Chris Carrieri

Chris Carrieri (born April 28, 1980) is a former professional Major League Soccer striker from the United States. He now works in the IT industry and is the founder and owner of AOT Soccer, a finishing and striking academy (www.aotsoccer.com).

Chris is an All-American high school soccer player from Stafford, VA that played soccer at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
* NCAA D1 Golden Boat winner in 2001 with 25 goals and 14 assists
* Completed three soccer seasons at UNC with 50 goals, 2nd all-time
* Records consist of most goals in a season (25), most points in a season (64), and longest consecutive games with a goal (11)
* All-American and left school early as a Junior to enter the 2001 MLS SuperDraft
* Selected #1 by the San Jose Earthquakes but then traded to Colorado Rapids in 2001
* Major League Soccer career stats - 20 Goals and 20 Assists (2001-2003)
* Called into the Men’s US National Team camp in December, 2003 (not selected)
* Holds the Major League Soccer Colorado Rapids Rookie Scoring Record (half season in 2001) - 5 goals, 4 assists
* 2-Time Major League Soccer Player of the Week
* After MLS, played for Rochester Rhinos (United Soccer Leagues 2004), Richmond Kickers (United Soccer Leagues 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009,) and the Carolina Railhawks (United Soccer Leagues 2007)
* Holds a USSF "B" coaching license (obtained in 2009) and was named one of the top coaches in the class, giving him the ability to obtain an "A" license after a 1-year holding period of a B" license, not the standard 3-year hold restriction
* Experience stems from 20+ years of high-level coaching with academies, clubs, high schools, private training, and group clinics and camps

Career

College

Carrieri was born in San Antonio, Texas. After a successful high school career at North Stafford High School in Stafford, Virginia, Carrieri played college soccer at the University of North Carolina, where he was hugely successful. In his rookie year, he scored 13 goals and 3 assists, and was named the ACC Rookie of the Year. He did just as well his second year, finishing with 12 goals and 5 assists, and was named a third team NCAA All-American. In his junior season, he led the nation by scoring 25 goals, and added an astonishing 14 assists, and was named an NCAA first-team All-American. He also played club soccer for the Prince William Cardinals.

Professional

In 2000, Carrieri played two games, scoring three goals, with the New Brunswick Brigade in the Premier Development League. Following his junior season, Carrieri signed a Project-40 contract with MLS. He was drafted first overall in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes, and immediately vowed to lead the team to a championship. Although the Earthquakes won the MLS Cup that year, Carrieri was not there to see it - shortly into the season he was traded to the Colorado Rapids for Junior Agogo. Carrieri had a relatively impressive rookie campaign with the Rapids, registering 5 goals and 4 assists in only 14 games with the team. In his second year with the team, Carrieri established his reputation as a quality American forward in scoring 12 goals and 5 assists for the Rapids, including
remarkable 2nd half hat trick
on July 4 (the second in club history) in front of 61,213 fans at Invesco Field at Mile High. In his third year, Carrieri's production slowed, partially because of a contested (and temporary) move to right midfield, and he finished the year with 3 goals and 8 assists. Following the season, Carrieri was not re-signed by the Rapids, apparently partially because of conflicts with the coach Tim Hankinson, and partially because of salary cap concerns.

Carrieri signed before the 2004 season with the Rochester Raging Rhinos of the A-League. He had a solid season with the team, finishing the year with 8 goals and 8 assists in 27 games. After the end of the season, he played one game with the Chicago Fire, after being called up as an injury replacement. Carrieri also briefly played indoor for the Chicago Storm of the MISL. In 2005, with coach Tim Hankinson no longer at the helm, the Rapids brought back Carrieri for tryouts, but did not offer him a contract after pre-season. He then signed with Richmond Kickers of the then A-League. In 2006, Richmond went down to USL-2. Still under contract with the Kickers, Carrieri stayed with the newly demoted club and helped lead them to the 2006 USL Second Division Championship, where he scored the championship winning goal for the Kickers. In 2007, he became one of the first players to sign with the expansion USL First Division club Carolina RailHawks. He played in twenty-eight games, most as a starter, before announcing his retirement from professional soccer on March 18, 2008.

After spending 2008 coaching with the Capital Area Soccer League in Raleigh, North Carolina, Carrieri was coaxed out of retirement in 2009 by the Richmond Kickers, and he subsequently played 5 games and scored 1 goal for the team on the way to winning the 2009 USL2 championship. On January 14, 2010, Richmond announced the re-signing of Carrieri for the 2010 season.

References

External links

Richmond Kickers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrieri, Chris
1980 births
Living people
All-American college men's soccer players
American men's soccer players
Men's association football midfielders
Chicago Fire FC players
Colorado Rapids players
First overall MLS draft picks
Major League Soccer players
New Brunswick Brigade players
North Carolina FC players
North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players
People from Stafford, Virginia
Sportspeople from Stafford County, Virginia
Richmond Kickers players
Rochester New York FC players
San Jose Earthquakes draft picks
San Jose Earthquakes players
Soccer players from San Antonio
A-League (1995–2004) players
USL First Division players
USL League Two players