Jeff Causey (born October 19, 1971) is an American former professional

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. He played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who spent six seasons in

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 ...

. He later served as an assistant coach at the collegiate and professional levels.

College soccer

Causey was born in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of ...

. He attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1990 to 1993. He was a member of the Cavaliers teams which won the 1991, 1992, and 1993

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

, taking Tournament Defensive MVP in 1991. He was a 1993 third team All American, graduating that year with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in history. He holds the school record for 88 saves in the 1990 season and is tied for third with 10 shutouts that season.

Professional career

In 1994, Causey signed with the Boston Storm of the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. In 1994, he 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 ...

, winning the 1995 USISL Championship and US Open Cup Championship. On February 6, 1996, the Kansas City Wiz selected Causey in the 5th round (46th overall) in the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marqu ...

. The team then traded him to D.C. United in exchange for Garth Lagerway and the first overall pick in the

1996 MLS College Draft The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. History As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the ...

. Causey played nineteen games with United in 1996 as the team won both the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

and Open Cup. He began the year with United, but was waived on June 27, 1997.

New England Revolution

In July 1997,

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

starting goalkeeper

Walter Zenga Walter Zenga (; born 28 April 1960) is an Italian professional football manager and former player, currently club manager at Serie C club Siracusa. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and one of Italy's best ...

was placed on Injured Reserve with a knee injury. As a result, on July 16, 1997, New England signed Causey. Causey made his Revolution debut on August 9 in a 3-0 loss to 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 six starts total for the Revolution until Zenga's return in September. In the 2000 New England Revolution season Causey led the team in games in goal (22). He would again lead the team in 2001. Causey was a part of the New England Revolution until April 2002 when he retired from playing professionally. Causey was actively involved in the community and in 2000 & 2001, he received the New York Life "Humanitarian of the Year" as well the 2001 Boston Sports Awards "Ron Burton Community Hero." In 2008, Causey was inducted into the New England Soccer Hall of Fame.

Coaching career

In 1995, Causey served as an assistant coach with the

’s soccer team. On May 7, 2002, the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

announced it had hired Causey as an assistant with the men's soccer team. In 2003, he was an assistant coach with the

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional women's soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defu ...

in the WUSA. With the collapse of the WUSA, Causey went into the financial services sector with

Smith Barney Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is an American Multinational corporation, multinational financial services corporation specializing in Broker, retail brokerage. It is the wealth & asset management division of Morgan Stanley. On January 13, 2009, ...

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

. At the present time he is a Certified Financial Planner with TIAA-CREF. On January 19, 2012, it was announced that Causey would be joining the New England Revolution broadcast team for the 2012 season. Causey is still involved in soccer, coaching youth teams and players in the Massachusetts and New Hampshire area.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Causey, Jeff 1971 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players USISL players Boston Storm (soccer) players Richmond Kickers players D.C. United players New England Revolution players Boston Breakers (WUSA) non-playing staff Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer coaches Maryland Terrapins men's soccer coaches Soccer players from Virginia Major League Soccer players MLS Pro-40 players American women's soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen