'I'm a miserable person to be around,' he says, laughing. 'My wife hates it.'" After retiring from professional soccer and leaving the Sounders organization, Perkins was sworn in as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

Kennewick, Washington Kennewick () is a city in Benton County, Washington, Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima R ...

in January 2017.

Honors

D.C. United

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 ...

Supporter's Shield (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 ...

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 Conference ...

(1):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Vålerenga

* Norwegian Cup Champion(1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Montreal Impact

* Canadian Championship (2):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Individual

: 2006 *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

: 2006

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Troy 1981 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players United States men's international soccer players Expatriate footballers in Norway Expatriate soccer players in Canada South Florida Bulls men's soccer players Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer players Cape Cod Crusaders players D.C. United players Northern Virginia Royals players Vålerenga Fotball players Portland Timbers players CF Montréal players Seattle Sounders FC players Tacoma Defiance players Association football goalkeepers Sportspeople from Springfield, Ohio Soccer players from Ohio USL League Two players Eliteserien players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Major League Soccer All-Stars People from Worthington, Ohio Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff American police officers Undrafted Major League Soccer players