Ciaran Patrick O'Brien (born November 17, 1987) is an American former

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 ...

coach and player.

Early life and education

O'Brien played center midfield for four years at Decatur High School in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Feder ...

, where he earned

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

All-American honors, was a First Team All-South Puget Sound League selection for four straight years, and was selected as the Washington State Gatorade Player of the Year after his senior season. O'Brien initially 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

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

, where he was an NSCAA Freshman All-American and was named to the All- WCC Second Team, before transferring to

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

in his sophomore year. With the UCSB Gauchos, he made the 2007 NCAA Tournament, losing out to national finalists

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. He was named the 2007

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

Midfielder of the Year with UCSB and was the highest-scoring player in the Big West with 25 points on seven goals and 11 assists. During his college years, O'Brien also played for

Tacoma Tide 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 ...

of 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 ...

, where his father was head coach.

Playing career

O'Brien left UC Santa Barbara early and signed a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract. He was the 5th overall pick in the

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from t ...

, selected by the

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

. He made his

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 ...

debut as a substitute in the 71st minute in Colorado's first match of the 2008 season against

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

on March 29, 2008, but was sent off in the 90th minute for a tackle on Carlos Ruiz. The tackle tore the meniscus in Ruiz's right knee leaving him out for an extended period. It was the only MLS game of O'Brien's career. O'Brien was sent on loan to

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 ...

side, Seattle Sounders, in August 2008 to gain first team experience. With the Sounders, O'Brien appeared in 5 league games (309 minutes total) tallying 2 assists. He also appeared in a

Lamar Hunt 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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

game. However, O'Brien was soon recalled and was back with Colorado at the end of August. In June 2009, O'Brien made a season-long loan to

USL-1 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 D ...

side

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...

. In July 2009, he was signed on loan from

by Impact de Montréal until the end of the 2009 USL season. During summer 2010, O'Brien trialed with

League of Ireland Premier Division The League of Ireland Men's Premier Division (), also known as the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the Republic of Ireland and the highest level of the Republic of I ...

side

Sporting Fingal Sporting Fingal Football Club was an Irish association football club based in Fingal. Between 2008 and 2010, the club played three seasons in the League of Ireland. During their first two seasons they played in the First Division before winnin ...

but a loan deal with Colorado could not be agreed. O'Brien graduated from the MLS

program on November 18, 2010. O'Brien became a MLS free agent when Colorado declined his 2011 contract option and he was not selected in the

2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 8, 2010 and December 15, 2010. The Stage 1 Draft of the Re-Entry Process took place on Wednesday, December 8, at 2 p.m. ET via teleconference. The Stage 2 Draft took place on Wednesday, ...

. O'Brien 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 ...

club

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

on March 21, 2011. O'Brien won his first league honors on July 11, 2011, winning the NASL Offensive Player of the Week. Atlanta announced on November 8, 2011, that O'Brien would return for the 2012 season. On February 21, 2013, it was announced that O'Brien had signed with

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

for the 2013 season.

Coaching career

O'Brien was named as an assistant coach of the

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of student-athletes attending the University of California, Santa Barbara. The Gauchos play their home matches at Harder Stadium. Like most of th ...

team in August 2015.

Personal life

O'Brien is the son of former

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

international player Fran O'Brien, and the brother of fellow professional soccer player Leighton O'Brien.

References

External links

* * * *
UC Santa Barbara player profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Ciaran 1987 births Living people American men's soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Austin Aztex FC players North Carolina FC players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Rapids draft picks Men's association football midfielders Major League Soccer players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players San Antonio Scorpions players San Diego Toreros men's soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Soccer players from Tacoma, Washington Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer players USL First Division players USL League Two players Sportspeople from Federal Way, Washington Soccer players from King County, Washington UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer coaches