Alexander Ray DeJohn (born May 10, 1991) is an American former professional

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 played as a defender. Born in

Marlboro, New Jersey Marlboro Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's pop ...

, DeJohn 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 ...

for the

Old Dominion Monarchs The Old Dominion Monarchs are composed of 18 college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, Virginia. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, s ...

before being drafted in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft 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 ...

as the 42nd pick (80th overall). Despite being drafted, DeJohn moved to Finland and joined

Ekenäs IF Ekenäs Idrottsförening (abbreviated EIF or Ekenäs IF) is a sports club from Ekenäs, Raseborg in Finland. EIF was formed in 1905 and they are one of the oldest clubs in the south-west of Finland. The men's football first team currently play ...

before moving to

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

club

TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...

. DeJohn spent two seasons in Finland before moving to Norway with

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

. He then moved to Sweden and signed with Dalkurd. In 2019, DeJohn moved back to the United States and signed with Orlando City where he played two seasons.

Early life and college

Born in

, DeJohn began his career with the Players Development Academy, where he played with the PDA Cruyff side. In 2009, DeJohn entered

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

where he played

for the

. He played with the Monarchs for four years, playing 66 games and scoring 2 goals. Following the 2012 season, DeJohn was named into the second team CAA All-Conference squad.

Career

While playing

for the

, DeJohn spent the summer of 2011 playing with the Central Jersey Spartans of the

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 ...

Ekenäs IF and TPS

On January 22, 2013, DeJohn was selected by the

with the 42nd pick in the MLS Supplemental Draft (80th overall in the

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

). Later in 2013, DeJohn moved to Finland and joined

Kakkonen Kakkonen or II divisioona is the fourth level in the league system of Finnish football and comprises 36 Finnish football teams. Until the end of 2023, ''Kakkonen'' was the third-highest level in Finland, but after the creation of new second-t ...

(third division) club

. He made his debut for the club on April 28, 2013, against

Gnistan IF Gnistan (''Kipinä'' in Finnish; ''The Spark'' in English), commonly known as Gnistan, is a Finnish football club from the city of Helsinki, founded in 1924. The club is currently playing in the Veikkausliiga, the first tier of the Finnish le ...

, starting in the 4–1 defeat. He scored his first goal for the club on May 25 against LPS, finding the net in the 3–0 victory. Following his first season in Finland, DeJohn signed with

(first division) club

. He made his debut for TPS on January 24, 2014, against

Inter Turku Football Club International Turku, commonly referred to as Inter Turku () and colloquially known as Inter, is a Finnish professional football club based in Turku that competes in the Veikkausliiga, the top flight of Finnish Football. Founded i ...

, starting in a 3–2 defeat. He scored his goal for the club on February 19 against

Mariehamn Mariehamn ( , ; ; ) is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city. It is mostly surrounded b ...

, scoring the opener in a 2–2 draw.

Start and Dalkurd

Following his two seasons in Finland, DeJohn moved to Norway and signed with

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

club

. He made his club debut on April 7, 2015, against

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

, starting as the match ended in a 1–1 draw. DeJohn stayed with Start for two seasons before moving to Sweden and signing with

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

club Dalkurd. His debut for Dalkurd was on March 5, 2017, against AIK. He started as the match ended in a 0–0 draw. During the 2017 season, DeJohn helped Dalkurd finish in second place and earn promotion to the

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

. DeJohn scored his first goals in the Swedish top tier on August 27, 2018, against Hammarby, a brace during a 3–2 defeat.

Orlando City

On January 10, 2019, DeJohn returned to the United States and joined

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 ...

club Orlando City. He made his debut on March 2 against

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

, starting in the 2–2 draw. Following his first season with Orlando, DeJohn had his contract option declined before re-signing with the club on November 27, 2019. On December 2, 2020, following the 2020 season, DeJohn had his contract declined again and was thus released.

Atlanta United

On February 9, 2021, DeJohn joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

. However, a month later, on March 12, DeJohn signed with

side

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

. According to Riverhounds head coach Bob Lilley, the club had an agreement with DeJohn that he could terminate his contract if he receives and accepts an opportunity with a club in Major League Soccer. On May 1, 2021, DeJohn appeared for

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in MLS Next Pro, the official reserve league of MLS. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional seaso ...

, the club's reserve affiliate in the

, against

OKC Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. Although ...

. He then made his debut for Atlanta United on May 9, 2021, in a 1–1 draw against

Inter Miami Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. ...

, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute. DeJohn's contract option was declined by Atlanta following the 2022 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeJohn, Alex 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Marlboro Township, New Jersey Soccer players from Monmouth County, New Jersey American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Old Dominion Monarchs men's soccer players Central Jersey Spartans players Ekenäs IF players Turun Palloseura footballers IK Start players Dalkurd FF players Orlando City SC players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Atlanta United FC players Atlanta United 2 players USL League Two players Kakkonen players Veikkausliiga players Eliteserien players Superettan players Allsvenskan players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players New England Revolution draft picks American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Finland Expatriate men's footballers in Finland American expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate men's footballers in Norway American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden 21st-century American sportsmen