Kevin Sakuda (born June 18, 1980 in
Fremont, California
Fremont is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San Fra ...
) is an American
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player who last played for
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 pyr ...
in the
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 Un ...
.
Career
Youth and college
Sakuda attended
Mission San Jose High School
Mission San Jose High School (MSJHS or MSJ) is a four-year co-educational public high school founded in 1964. It is located in the Mission San Jose district of Fremont, California, United States. It is one of five comprehensive high schools in t ...
. He then attended
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
where he played three seasons on the men’s soccer team from 1998 to 2001. During this time he was also a member of 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' b ...
.
Professional
In February 2002, the
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...
picked Sakuda in the fourth round (thirty-ninth overall) in the
2002 MLS SuperDraft
The 2002 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 10, 2002 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
One month earlier, MLS had contracted two clubs: Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion. In conjunction with the contraction, the league conducted bot ...
. He spent the 2002 season with the Earthquakes, but never entered a first team game and was released. In the fall of 2002, he then signed with the
San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to:
*San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League
*San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League
*San Diego S ...
of
Major Indoor Soccer League. He would play with the Sockers through the 2003–2004 season. In the 2004 MISL Expansion Draft, the Chicago Storm selected Sakuda, then traded him back to the Sockers on September 24, 2004 in exchange for
Byron Alvarez. When the Sockers folded during the 2004–2005 season, the Storm picked him in third round of the Dispersal Draft, but Sakuda did not sign with the team.
During the 2003 outdoor season, Sakuda signed with the
Seattle Sounders
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...
of the
USL First Division
The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010.
During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...
. He quickly became a mainstay on their back line. He played twenty games his first season, a number which injury reduced to thirteen for the 2004 season. Those were the only seasons in which he saw time in less than 28 games. In 2005, Sakuda and his team mates won the USL First Division championship, a title they won again in 2007.
Sakuda has continued to play indoors since leaving the Sockers; during 2008 he was a member of the
Seattle Wolves FC indoor team which competed in the Premier Arena Soccer League during the winter.
On February 27, 2009 he moved to the
Montreal Impact on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract.
On July 15, 2009 he signed a contract for the remainder of the season with 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 pyr ...
.
Aztex Make More Roster Moves; Copa Aztex is Saturday
/ref>
Honors
Seattle Sounders
*USL First Division
The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010.
During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...
Championship (1): 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
*USL First Division
The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010.
During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...
Commissioner's Cup (1): 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
References
External links
Austin Aztex bio
Seattle Sounders bio
Montreal Impact bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakuda, Kevin
1980 births
Living people
American men's soccer players
Austin Aztex FC players
Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players
Indoor soccer players
Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players
San Jose Earthquakes players
Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players
San Diego Sockers (2001–2004) players
USL First Division players
USSF Division 2 Professional League players
Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players
United States men's under-20 international soccer players
San Jose Earthquakes draft picks
A-League (1995–2004) players
Men's association football defenders
Sportspeople from Fremont, California
Soccer players from Alameda County, California
Mission San Jose High School alumni