Noah Merl (born June 4, 1983, in

Walnut Creek, California Walnut Creek is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about east of the city of Oakland, California, Oakland. Walnut Creek has a total population of 70,127 per t ...

) is a psychotherapist for athletes and performers throughout the state of California. Noah is a former American 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 collegiate soccer at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, and professionally for the Seattle Sounders. After retiring in 2008, he pursued a career in psychotherapy, attending graduate school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Noah then returned to California where he continues to work as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker while living with his wife and 3 children. In 2022 Noah starte
Athletic Acumen
his own private practice specializing in psychotherapy services specifically for elite athletes and performers.

Career

College and amateur

Merl attended the

where 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 ...

from 2001 to 2004 and was captain his last 2 years. During the 2004 collegiate off season, he spent the summer with

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of th ...

of 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 ...

. During his final game with Cal, in the NCAA tournament at Southern Methodist University, Noah tore his PCL in his left knee, leading to a year-long recovery.

Professional

Merl was drafted in the third round (29th overall) of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft by 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 ...

despite being injured, though he never played a first team game with the team, playing three games with their reserves2005 MLS Reserves statistics
before being released at the end of the season. On April 10, 2006, he signed with Seattle Sounders 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 ...

, and spent the next three seasons with the team, playing 21 games in his first season, and finishing his career there with 65 appearances. Noah represented the United States at the 2007

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is an international beach soccer competition contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. The tournament was preceded by the Beach Soccer World Championshi ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Following the demise of the USL1-1 Sounders at the end of 2008, Merl retired from professional soccer and pursued a career as a mental health therapist, currently licensed in California.

Honors

Seattle Sounders

Championship (1):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Commissioner's Cup (1):

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merl, Noah 1983 births Living people American men's soccer players California Golden Bears men's soccer players Orange County Blue Star players San Jose Earthquakes players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Crossfire Redmond players University of California, Berkeley alumni USL League Two players USL First Division players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Soccer players from California Men's association football midfielders