Leighton O'Brien (born March 14, 1976) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who is serving as the Technical Director for the Pacific Northwest Soccer Club. O'Brien is noted most significantly for his tenure with the Seattle Sounders of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

, where the Tacoma native helped the Sounders claim the double, and as well as several other titles. Most of his personal achievements derived from his time with Seattle. In February, 2010 he was ranked 11th in the USL First Division Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous decade.

Career

Youth and college

Born in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, O'Brien grew up in the Pacific Northwest, graduating from

Federal Way High School Federal Way High School is a public high school located in Federal Way, Washington. It was originally built in 1938. A new campus opened in the fall of 2016. Academics * Advanced Placement courses: Calculus, Statistics, and Photography. * Pre-AP ...

in 1994. He played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

, redshirting his freshman season after an early season injury sidelined him.

Professional

O'Brien was drafted by the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

in the third round of the

1999 MLS College Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on February 6 and 7, 1999 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The first round of the draft took place on February 6 with the second and third rounds on February 7. The College Draft was followed by th ...

. He never played for the Revs before being waived on March 31, 1999. On April 5, 1999, the San Jose Clash claimed O'Brien in the waiver draft. He spent most of the season on loan with MLS Pro-40 and only four games with the Clash first team before being released at the end of the season. In 2000, he signed with the

San Diego Flash The San Diego Flash were an amateur men's soccer team based in San Diego, California. Founded in 2010 as a phoenix club of the former San Diego Flash, it entered the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in 2011, and most recently played in ...

of the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. At some point, he also played for the Sacramento Knights of the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer sports league, league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its te ...

. On April 30, 2001, Leighton signed with the Seattle Sounders, where he had a successful season by posting 11 goals and seven assists, All-League honors. Following the completion of the USL season, he signed with the Sacramento Knights of the World Indoor Soccer League for the remainder of their season. In 2002, the Sounders loaned him to the Clash. In 2002, he had another successful campaign with the Sounders where his 13 goals and 11 assists helped the Sounders claim the regular season championship. His efforts also earned him All-League recognition, Assist Leader honor, and was named the

MVP. He then signed on loan from the Sounders with the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League for the 2002–03 season. He played two winter indoor seasons, 2002–03 and 2003–04 with the Wave. The Sounders signed O'Brien to a three-year contract before the 2003 season, but he played only three games in Seattle before moving on loan to

Bodens BK Bodens BK is a Swedish football club located in Boden in Norrbotten. The club was formed on 2 November 1916 and began playing soccer in 1918. It is currently playing in the third tier of Swedish football, Division 1. Linguistics Note that ...

in the Swedish Second Division. He played 23 games, scoring six goals and adding nine assists. In 2004, he returned to Boden for the 2004 season, but lost most of the season with a groin injury. On November 14, 2005, the Wave traded O'Brien's rights to the

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

in exchange for Pat White, but did not play for the Cougars. On March 29, 2005, he signed with the expansion

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. At the time, he was still under contract with the Sounders. The Sounders released him to Salt Lake in exchange for the team to play an exhibition against Seattle. Salt Lake loaned O'Brien back to Seattle several times during the season before releasing him on August 19, 2005. O'Brien immediately signed with the Sounders. His free kick in the 2005 USL-1 Final started what would become Seattle Sounders tying goal. His kick was redirected twice before Maykel Galindo scored Seattle's goal in a 1–1 draw with

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

. O'Brien then scored one of four penalty kicks for Seattle as they won the 2005 Championship in penalty kicks. Leighton signed back on with Seattle for the 2006 season, and in 2007, he helped the Sounders claim the double. He remained with the club for its final season as the team folded at the end of 2008 due to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

joining Major League Soccer. Having been unable to secure a professional contract, O'Brien signed with

Tacoma Tide Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced i ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

for the 2009 season. On August 7, 2009, O'Brien signed a contract for the remainder of the season with the Montreal Impact, joining his brother

Ciaran O'Brien Ciaran Patrick O'Brien (born November 17, 1987) is an American former soccer coach and player. Early life and education O'Brien played center midfield for four years at Decatur High School in Federal Way, Washington, where he earned NSCAA All- ...

who was on loan with the same team. On September 29, O'Brien was released by Impact. As of January 2019, O'Brien is the technical director for Pacific Northwest Soccer Club in the Seattle, Washington area.

Personal life

O'Brien is the son of former

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

international player Fran O'Brien, and the brother of fellow professional soccer player

. His uncle Derek O'Brien (footballer) former Irish professional football player, his sons Mark O'Brien, Neil O'Brien, Colin O'Brien are all Irish football players.

Honors

Seattle Sounders *

Championship:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* USL First Division Commissioner's Cup:

* Pacific Division:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Cascadia Cup The Cascadia Cup is the name of the trophy created in 2004 by supporters of the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, and Vancouver Whitecaps, which is awarded each season to the best soccer team in the Pacific Northwest. The cup is named for t ...

: 2006, 2007 Individual *

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

MVP:

* A-League Assist Leader:

References

External links

2007 Sounders Media Guide
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Leighton 1976 births Living people American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Bodens BK players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden American people of Irish descent Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major League Soccer players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players MLS Pro-40 players Milwaukee Wave players New England Revolution draft picks Real Salt Lake players Sacramento Knights players San Diego Flash players San Diego Toreros men's soccer players San Jose Earthquakes players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Soccer players from Tacoma, Washington Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USL League Two players World Indoor Soccer League players Men's association football midfielders Tacoma Stars (2003–) players