Raphael Cox (born July 7, 1986 in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

) is an American soccer player and coach. Off the pitch, RCox is widely known for his ability to stroke his beard and chuckle.

Career

Youth and College

Cox attended

Stadium High School Stadium High School is a public high school in Tacoma, Washington, and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original building ...

, and played one year of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...

Highline Community College Highline College is a public community college in Des Moines, Washington. Highline was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County, Washington. The main campus covers . , there were approximately 17,000 students and 350,000 alu ...

Des Moines, Washington Des Moines ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 32,888 as of the 2020 census. The city is located on the east shore of Puget Sound, near the center of the Seattle metropolitan area. It is bordered by t ...

, before transferring to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seat ...

in sophomore year. At Washington he was a two-time All-Pac-10 honoree, and was named to the All-Pac-10 first-team as a senior. During his college years he also played with

Colorado Rapids U23's Colorado Rapids U–23 were an American soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, United States. Originally founded in 2000 as part of the development system for the Colorado Rapids, the team played in the Premier Develop ...

and

Tacoma Tide Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced i ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league sy ...

Professional

Cox was drafted in the fourth round (54th 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 SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft wa ...

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in ...

. He made his professional debut on 28 March 2009, coming on as a substitute in RSL's game against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

, and went on to make six MLS appearances, scoring one goal, before being waived on March 16, 2010. Having been unable to secure a professional contract elsewhere, Cox returned to play for

in the

in 2010. Cox signed with

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home gam ...

of the North American Soccer League on April 6, 2011. Atlanta announced on November 8, 2011 that Cox would return for the 2012 season. On August 17, 2012, Cox was released by

by mutual consent and was signed by

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier ...

the same day Cox spent 2014 with USL club

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soc ...

, before moving to new franchise

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...

on March 25, 2015. Also, he coaches age groups 2003, 2004, 2005 fo
Rainier Valley Slammers
from December 2015 to May 2018. Cox was named to the

Washington Huskies men's soccer The Washington Huskies men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of Washington. The team is a member of the Pac-12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Players and staff Current roster ...

coaching staff on August 27, 2019.

Honors

Tampa Bay Rowdies

* North American Soccer League: ** Champion (1) 2012

References

External links

*
Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Raphael 1986 births Living people American soccer players Washington Huskies men's soccer players Colorado Rapids U-23 players Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players Real Salt Lake players Atlanta Silverbacks players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Penn FC players Charlotte Independence players Soccer players from Tacoma, Washington University of Washington alumni USL League Two players Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players Real Salt Lake draft picks Association football midfielders USL Championship players Major Arena Soccer League players Tacoma Stars (2003–) players American soccer coaches Washington Huskies men's soccer coaches High school soccer coaches in the United States