Wes Knight (born September 6, 1986) 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.

Career

College and amateur

Knight attended Palmetto High School and played club soccer for the Greenville Futbol club, 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

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

from 2004 to 2008, where he was named to the second team All-Southern Conference and to the NSCAA All-South Region second team as a junior and first team All-Southern Conference and NSCAA All-South Region second team as a senior. Following his senior season. Knight was one of 64 distinguished collegiate players to be invited to the Major League Soccer Combine. He was just the second player from the College of Charleston to be invited since the MLS's existence, behind former standout defender Drew Cavanagh in 2005. During his college years Knight also played for the

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 ...

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

On February 11, 2009, the Whitecaps announced the signing of Knight for the 2009 season. Knight made his

USL-1 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 ...

debut during the 2–1 away defeat to

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

on Apr. 18. The defender replaced Vicente Arze in the second half of the match in the Caribbean. Three days later, Knight made his first league start and earned his first

point when he assisted on

Marco Reda Marco Reda (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian former soccer player who began his professional career in the USL A-League with the Toronto Lynx where he developed his skills as a solid defender. This led to his transfer to Europe to sign with Sognd ...

's goal during Vancouver's 1–1 draw at

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer pyr ...

. On May 10,

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

earned a spot in the

Team of the Week for Week Five after assisting on

Charles Gbeke Charles Gbeke (born March 15, 1978) is a former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Born in Ivory Coast, he made three appearances for the Canada national team. Gbeke began his career with brief stints with Seattle Sounders a ...

's winning goal, as the Whitecaps claimed a 1–0 victory at home to

. He then made the

Team of the Week for Week 10 after assisting on both of Gbeke's goals during a 3–2 home win over

Miami FC Blues Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

on June 12. Knight remained with

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

when the club joined

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 ...

in 2011 but was released by the club on August 31, 2011. In the 2012 pre-season, Knight was on trial with

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 ...

. In 2012, Knight signed with NASL side

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

. On January 8, 2013, Knight signed with FC Edmonton of the NASL. Ahead of the 2015 season, Knight joined the

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 a ...

and started in their first game, a 3–1 win over

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. On July 30, 2015, Knight announced that he would be retiring form the game following

game against

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

on August 1, 2015.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Vancouver Whitecaps bio

College of Charleston bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Wes 1986 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Charleston Cougars men's soccer players Soccer players from South Carolina IMG Academy Bradenton players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 players San Antonio Scorpions players FC Edmonton players USL League Two players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders