Joey Worthen (born December 3, 1979, in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 and the current head coach of the

Florida Atlantic Owls men's soccer : ''For information on all Florida Atlantic University sports, see Florida Atlantic Owls'' The Florida Atlantic Owls men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, United Sta ...

program.

Career

College and amateur

Worthen attended Cottonwood High School where he was named to the

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

High School All-America soccer team in 1998. He 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 ...

at the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

in 1998, but after his freshman season he withdrew from school to play for the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' be ...

. He returned to South Carolina in 1999 and continued until his senior season in 2001, finishing his career with 24 goals and 15 assists. Worthen also played with the

Cape Cod Crusaders The Cape Cod Crusaders was an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the franchi ...

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 ...

in 2000.

Professional

Worthern turned professional and was drafted in the second round of the

A-League College Draft A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

by the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

. In his first season in Pittsburgh he appeared in all 28 games and was named the Riverhounds' Rookie of the Year after leading the team in assists, minutes played, games played, and games started. He transferred 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 ...

in 2004, and spent the next two seasons there, before being offered a contract with

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

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 ...

in March 2006. On April 11, 2007, Worthen signed with the expansion

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

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 ...

. On February 17, 2009, Worthen announced his return to the Kickers., and was part of the Kickers team which won the 2009 USL Second Division championship. He transferred to the

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...

just days before the start of the 2010

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

season.

International

Worthen played for the

in 1999, but has never been called into the senior team.

Coaching career

From 2012 to 2016, Worthen was an assistant coach for the

South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer The South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer team represents the University of South Carolina and, as of the 2022 college soccer season, competes in the Sun Belt Conference. The team is coached by Tony Annan, who succeeded Mark Berson as head coac ...

program. On February 14, 2017, Worthen was named the head coach of the

Florida Atlantic Owls The Florida Atlantic Owls are the athletics teams of Florida Atlantic University. The Owls participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I as members of the American Athletic Conference. On October 21, 2021, Flori ...

men's soccer team ahead of the

2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 59th season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. The regular season began on August 25 and continued into the first weekend of November 2017. The season culminated with the 2017 NCAA D ...

Honors

Richmond Kickers

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

Champions (1):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

Richmond Kickers bioMLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthen, Joey 1979 births Living people American men's soccer players Cape Cod Crusaders players Major League Soccer players Real Salt Lake players USL First Division players USL Second Division players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Richmond Kickers players North Carolina FC players Austin Aztex FC players South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL League Two players A-League (1995–2004) players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Soccer players from Salt Lake City Men's association football defenders South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer coaches Florida Atlantic Owls men's soccer coaches American soccer coaches Cottonwood High School (Murray, Utah) alumni