Kevin Lawrence Alston (born May 5, 1988) is an American

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.

Club career

Alston played college soccer for the Indiana University Hoosiers, where he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection in 2007 and 2008, and a 2008 NSCAA All-Great Lakes region selection.

New England Revolution

Alston was drafted in the first round (10th overall) of the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, ...

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 ...

after signing a Generation Adidas contract with Major League Soccer. He made his professional debut on March 21, 2009, in New England's first game of the 2009 MLS season against the

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 ...

. Alston was selected to his first

Major League Soccer All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially adopted a traditional all ...

during the 2010 season and was in the starting lineup for the match in Houston against Manchester United. Alston scored his first professional goal in the final of SuperLiga 2010, but the Revolution lost 2–1 to Monarcas Morelia of Mexico. Alston scored his first league goal April 12, 2014 at home against the Houston Dynamo. Alston scored his first

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 ...

goal on April 12, 2014, in 2–0 victory against

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

Orlando City

Alston's contract option was declined by New England at the end of the 2015 MLS season, and he was selected by Orlando City in the 2nd phase of the

MLS Re-Entry Draft The MLS Re-Entry Draft is an annual event in which Major League Soccer teams select players who are out of contract or have had their options declined by their current teams. Although the single-entity league does not have true free agency, the re- ...

Orange County SC

On June 8, 2018, Alston joined

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side Orange County SC.

International career

Alston was a member of U.S. Soccer's Residency Program and the Under-17 National Team from September 2003 through his enrollment at Indiana in January 2006. He appeared in 76 matches while at the Residency Program, starting 51 and recording one goal and three assists. He earned 17 caps as a member of the U-17 National Team, including three starts at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru. He also represented the U.S. at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

in Brazil in the summer of 2007. On December 22, 2009, Alston received his first call up to train with the senior U.S. national team in preparation for a January friendly match against

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

, however, he suffered a hamstring injury in training and was unable to participate. Alston was called up for the following friendly against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, but again had to pull out after a recurrence of the hamstring injury. He has yet to make his senior national team debut.

Personal life

Kevin is the son of Jeanne Fox-Alston and Larry Alston. He has one older brother, Kenneth, who is a University of Virginia graduate and holds an MBA from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...

. Kevin grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland where he attended Woodlin Elementary School. Kevin majored in management at Indiana. He enjoys hip-hop and R&B and counts Lil' Wayne among his favorite musical artists. His favorite movies Gladiator, Man on Fire, Act of Valor and many others. Kevin's grandfather, Richard K. Fox Jr., is a retired foreign service professional who served as U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. On April 8, 2013, it was announced that Alston had taken an indefinite leave of absence from the team to undergo treatment for

chronic myelogenous leukemia Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myeloid leukemia, is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumula ...

, a rare but treatable form of leukemia. In July 2013, Alston returned to soccer and was removed from the disabled list.

Honors

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award MLS Comeback Player of the Year is a Major League Soccer award established in 2000. The award is voted on by media, MLS players and club management. It is presented to a player who showed impressive improvement after overcoming a serious injury ...

: 2013

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alston, Kevin 1988 births Living people American men's soccer players African-American soccer players Men's association football fullbacks Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Major League Soccer players New England Revolution draft picks New England Revolution players Orange County SC players Orlando City SC players Orlando City B players Pan American Games footballers for the United States Soccer players from Silver Spring, Maryland Soccer players from Washington, D.C. United States men's youth international soccer players USL Championship players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen