Gregory Simmonds (born 16 December 1975) is a

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

Jamaican

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 professionally in the

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 ...

. Simmonds attended

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 1995 to 1998. He graduated as the all-time leading scorer for the Bison. In 1999, Simmonds turned professional with the

Hershey Wildcats Hershey Wildcats were a professional soccer team, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, that played in the USL A-League between 1997 and 2001. The team was owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. The team played in Hershey ...

of the

USL A-League 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 Di ...

. He scored sixteen goals that season and was selected as the A-League Rookie of the Year. His scoring touch led to D.C. United calling him up in January 2000 for two games in the 2000 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. He came on for Jaime Moreno in a 17 January 2000 victory over L.D. Alajuelense. Four days later, he started the game with C.F. Pachuca. Simmonds continued his scoring pace for the Wildcats in 2000, adding another sixteen goals to his total. In February 2001, the

Miami Fusion Miami Fusion F.C. was an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team played from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one ...

selected Simmonds in the fourth round (thirty-eighth) overall of the

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection ;Key Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 t ...

. He scored four goals for the Fusion, all in Open Cup games, but never scored in league play. When the Fusion folded following the 2001 season, Simmonds moved to the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. In 2003, Simmonds moved to the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

. On 19 February 2004, the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

of the

signed Simmonds. He led the team in scoring in both 2004 and 2005. In 2006, he joined the

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due ...

and lead the team with nine goals. He finished his career in 2007 with the

Puerto Rico Islanders The Puerto Rico Islanders were a professional association football team based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. They played in several different leagues from 2004 to 2012, when they suspended operations. In their last two seasons they played in the Nort ...

in 2007. In November 2008, Simmonds joined Richmond United for the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) was a professional men's and women's indoor soccer league; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo form ...

season. He scored five goals in three games.

References

External links

Charleston Battery: Greg Simmonds
1975 births Living people Charleston Battery players D.C. United players Men's association football forwards Hershey Wildcats players Howard Bison men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Jamaican men's footballers Major League Soccer players Miami Fusion players Footballers from Kingston, Jamaica Rochester New York FC players Richmond Kickers players USL First Division players Virginia Beach Mariners players Puerto Rico Islanders players A-League (1995–2004) players Miami Fusion draft picks Athletic trainers {{Jamaica-footy-bio-stub