Alex Bengard (born March 13, 1979) is a retired American soccer player.

Career

College

Bengard played one year 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 Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 stude ...

before transferring to

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

. During his senior year Bengard broke the CSUDH single-season points record and earned the CCAA First Team All-Conference award, was named a First Team All-American, and won the Division 2 NCAA National Championship.

Professional

Bengard was drafted in the fifth round (57th overall) in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pla ...

. He played in 7 MLS games for Galaxy in his two years with the team, winning the

2001 U.S. Open Cup The 2001 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ran from June through October 2001, open to all soccer teams in the United States. The Los Angeles Galaxy won the tournament with a 2–1 victory over the New England Revolution in extra time in the final at Tita ...

and the 2002 MLS Cup, before being waived at the end of the 2002 season. Bengard dropped down a level to play in 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 ...

, with Seattle Sounders in 2003 and with

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

in 2004. After briefly playing with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

's reserves in 2007, Bengard returned to Southern California to work as a coach for local youth soccer organization Legends FC. He also played with Legends'

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 ...

team

Los Angeles Storm LA Laguna FC was an American soccer team based in the Los Angeles area, United States. Founded in 2010, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL) (now USL League Two), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Sou ...

in 2007. In addition to his coaching work, Bengard also occasionally plays with the amateur Hollywood United, which plays in the Los Angeles-based USASA-affiliated Coast Soccer League. Bengard was part of the Hollywood team which beat

3-2 in the first round of the

2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 95th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early September. D.C. United won the final 2–1 over the Charleston Battery on September 3 at RFK Stadium in Washi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bengard, Alex 1979 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros men's soccer players LA Galaxy players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players LA Laguna FC players Hollywood United players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks A-League (1995–2004) players