James William Ockford (born June 10, 1992) 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.

Career

College and amateur

Ockford began his college career at

Mount St. Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University is a private Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, United States. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, the Richar ...

where he played as a forward for three seasons. In his freshman year with the Mountaineers, Ockford made 17 appearances and finished the year with one assist. In 2011, he made 16 appearances and tallied three goals and three assists. In 2012, he made 17 appearances and tallied two goals. Following the conclusion of the 2012, Mount St. Mary's Athletics announced that it would cut three of their sports programs, including men's soccer. On February 6, 2013, it was announced that Ockford transferred to the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

for his senior season. In his lone season with the Cardinals, Ockford was converted to defender and he excelled as he made 20 appearances, tallied four goals and helped the Cardinals record nine clean sheets on their way to winning the

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Airborne aircraft carrier, a type of aircraft * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New ...

regular season title. On November 14, Ockford was named AAC Defender of the Year. During his time in college, Ockford also played in 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 ...

for Central Jersey Spartans and Reading United.

North American Soccer League

On January 16, 2014, Ockford was drafted in the second round of the

2014 MLS SuperDraft The 2014 MLS SuperDraft was the fifteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The first two rounds of the four round draft took place on January 16, 2014, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Rounds three ...

(21st overall) by

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. He signed with the club on February 26 and was immediately loaned to NASL club

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. On May 28, Ockford made his professional debut and scored his first goal in a 2–0 win over NPSL club

Brooklyn Italians Brooklyn Italians SC is an American soccer team based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1949, the team has won 2 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1979, 1991), making it the last team from New York to have won the tournamen ...

in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Three days later, he made his NASL debut and scored in a 3–0 win against

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

. Ockford scored two goals and made 10 appearances for the Cosmos during the 2014 regular season, helping the team clinch a berth in The Championship. He also scored one goal in three U.S. Open Cup appearances for the Cosmos.

United Soccer League

On January 10, 2017, it was announced that

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

side and

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

affiliate

Reno 1868 FC Reno 1868 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Reno, Nevada. Founded in 2015, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in March 2017 and ceased operations after the 2020 season. History Previously, northern Nevada has ...

had signed Ockford. He scored his first goal for the team on May 20, 2017, in Reno's 6–0 rout of his former team

Seattle Sounders FC 2 The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third ...

. Ockford made his first appearance for San Jose as a 33rd-minute substitute for

Andrés Imperiale Andrés Roberto Imperiale (born July 8, 1986) is an Argentine football defender who plays for San Luis in Primera B de Chile. Career Imperiale made his first team debut for Rosario Central in 2005 with Cuffaro Russo as the manager. By 2007, ...

on July 14, 2017, during San Jose's 4–1 friendly victory over

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. Ockford joined

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

team

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club was founded in 2014 after O ...

on a full-time basis on December 5, 2019. On December 24, 2020, it was announced that Ockford would join USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks ahead of their 2021 season. Following the 2023 season, Ockford announced his retirement from playing professionally.

Major League Soccer

Ockford was signed by the San Jose Earthquakes on December 14, 2017, along with Reno teammates Chris Wehan and Luis Felipe Fernandes. He made his MLS debut on March 3, 2018, during San Jose's season-opening 3–2 victory over

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

, substituting on in the 54th minute after Yeferson Quintana was injured.

Statistics

Statistics accurate as of June 13, 2018.

Honors

University of Louisville

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

regular season champions:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual

Defender of the Year:

References

External links

*
Louisville Cardinals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ockford, Jimmy 1992 births Living people American men's soccer players Louisville Cardinals men's soccer players Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's soccer players Central Jersey Spartans players Reading United AC players Seattle Sounders FC players New York Cosmos (2010) players Tacoma Defiance players Reno 1868 FC players Nashville SC (2018–19) players Louisville City FC players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players Men's association football defenders Seattle Sounders FC draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players People from Yardley, Pennsylvania San Jose Earthquakes players Soccer players from Bucks County, Pennsylvania 21st-century American sportsmen