Jeff Parke (born March 23, 1982) 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. He played 11 seasons in
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 ...
, appearing in over 250 matches.
Youth
Parke played for powerhouse youth club FC Delco. He then played four 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 Kingd ...
at
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
.
Professional
New York
Parke was drafted by the
MetroStars with 60th and last overall pick of the
2004 MLS SuperDraft. He played in the 2005 pre-season, scoring the game-winning goal against Norway's
Viking FK
Viking Fotballklubb, commonly known as Viking or Viking Stavanger internationally, is a Norwegian football club from the city of Stavanger. The club was founded in 1899. It is one of the most successful clubs in Norwegian football, having won 8 ...
in the 2005
La Manga Cup
La Manga Cup is a winter football tournament played in La Manga Club, La Manga del Mar Menor (Murcia, Spain). Usual participants are clubs from countries with a summer football season: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Ukraine
Uk ...
, which helped him earn a starting spot on the MLS team. He remained an important part of the team's defense in 2005 and 2006, quickly becoming one of the team's stalwarts on the back line. In 2006, he started a career-high 31 games, was named Red Bulls' Ironman of the Year for logging in a team-high 2,771 minutes, and was named Co-Unsung Player of the Year by members of the soccer media, sharing that honor with
Seth Stammler
Seth Stammler (born September 29, 1981 in Columbus, Ohio) is a retired American soccer player.
Career
College
Stammler attended Gahanna Middle School East and Gahanna Lincoln High School, and played four years of college soccer at the Univer ...
. In 2007 Parke continued to be a fixture in the Red Bull lineup, appearing in 28 matches including 27 starts. In 2008, he appeared in 24 league matches for
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 ...
.
Other MLS clubs
On November 26, 2008, Parke was selected by
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 ...
in the third round of the
2008 MLS Expansion Draft, but he chose not to sign with Seattle. Instead, on March 31, 2009, Parke signed a one-year contract with the
Vancouver Whitecaps
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 March ...
of the
USL First Division
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 ...
.
In May 2010, Parke did sign with Seattle. He remained with the club for three seasons and was voted Seattle's defender of the year in both 2011 and 2012. In December 2012, Parke was traded to his hometown side
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 a
2013 MLS Supplemental Draft pick and allocation money.
On January 14, 2014, Parke was traded to
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 ...
in exchange for
Ethan White
Norris Ethan White (born January 1, 1991) is a former American soccer player who plays as a defender. He last played for New York City FC in Major League Soccer (MLS).
Early career
In high school, White was a four-year starter for the Bethe ...
. Parke played only 13 games for the club, before a combination of foot injuries and migraines requiring inner-ear surgery sidelined him for the rest of the season.
International
On January 5, 2012, Parke was called into camp for the
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF.
The U.S. team ha ...
in preparation for friendly matches against
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
. He made his international debut against Panama, coming on in the 55th minute for Chris Wondolowski after
Geoff Cameron received a red card.
Drug controversy
On October 16, 2008, Parke, along with goalkeeper
Jon Conway
Jon Conway (born May 6, 1977) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach for Toronto FC.
Youth and college
Born in Media, Pennsylvania, as a youth, Conway played club soccer for the Lower Merion Gorillas, leading t ...
, was suspended for 10 matches each and fined 10 percent of their annual salaries after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug. Parke and Conway tested positive for
androstenedione
Androstenedione, or 4-androstenedione (abbreviated as A4 or Δ4-dione), also known as androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, is an endogenous weak androgen steroid hormone and intermediate in the biosynthesis of estrone and of testosterone from dehydroepia ...
(ATD) and
boldenone
Boldenone (developmental code name RU-18761), is a naturally occurring anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) and the 1(2)- dehydrogenated analogue of testosterone. Boldenone itself has never been marketed; as a pharmaceutical drug, it is used as ...
metabolite
In biochemistry, a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism.
The term is usually used for small molecules. Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, structure, signaling, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, c ...
s, two banned performance-enhancing steroids, after taking an over-the-counter supplement they purchased at
The Vitamin Shoppe
The Vitamin Shoppe (formerly Vitamin Shoppe Industries, Inc., stylized as theVitaminShoppe) is an American, New Jersey-based retailer of nutritional supplements. It also operated three stores in Canada under the name VitaPath from January 2013 u ...
. The suspensions are currently the longest in MLS history.
Career statistics
Honors
New York Red Bulls
*
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 ...
Western Conference Championship (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; ...
Seattle Sounders FC
*
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 ...
(2):
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
See also
*
Drexel Dragons
The Drexel Dragons are the athletic teams of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The school's athletic program includes eighteen NCAA Division I sports including nine men's and nine women's teams, with most sports teams competing in ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parke, Jeff
1982 births
Living people
American soccer players
American expatriate soccer players
Drexel Dragons men's soccer players
New York Red Bulls players
Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players
Seattle Sounders FC players
Philadelphia Union players
D.C. United players
Association football defenders
Soccer players from Pennsylvania
New York Red Bulls draft picks
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Major League Soccer players
USL First Division players
United States men's international soccer players
Doping cases in association football
People from Downingtown, Pennsylvania