Thomas Wells Thompson (born November 25, 1983, in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

) is a retired American soccer player who last played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

Career

High school and College

Thompson attended R.J. Reynolds High School,

Forsyth Country Day School Forsyth Country Day School (FCDS) is a coeducational private day school located in Lewisville, North Carolina. FCDS was established in 1970. Accreditation FCDS is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and the Souther ...

(aka, FCDS), and the Family Foundation School. He earned an All-North Carolina first team selection as a junior and senior as well as an all-conference and all-region selection. After graduating from FCDS, he attended

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

where he 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 K ...

for four years. During his college years Thompson also played with

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Th ...

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 ...

Professional

New England Revolution

Thompson was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) in the

2007 MLS SuperDraft The 2007 MLS SuperDraft was held in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 12, 2007. It was the eighth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection belonged to expansion team Toronto FC. The SuperDraft was followed by the 2007 MLS Suppl ...

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

. In three seasons with the club the versatile midfielder appeared in 71 league matches scoring 2 goals. He also helped the club capture the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Colorado Rapids

He was traded to

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, lat ...

on January 21, 2010, as part of deal involving four players,

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the l ...

picks and allocation money. On April 14, 2010, Thompson scored his first two goals for Colorado in a 2–1 victory over Kansas City Wizards in a 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification match. On November 21, 2010, Thompson was a part of the Colorado Rapids

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 ...

victory.

Chicago Fire

He was traded to the Chicago Fire after asking for a trade. Thompson made 4 appearances for the Fire in the 2012 campaign, and has played in 5 games thus far in 2013 earning his first start on March 24, 2013. Thompson's aggressive on-field play has earned him the nickname "El Diablo". At the end of 2013 season the club did not renew Thompson's contract.

Charlotte Eagles

Thompson 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

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 March 3, 2014.

Carolina RailHawks

After Charlotte Eagle's move down to the

USL PDL 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 ...

, Thompson signed with

on February 3, 2015.

Honors

New England Revolution

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 ...

(1): 2007 * Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Championship (1): 2007 *

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 C ...

(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; ...

Colorado Rapids

* Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Championship (1): 2010 * Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2010

References

External links

*
"With Wells Thompson" blog

"Wells Thompson Interview" interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Wells 1983 births Living people American men's soccer players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players North Carolina Fusion U23 players New England Revolution players Colorado Rapids players Chicago Fire FC players Charlotte Eagles players North Carolina FC players Soccer players from North Carolina New England Revolution draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Men's association football midfielders