Perry Allen Kitchen (born February 29, 1992) 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 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 played as a defensive midfielder. He was part of the Akron Zips side that won the

2010 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2010 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament was a tournament of 48 collegiate soccer teams who played for the NCAA Championship in soccer. The semifinals and final were held at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, California. All the other games ...

, and was a first round drft pick (3rd overall) for D.C. United in the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

. He played 187 total games and scored 10 goals for D.C., and won the

2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 100th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Qualification began in November 2012 in the fifth tier, although the United States Soccer Federation did not announce the format until Ma ...

. In March 2016, he moved to Heart of Midlothian of the Scottish Premiership, who appointed him their captain. After six months with Randers of the Danish Superliga, he returned to MLS with the

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

in January 2018. Three years later, he joined the Columbus Crew of the same league. Kitchen was captain of the United States men's national under-17 soccer team at the

2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup was the thirteenth tournament of the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in Nigeria from 24 October to 15 November 2009. The tournament was won by Switzerland, beating the host team and holders, Nigeria. The Golden Ball to the Be ...

in Nigeria. He made his senior international debut in February 2015 and was part of the squad that came fourth at the Copa América Centenario.

College and amateur

Born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana, Kitchen was signed up for soccer by his mother and quickly excelled in the sport, as his local league made him play two age groups higher due to his ability. Two years later he was signed to the Chicago Magic, a team in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, while remaining in Indiana. He was invited to spend two years in the United States men's national under-17 soccer team camp in

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

and captained the team at the

in Nigeria. In 2010, he enrolled at University of Akron and played a season for the Akron Zips, who won the

under Caleb Porter with other future MLS players such as Darlington Nagbe. He started 25 games for the Zips in 2010, scoring six goals and adding one assist. He earned an All-MAC First Team selection and scored an unassisted goal on a right-footed blast from 30 yards out during Akron's 2–1 win over the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

in the national semifinal of the College Cup. Kitchen also made a solitary appearance for USL Premier Development League club Chicago Fire Premier in 2010.

Professional career

D.C. United

Kitchen passed on a trial offer from Belgium's

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

to sign a Generation Adidas contract with MLS. He was selected by D.C. United in the first round (3rd overall) of the

. He made his professional debut on March 19, 2011 in United's 2011 MLS season opener against the Columbus Crew, and scored his first professional goal on May 29 in a 3-2 win over the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

. Perry was a finalist for the 2011 Rookie of the Year award, although he was ultimately not selected. He recorded 4 assists for the season of 2013, which was the record high for the team that year. He was voted D.C. United's Most Valuable Player of the 2013 season. He played all five matches of their

2013 U.S. Open Cup The 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 100th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer. Qualification began in November 2012 in the fifth tier, although the United States Soccer Federation did not announce the format until Ma ...

win, including the 1–0 final victory at Real Salt Lake on October 1. Kitchen's deal with D.C. United expired after the 2015 season.

Europe

Kitchen signed with Heart of Midlothian on a -year deal on March 9, 2016. He made his debut in the Scottish Premiership three days later in a 1–0 win at

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, as a 73rd-minute substitute for

Sam Nicholson Sam Alastair Nicholson (born 20 January 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a left winger or left midfielder for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. Career Heart of Midlothian Nicholson attended Penicuik High School in Midlothian an ...

. On September 21, 2016, Kitchen was appointed club captain. Kitchen played less often after Ian Cathro was appointed Hearts manager, and he was allowed to leave the club at the end of the season. Kitchen signed for Danish Superliga club Randers on a two-year deal in July 2017.

LA Galaxy

Kitchen returned to the United States when he signed with

in January 2018. LA acquired his MLS rights from D.C. United in exchange for $100,000 in general allocation money and $200,000 in targeted allocation money. He made his debut on March 4 in the season opener, a 2–1 win over Portland. After the 2020 season, Kitchen was out of contract.

Columbus Crew

On January 28, 2021, Kitchen signed with the Columbus Crew as a free-agent. On April 15, 2021, Kitchen made his debut for the Crew in a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

match against Real Esteli. After playing in the first match of the 2021 MLS season, Kitchen suffered an injury to his right hamstring and did not appear again for the Black and Gold until July 9th, starting against FC Cincinnati. On August 19th, the club announced that Kitchen had undergone successful back surgery for a herniated disc, which ended his 2021 MLS campaign after three starts and five total appearances. On October 26, 2022, Kitchen announced his retirement from professional soccer on his personal Instagram account.

International

Kitchen, who captained the United States men's national under-17 soccer team at the

in Nigeria, also played with the under-20 team. On January 9, 2015, Kitchen was called to the senior training camp for the first time. He made his first international appearance on February 8 that year against Panama at the StubHub Center, replacing the injured DeAndre Yedlin for the last 22 minutes of a 2–0 win. He was part of the 23-man squad that Jürgen Klinsmann called up for the Copa América Centenario on home soil in May 2016. The team came fourth, though he did not play.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Akron Zips * NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship: 2010 * Mid-American Conference Regular Season: 2010 * Mid-American Conference Tournament: 2010 D.C. United * Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

United States * Milk Cup U-20 Tournament: 2010

References

External links

*
Akron profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitchen, Perry 1992 births Living people American soccer players Akron Zips men's soccer players Chicago Fire U-23 players D.C. United players D.C. United draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Soccer players from Indianapolis Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Scotland American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Copa América Centenario players Randers FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark American expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Association football midfielders LA Galaxy players Columbus Crew players