 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joshua Gardner | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-09-14)September 14, 1982 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Freeport, Texas, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender,Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2001 | Houston Hurricanes | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001–2003 | Cincinnati Bearcats | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003 | Houston Toros | 5 | (2) |
| 2004–2006 | LA Galaxy | 21 | (1) |
| 2007–2008 | Seattle Sounders | 52 | (7) |
| 2009–2010 | Carolina RailHawks | 47 | (5) |
| 2011 | Columbus Crew | 22 | (2) |
| 2012 | Montreal Impact | 6 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Sporting Kansas City | 7 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2003 | United States U20 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 25, 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals as of April 8, 2009 | |||
Josh Gardner (born September 4, 1982) is an American formersoccer player. Gardner is currently the technical director for the Houston Rangers academy.[1]
Gardner playedcollege soccer at theUniversity of Cincinnati a starter as a freshman in 2001 to 2003. In 2002, was named second team All-Conference USA, he was tied for team lead with five assists. In 2003, Gardner led the team in points, tied for Bearcats' team lead with six goals and led the team with six assists. Gardner earned All C-USA first team honors, second team All-Region after leading the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in school history, and first team All-Ohio. He also played for theHouston Toros in theUSL Premier Development League.
On the strength Gardner's single exceptional game for theUnited States U-20 national team in 2003, Gardner was offered aProject-40 contract before the 2004 season, which he signed. He was drafted 13th overall in the2004 MLS SuperDraft byLos Angeles Galaxy, but saw very little playing time with the team, appearing in only two games, playing 25 minutes.
His stock rose prior to the 2006 season, as he turned in a strong performance in theCONCACAF Champions' Cup and started two of the first three games of the MLS season. Unfortunately, he soon fell out of favor with then-coachSteve Sampson and would not see much playing time until Sampson was fired and replaced byFrank Yallop. After Yallop's arrival, Gardner started every Galaxy game and was even mentioned as a replacement at left-back when the Galaxy tradedTodd Dunivant. Gardner scored his first MLS goal on July 8, 2006, againstReal Salt Lake. The Galaxy eventually released Gardner on March 23, 2007. During his three years with the Galaxy, Gardner played 1,096 minutes in 21 games and was a member of the Galaxy team that won both theMLS Cup and theLamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 2005.
Gardner signed with theSeattle Sounders of theUSL First Division in 2007, and quickly became their starting left midfielder, helping them win the USL1 Championship in his first year with the team.
When the USL Sounders were replaced by the MLS expansion teamSeattle Sounders FC at the end of the 2008 season Gardner signed with theCarolina RailHawks in January 2009.[2] He played 47 regular season games for Carolina over the next two seasons, helping them to a divisional title and the final of theUSSF Division 2 Pro League playoffs in 2010.
Gardner made a return toMajor League Soccer in 2011 when he signed with theColumbus Crew.[3] He made his Black & Gold debut on February 22, 2011, in leg 1 of the Crew'sCONCACAF Champions League quarter-final series againstReal Salt Lake.[4] On August 27, 2011, Gardner set an MLS record for fastest time between a goal and an own goal against the Seattle Sounders, scoring in the 73rd minute, and scoring an own goal in the 74th.
Gardner was left exposed by Columbus in the2011 MLS Expansion Draft and was selected by expansion sideMontreal Impact.[5] He stayed with Montreal through the 2012 season, but the club announced in November 2012 that he would not return in 2013.[6] His rights were traded toSporting Kansas City in exchange for a second-round2013 MLS SuperDraft pick.[7]
Gardner was waived by Sporting on March 25, 2014.[8]
In 2003 Gardner was invited to play in the US Soccer Festival with theUnited States U-20 national team. He assisted on the game's only goal.