Kevin Lawrence Alston (born May 5, 1988) is an American soccer player.

Club career

Alston 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 the Indiana University Hoosiers, where he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection in 2007 and 2008, and a 2008 NSCAA All-Great Lakes region selection.

New England Revolution

Alston was drafted in the first round (10th overall) of the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft w ...

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 ...

after signing a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer. He made his professional debut on March 21, 2009, in New England's first game of the 2009 MLS season against the San Jose Earthquakes. Alston was selected to his first

Major League Soccer All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star gam ...

during the 2010 season and was in the starting lineup for the match in Houston against Manchester United. Alston scored his first professional goal in the final of SuperLiga 2010, but the Revolution lost 2–1 to Monarcas Morelia of Mexico. Alston scored his first league goal April 12, 2014 at home against the Houston Dynamo. Alston scored his first Major League Soccer goal on April 12, 2014 in 2–0 victory against Houston Dynamo.

Orlando City

Alston's contract option was declined by New England at the end of the

2015 MLS season The 2015 Major League Soccer season featured 20 total clubs (17 based in the United States, 3 based in Canada). The regular season was held from March 6 through to October 25, whereas the MLS Cup Playoffs began on October 28 and ended with MLS ...

, and he was selected by Orlando City in the 2nd phase of the

MLS Re-Entry Draft The MLS Re-Entry Draft is an annual event in which Major League Soccer teams select players who are out of contract or have had their options declined by their current teams. Although the single-entity league does not have true free agency, the re- ...

Orange County SC

On June 8, 2018, Alston joined

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

side

Orange County SC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games ...

International career

Alston was a member of U.S. Soccer's Residency Program and the Under-17 National Team from September 2003 through his enrollment at Indiana in January 2006. He appeared in 76 matches while at the Residency Program, starting 51 and recording one goal and three assists. He earned 17 caps as a member of the U-17 National Team, including three starts at the

2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the eleventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru between 16 September and 2 October 2005. Players born after 1 January 1988 could partic ...

in Peru. He also represented the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Brazil in the summer of 2007. On December 22, 2009, Alston received his first call up to train with the senior U.S. national team in preparation for a January friendly match against Honduras, however, he suffered a hamstring injury in training and was unable to participate. Alston was called up for the following friendly against El Salvador, but again had to pull out after a recurrence of the hamstring injury. He has yet to make his senior national team debut.

Personal life

Kevin is the son of Jeanne Fox-Alston and Larry Alston. He has one older brother, Kenneth, who is a University of Virginia graduate and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Kevin grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland where he attended Woodlin Elementary School. Kevin majored in management at Indiana. He enjoys hip-hop and R&B and counts

Lil' Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

among his favorite musical artists. His favorite movies Gladiator, Man on Fire, Act of Valor and many others. Kevin's grandfather, Richard K. Fox, Jr., is a retired foreign service professional who served as U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. On April 8, 2013 it was announced that Alston had taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team to undergo treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare but treatable form of leukemia. In July 2013, Alston returned to soccer and was removed from the disabled list.

Honors

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award MLS Comeback Player of the Year is a 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. Th ...

: 2013

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Kevin 1988 births Living people American men's soccer players African-American men's soccer players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Major League Soccer players New England Revolution draft picks New England Revolution players Orange County SC players Orlando City SC players Orlando City B players Pan American Games competitors for the United States Sportspeople from Silver Spring, Maryland Soccer players from Montgomery County, Maryland Soccer players from Washington, D.C. United States men's youth international soccer players USL Championship players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people