Steven Curfman (born October 8, 1986 in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisd ...

) is a former American soccer player who is currently a youth coach for

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

Career

College and Amateur

Curfman grew up in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the South ...

, attended

Athens Drive High School Athens Drive Magnet High School, formerly known as Athens Drive High School, is a secondary Wake County public high school in southwestern Raleigh, North Carolina that serves grades 9–12. As of 2020–2021, the school has 2,075 enrolled ...

and played club soccer with the

Capital Area Soccer League North Carolina FC Youth (NCFC Youth) is an American soccer club and eponymous league based in Raleigh, North Carolina and serving greater Research Triangle. It is the largest youth-to-professional soccer club in the country. Club NCFC Youth was ...

before being selected to the U.S. Soccer U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida in 2002. He was also selected as a McDonald's and

Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

All-American in 2003. Curfman 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 Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private university, private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Wake Forest, north of Rale ...

, where he was a four-year letterman under coach

Jay Vidovich Jay Vidovich is the head coach of the University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team. He is the former coach of the Portland Timbers 2 of USL Pro and formerly served as Wake Forest University's head soccer coach from 1994–2014, posting a 225–87� ...

. In 2003, his freshman season, he started 13 games and appeared in 20, and scored nine goals and 13 assists, which earned him a spot on the All-ACC Freshman team. In his sophomore season, he started 17 games and appeared in 18 and scored 1 goal and four assists. In 2005, he started 20 games and scored 5 goals and 3 assists before suffering a knee injury prior to the NCAA Tournament. He was named to the All-ACC Tournament team and All-ACC Academic Team. During his senior season, he led the squad in games played (23), assists (8), point (20), and shots (50), and 2nd in goals (6), in helping his team reach the #1 ranking, the ACC regular season co-championship, and the school's first-ever appearance in the Men's NCAA College Cup. During his college years he also played with

Raleigh CASL Elite North Carolina FC U23 is an American soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded in 2002 as the Raleigh Elite, and the current affiliate of North Carolina FC, a third division club in the United Soccer League. The team plays in ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

Professional

Curfman was drafted in the third round (30th overall) of the

2007 MLS SuperDraft The 2007 MLS SuperDraft was held in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 12, 2007. It was the eighth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection belonged to expansion team Toronto FC. The SuperDraft was followed by the 2007 MLS Sup ...

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in ...

, whose coach John Ellinger had been his coach during the U-17 residency program. Curfman saw no playing time with Salt Lake, and was released at the end of the season. On March 7, 2008, it was announced that Curfman had been signed by his hometown

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 ...

team, the

Carolina Railhawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

. He scored in his first game with the RailHawks, a 1–1 tie with the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home gam ...

on April 19, 2008, and went on to make 30 appearances before being released in March 2009. He signed with the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. Histo ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

in April 2009, and played for the team throughout the 2009 season until the team folded at the end of the year. Curfman played the amateur team CASL Elite in the

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 ...

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 ...

; his team won their regional qualification group (which also featured NPSL teams FC Tulsa and

Atlanta FC Atlanta Soccer Club was an American association football, soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2007 as Atlanta FC, it became the reserve team of the Atlanta Silverbacks in 2011, and licensed the name of the first team when it folded ...

) before falling 4–2 to

pro side

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

in the first round of tournament proper.

International

Curfman was selected to U.S. roster for the

2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship, was the tenth edition of FIFA U-17 World Championship. It was held in the cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Lahti and Turku in Finland between 13 and 30 August 2003. Players born after 1 January 1986 could particip ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

, where he started three matches, and scored his first international goal against South Korea on August 14, 2003.Video
/ref> In 2004, he earned three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

, starting one game, with the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

Honors

Wilmington Hammerheads

Regular Season Champions:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

References

External links

Wilmington Hammerheads bio

Real Salt Lake bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curfman, Steven 1986 births American soccer players North Carolina FC players Living people North Carolina FC U23 players Real Salt Lake players USL First Division players USL Second Division players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players USL League Two players Soccer players from Virginia United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Real Salt Lake draft picks Association football midfielders Athens Drive High School alumni