Chase Blair Gasper (born January 25, 1996) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Houston Dynamo in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

Career

After graduating from

Gonzaga College High School Gonzaga College High School is a private Catholic college-preparatory high school for boys in Washington, D.C. Founded by the Jesuits in 1821 as the Washington Seminary, Gonzaga is named in honor of Aloysius Gonzaga, an Italian saint from the 16 ...

, Gasper attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

, where he 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 ...

for the Bruins. As a freshman, Gasper helped UCLA win the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

championship and was named to the All-Freshman Second Team. He only played in 3 games as a junior due to a groin injury. Gasper was granted a

medical redshirt Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. In 2017, Gasper transferred to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

to be closer to his father, who was diagnosed with

small-fiber neuropathy Small fiber peripheral neuropathy is a type of peripheral neuropathy that occurs from damage to the small unmyelinated and myelinated peripheral nerve fibers. These fibers, categorized as Group C nerve fiber, C fibers and small Aδ fibers, are pre ...

. He helped the Terrapins win the 2018 national championship, playing every minute of Maryland's 6 College Cup games. While in college, Gasper played with

PSA Elite PSA Elite is an American amateur soccer club based in Irvine, California that plays in the So Cal Premier of the United States Adult Soccer Association. The club is best known for their runs in both the 2014 and the 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups, ...

during their

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

in 2015, as well as in the

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 syste ...

with

FC Golden State Force FC Golden State Force is an American soccer team based in Whittier, California, United States that currently plays in USL League Two. The club currently plays at Rio Hondo College. In mid-2019, the club announced Los Angeles Force, a professi ...

in 2016.

Professional

Minnesota United

On January 11, 2019, Gasper was drafted 15th overall in the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fir ...

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Soc ...

after they traded $50,000 of GAM to the Chicago Fire to secure the pick. He missed the first 15 games of the season due to a hamstring injury. He made his debut for Minnesota United on June 8, coming off the bench in a 1–0 loss to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, ...

. Gasper ended the regular season with 15 appearances, helping the Loons finish 4th in the Western Conference to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in team history. They lost 2–1 in the first round to the

LA 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 ...

, with Gasper playing the full match. Gasper also started all 5 of Minnesota's Open Cup games, helping the Loons reach the final, where were defeated 2–1 by

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began p ...

. On September 6, 2020, Gasper scored his first goal for Minnesota United in a 4–0 win over

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 ...

. In a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gasper finished with 1 goal and 1 assist while appearing in 18 of a possible 21 regular season games as Minnesota finished 4th in the conference. He played every minute of their 3 playoff games to help Minnesota reach the conference finals where they lost 3–2 to the Seattle Sounders. The 2021 season saw Gasper make 30 regular season appearances and score 1 goal, with Minnesota finishing 5th in the West to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight year. Gasper and the Loons were eliminated in the first round, losing 3–1 to the Portland Timbers. On September 16, Gasper and Minnesota United agreed to a four-year contract extension. Gasper missed the first three games of the 2022 season after picking up a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentratio ...

in preseason. On March 16 he left the team and entered the league's Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program. He rejoined the team a month later. He made an Open Cup appearance for the Loons and played once for Minnesota United 2 prior to being traded.

LA Galaxy

On May 4, 2022, Gasper was traded to the

in exchange for $450,000 in General Allocation Money, with an additional $300,000 if certain performance metrics are achieved. He made his Galaxy debut on May 8 as a substitute in a 1–0 win over

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play ...

. He ended the regular season with 17 appearances for the Galaxy, with 8 of them starts. The Galaxy finished 4th in the West, but Gasper did not appear in their 2 playoff games. On April 13, 2023, Gasper was waived by the Galaxy.

Houston Dynamo

On April 16, 2023 Gasper was claimed off waivers by the Houston Dynamo.

International

On February 1, 2020, Gasper earned his first senior cap for the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

as a substitute in a 1–0 friendly win against Costa Rica.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gasper, Chase 1996 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders FC Golden State Force players Houston Dynamo FC players LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players Minnesota United FC draft picks Minnesota United FC players Soccer players from Alexandria, Virginia UCLA Bruins men's soccer players USL League Two players United States men's international soccer players Minnesota United FC 2 players MLS Next Pro players