Benjamin Vance Speas (born January 17, 1991) 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 played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Speas played for

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

Minnesota United Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Th ...

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

and

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional association football, soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Caro ...

, before retiring on November 10, 2020.

Career

Youth, college and amateur

As a Senior at

Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA), founded in 1968, is a private, college-preparatory, nondenominational Christian middle school and high school in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States, serving approximately 1,170 students in grades 6–12 ...

, Speas was the Eighth-ranked senior in the nation according to ESPN Rise. He is also a Two-time Parade All-American and a Two-time NSCAA High School Boys All-American. He also played six seasons for Everest SC (Hudson, OH) and one season for the

Youth Academy. In 2009, Speas committed to the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

. In his freshman year, Speas appeared in all 25 matches and finished with two goals and three assists and was named College Cup All-Tournament Team. Akron finished the year unbeaten at 23–0–2, however they would eventually lose the College Cup final to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

on penalties. In 2010, Speas appeared in all 25 games and finished with two goals and three assists. Akron would return to the National Title game and this time would come out on top after defeating top ranked

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

1-0 and capturing the school's first ever national title in any sport. In July 2011, Speas transferred

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. In his first and only season with the Tar Heels in 2011, Speas started 25 of his 26 appearances and recorded seven goals and 10 assists. One of the seven goals came in the College Cup final against

UNC Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte, or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs thr ...

, which also turned out to be the goal that won the National title for the Tar Heels. Speas also spent the 2010 season with the

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, playing in Saginaw, and began playing in 1996. In ...

in the

USL 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 ...

Professional

Columbus Crew SC

Speas signed a multi-year contract with the

as a Home Grown Player ahead of the 2012 season. His debut didn't come until the final day of the season on October 28 as he got the start and went 64 minutes in Columbus's 2–1 victory over

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 ...

. His contract was not renewed following the 2015 season.

Minnesota United FC

In February 2016, Speas signed with

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

side

International

Speas was a member of the U.S. Soccer Residency program in 2007. He made 10 appearances for the U.S. U17 and scored one goal. He was also called into both the U18 and U20 national team camps although he never made an official appearance for them.

Honors

University of Akron

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

Regular Season Championship (2): 2009, 2010 *

Tournament Championship (2): 2009, 2010 * NCAA College Cup Championship (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

University of North Carolina

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

Regular Season Championship (1):

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Tournament Championship (1):

* NCAA College Cup Championship (1):

Individual

* NCAA College Cup Most Valuable Player (1):

References

External links

*
UNC bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speas, Ben 1991 births Living people American men's soccer players Akron Zips men's soccer players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Flint City Bucks players Columbus Crew players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Soccer players from Ohio USL League Two players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players United States men's youth international soccer players People from Stow, Ohio Sportspeople from Summit County, Ohio Men's association football forwards Indy Eleven players North Carolina FC players USL Championship players Homegrown Players (MLS) 21st-century American sportsmen