Jason Thompson (born on November 22, 1981, in

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. In contemporary times ...

, Texas) is an American soccer player who last played striker for D.C. United of

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 ...

. Thompson 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 ...

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is a public university in Charleston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradual ...

from 2000 to 2002. Thompson had a very strong start in his freshman year, surprising everybody by scoring 21 goals to lead the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division I, and was named the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

Newcomer of the Year and chosen for

Soccer America ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the United States, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...

's All-Freshman team. Thompson's next year was mediocre, due to injuries, as he scored only five goals. Thompson did significantly better in 2002, however, finishing the year with 14 goals and four assists, earning him a first-team All-Midwest selection. Because of his performances for the Under-23

United States Men's National Soccer Team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

, Thompson was offered a Nike Project-40 contract after his junior season, which he accepted. As well as still holding the school record for the most goals scored in a single season (21 goals in 2000), Thompson is also the record holder for most goals scored in a single game, when he scored six in a 2002 match up with the Belmont Bruins. Thompson was selected 15th overall, in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by his hometown

Dallas Burn Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Unfortunately, Thompson tore his ACL during the preseason while playing with the U-23 team, and missed all of the 2003 season. On returning in 2004, Thompson had trouble breaking into new coach Colin Clarke's veteran-dominated lineup and was traded to D.C. United. Competition among forwards was equally strong at D.C., however, and although Thompson played a target forward role unlike United's other strikers, he only made one appearance for the team, coming on as a substitute and played 60 minutes. D.C. United went on to win the 2004 MLS Cup with a 3–2 victory over

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Thompson went on to play the entire 2005 season with D.C. United, one that saw United finish second in the Eastern Conference, before he was released into the waiver draft of that subsequent off-season. Thompson completed his

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

at The University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. He is currently an Orthopedic Surgery Resident at The University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio. Once Thompson completed his residency in San Antonio he completed an additional year of fellowship in Canada focusing on orthopedic joints. There he specifically focused on the most complex hips and knee cases in North America. Now, Dr. Thompson is practicing orthopedics in Corpus Christi, TX with South Texas Bone and Joint where he has quickly become one of the busiest, leading and most well respected orthopedic joint doctors in South Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jason 1981 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards FC Dallas players D.C. United players Eastern Illinois Panthers men's soccer players Sportspeople from Garland, Texas Major League Soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players FC Dallas draft picks Atlanta Silverbacks FC players A-League (1995–2004) players Soccer players from Collin County, Texas Soccer players from Dallas County, Texas