Drew Conner (born February 18, 1994) is a former American professional soccer player who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Youth and college

Conner was a member of the

Chicago Fire Academy (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for five seasons before spending his college career at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. Conner also played 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 ...

for

Chicago Fire U-23 Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. Th ...

Professional

On December 17, 2015, Conner signed a homegrown player contract with the Chicago Fire. Conner was loaned to Chicago's

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

affiliate

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wi ...

on March 25, 2016. He made his debut with the club just one day later, appearing as a substitute in a match against the

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

. In 2017, Conner impressed in the preseason. He made his MLS debut on Saturday, March 4 in Columbus, coming on in the 95th minute of extra time as an injury replacement for John Goosens. He came on as a substitute against Atlanta United on Saturday March, 18th. Connor was released by Chicago at the end of their 2018 season. After a two-season stint at

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

side

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2014, before moving to the United Soccer League in 2018. The franchise plays ...

, Conner signed for

Chicago House AC Chicago House Athletic Club is an American professional men's soccer club owned by Laurence Girard and led by CEO Peter Wilt. The club is based in Chicago, Illinois. They began play in August 2021, competing in the National Independent Socc ...

, becoming the first player in their history. He was named captain of the team and scored on his debut, netting a penalty in a 3–2 loss to

Detroit City FC Detroit City FC (DCFC) is an American professional soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independent Soccer Associ ...

. Conner played an instrumental role in the House's inaugural season, making 17 appearances in total and recording three assists. He announced his departure from the club on February 22, 2022. On March 1, 2022, Conner signed with

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championsh ...

side

Forward Madison Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in the third division of the US soccer league system and plays the ...

. Conner announced his retirement from professional soccer on April 2, 2023, on his Instagram account.

References

External links

*
Drew Conner
at

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Di ...

1994 births Living people People from Cary, Illinois Sportspeople from McHenry County, Illinois American men's soccer players Wisconsin Badgers men's soccer players Chicago Fire U-23 players Chicago Fire FC players Saint Louis FC players 1. SC Znojmo FK players Indy Eleven players Forward Madison FC players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Illinois USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Czech National Football League players Homegrown Players (MLS) American expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Expatriate men's footballers in the Czech Republic American expatriate men's soccer players {{US-footy-midfielder-stub