Ben Dragavon (born December 31, 1983) is a former American

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 is currently an assistant coach for

Seattle Reign FC Seattle Reign FC is an American professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Founded in 2012, it is one of eight inaugural members of the NWSL. Since June 2024, the Reign ar ...

in the

National Women's Soccer League The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

Personal life

Career

Youth and College

Dragavon graduated from Monroe High School in 2002. In 2001, he backstopped the Bearcats to the Washington State 3A High School Championship. He then attended

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 2002 to 2005. He finished his career at WWU with the team's all-time record in shutouts. He is also third on the school's list with a 1.38

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

Professional

On July 20, 2006, the Seattle Sounders signed him as a back-up to Chris Eylander when the Seattle's backup goalkeeper James Ward was injured. He played no games that season, but saw time in four games in 2007. On July 16, 2007, the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League picked Dragavon in the seventh round of the 2007 MISL Supplemental Draft. However, he did not sign with the Wave. During the winter of 2007–2008, he played indoor soccer with the Seattle Wolves FC of the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) was a professional men's and women's indoor soccer league; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo form ...

. Dragavon signed a contract in early 2009 to become part of the

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 ...

League-Wide Reserve Goalkeeper Pool. During the early part of 2009 he was called up by

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

to provide cover for

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, and was the starting Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for the United State ...

while regular reserve keeper Chris Eylander was out injured. He made his MLS debut for Seattle on April 11, 2009, in a game against the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

, when Keller was sent off for handling outside the penalty area. He was on the bench for

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

during their 5–0 loss to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

on October 25, 2009. In early March 2010, Dragavon pre-signed a two-year contract with the Aztex, against whom he made his USL debut in 2009, but he was released before the season started after failing his medical.

Coaching

In 2012, Dragavon became the

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

coach for the

USL PDL 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 feature ...

club

Seattle Sounders FC U-23 Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced i ...

. He made an appearance as goalkeeper for the Sounders U-23 team versus Washington Crossfire on May 31, 2013. In 2013, he became the goalkeeper coach for

of the

. He became a full-time assistant coach in 2017.

Honors

;Seattle Sounders *

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

Championship:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Commissioner's Cup:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dragavon, Ben 1983 births Living people American men's soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Seattle Sounders FC players Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players Men's association football goalkeepers Western Washington University alumni USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USL League Two players Seattle Reign FC non-playing staff Seattle Sounders FC non-playing staff American women's soccer coaches People from Monroe, Washington Soccer players from Snohomish County, Washington Tacoma Stars (2003–) players Major Arena Soccer League players Player-coaches