Chris Eylander (born March 14, 1984) is a former American soccer player.

Career

Youth and College

Eylander had an outstanding youth career. He won the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Washington State youth soccer championship with his club team, Federal Way United Storm '83. He attended

Auburn Riverside High School Auburn Riverside High School is located in Auburn, Washington, United States. Located next to the White River, the school takes its name from its location. The school opened in 1995 due to overcrowding at Auburn Senior High School. Academics AR o ...

where he was the 2002 Washington State Player of the Year. He then attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 2002 to 2005. During his college career, Eylander would spend each summer with a

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 ...

team. In 2002 and 2003, he played with the Seattle Sounders Select, in 2004 with the

Spokane Shadow Spokane Shadow is an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team competes in the National Premier Soccer League as well as the Evergreen Premier League, one of United States Adult Soccer Association's elite amateur leagues. From 1996 to 2005 ...

and in 2005 with the

Yakima Reds Yakima Reds was an American soccer team based in Yakima, Washington, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the W ...

Professional

In 2006, the Seattle Sounders of 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 ...

selected Eylander with their pick in the USL First Division College Draft. He played 23 games his first season with the Sounders and twenty-seven in 2007 as Seattle took the USL-1 championship. Eylander led the USL First Division in saves during the 2007 and 2008 seasons as he recorded 29 clean sheets in three seasons with the Sounders. After much speculation, he eventually made the move 'up' to MLS expansion team

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, signing with them on January 6, 2009. He made his first start on April 18, 2009 after starter

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partic ...

was forced to sit out a game for a red card. He also played in a 4-1

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. O ...

play-in victory 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 ...

on April 28, 2009. Eylander was waived by the Sounders on March 22, 2010.

References

External links

Sounders player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eylander, Chris 1984 births Living people American men's soccer players Seattle Sounders Select players Spokane Shadow players Yakima Reds players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Seattle Sounders FC players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Washington (state) USL First Division players USL League Two players University of Washington alumni Washington Huskies men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers People from Sumner, Washington Sportspeople from Pierce County, Washington