Michael Shaun Chabala (born May 24, 1984) 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 who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Career

Chabala 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 Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, and also played with 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 ...

with both

Yakima Reds Yakima Reds was an American soccer team based in Yakima, Washington, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the We ...

and his hometown team,

Fresno Fuego Fresno Football Club U-23, formerly Fresno Fuego FC, was an American association football, soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid ...

. Chabala was drafted in the fourth round (44th overall) of the

2006 MLS SuperDraft The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroSt ...

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 ...

. He was loaned to

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

of the

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 ...

during his first year with the Dynamo, making nine appearances. Having spent two years with Dynamo's reserves (where he made 24 starts and registered 12 assists, leading the

MLS Reserve Division The MLS Reserve League was a soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2–0 victory by Chivas ...

in 2007), Chabala finally made his full professional debut for Dynamo on July 10, 2007, in a

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

third-round game against

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

. He made his second first team appearance on July 1, 2008, again in a

third-round game against

. He also played on November 28, 2008, in a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

game against

C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo Club Deportivo Luis Ángel Firpo (often abbreviated to Firpo) is an El Salvador professional association football club based in Usulután. The club is the second-oldest in El Salvador and was founded as Tecún Umán on September 17, 1923, by a gr ...

, a game in which he played a full 90 minutes. After four years on the Houston roster, Chabala finally made his MLS debut on April 11, 2009, as an 80th-minute substitute for

Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...

in a game against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

- and was given a red card for a 'serious foul play' 13 minutes later. He was sent on loan to

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 ...

on June 16, 2009. He returned in July and set career highs for games, starts, and minutes in the 2009 season. On July 21, 2011, Chabala was traded to

along with

Lovel Palmer Lovel Palmer (born 30 August 1984) is a Jamaican footballer who currently plays as a defender and midfielder for the Des Moines Menace in the Premier Development League. Career Youth Palmer began his career with the St. Elizabeth Technical H ...

and an international roster spot for

Adam Moffat Adam John William Moffat (born 15 May 1986) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and spent the majority of his career playing in the various professional leagues in the United States. He attended Gryffe High ...

and allocation money. Impressive performances and his interaction with club supporters made him a fast favorite with Portland fans. Chabala was traded to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

on August 9, 2012, in exchange for a first round 2014 MLS Supplemental Draft pick.
After the conclusion of the 2012 season, D.C. declined the 2013 option on Chabala's contract and he entered the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1), and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as th ...

. Chabala became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft. After trialing with

, Chabala returned to Houston on February 25, 2013.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chabala, Mike 1984 births Living people American men's soccer players Washington Huskies men's soccer players Yakima Reds players Fresno FC U-23 players Houston Dynamo FC players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Austin Aztex FC players Portland Timbers players D.C. United players Soccer players from Fresno, California USL League Two players USL First Division players Major League Soccer players University of Washington alumni Houston Dynamo FC draft picks Men's association football fullbacks