Steven Lenhart (born August 28, 1986) is a former American soccer player.

Career

College and amateur

Lenhart grew up in

Yorba Linda, California Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 census. Y ...

, and attended Esperanza High School. He attended

Point Loma Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) is a private Christian liberal arts college with its main campus on the Point Loma oceanfront in San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1902 as a Bible college by the Church of the Nazarene ...

for one year before transferring to

Azusa Pacific University Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The uni ...

. He tallied 38 goals and 12 assists in his 61 career collegiate games for Azusa Pacific, and was named a NAIA All-American in 2007. He was also named to the NAIA All-Tournament Team in 2006 and 2007, was honored as the NAIA Tournament's Outstanding Offensive Player in 2006 and 2007, and was MVP of the 2007 NAIA Tournament while helping lead Azusa Pacific to the 2007 NAIA national title over

Concordia University, Irvine Concordia University Irvine is a private Lutheran university in Irvine, California, United States. It was established in 1976 to provide a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod college to serve the Pacific Southwest and provide training for pastors, ...

. During his college years, Lenhart also played for the

Southern California Seahorses Southern California Seahorses are an American soccer team based in La Mirada, California. Founded in 2001, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the camp ...

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

Lenhart was selected by the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as on ...

as the 48th overall selection in the

2008 MLS SuperDraft The 2008 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the ninth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was made by the Kansas City Wizards, after acquiring the selection from the expansion San ...

. He made his MLS debut on May 31, 2008 as a second-half substitute against

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Gua ...

, and scored his first MLS goal on June 21, 2008, against

Los Angeles 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 pla ...

. His Rookie season ended with an MLS Championship. Coach

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his family ...

subbed Steven into the last 5 minutes to show his appreciation for the contribution to the Crew's winning season. Outside of MLS league play Lenhart has proved himself a capable scorer, tallying 3 goals in the

2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League The 2009–10 CONCACAF Champions League was the second edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format, and overall the 45th edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of ...

. He scored his first goal in the 58' minute in a 2 - 0 victory against the

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

, and claiming the other 2 goals in the 65' and 83' minute in a come from behind 2 - 2 draw against Mexican side

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in Mexico. The city f ...

. Lenhart netted his first goal of the

2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

in the 79' minute in a 3-0 win over

Joe Public F.C. Joe Public Football Club is a football (soccer), football club from Trinidad and Tobago that used to play in the TT Pro League. Nicknamed the ''Eastern Lions'', it is owned by former FIFA vice-president Austin "Jack" Warner, Jack Warner. Joe Pub ...

, making his total 4 goals in the Champions League thus far. Lenhart also has 2 goals so far in the

2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 97th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early October. The tournament proper featured teams from the top five levels of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

, his first coming in the 94' minute against the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

who knocked out the

from the tournament the previous year, his goal ended up being the game winner as the final score was 2 - 1 in favor of the Crew. On January 13, 2011 Lenhart was traded to 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 franchis ...

along with allocation money in exchange for the #15 pick 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 consisted ...

. He signed a new contract with San Jose on November 30, 2011. His cry of "Goonies never say die!" led to the Earthquakes adopting the rally cry (in reference to the '' Goonies'' film) the next year. After a brief stint with Japanese side

FC Imabari FC Imabari (''FC今治'') is a Japanese football club based in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. They play in the J3 League. History The club was founded in 1976 and were promoted to the Shikoku Football League in 2001. From 2009 to 2011 they were ow ...

, Lenhart announced his retirement from the game on May 2, 2017 due to the ongoing symptoms from concussion.

Personal life

Steven has two sisters, one brother, and a mother. His father has died. The Lenharts were active in their community all through Steven's childhood involved in outreach and inclusion of the underrepresented. Service and action have been foundational cornerstones in Steven's life. To this day Steven serves on the board of Kickstart Joy, an organization formed by Mehdi Ballouchy to bring gear, expertise, and joy to Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. Steven is also involved with Soccer Without Borders, a soccer organization that provides a home base and a structure for refugee children in the U.S. Steven now resides in Laguna Beach California and is a performance development coach to athletes and civilians alike incorporating a dynamic holistic approach. In 2020, Lenhart participated in '' World's Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji''.

Career statistics

Honors

Columbus Crew

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

MLS Cup (1):

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Supporter's Shield (2):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

San Jose Earthquakes

Supporter's Shield:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenhart, Steven 1986 births Living people American soccer players Point Loma Nazarene University alumni Azusa Pacific Cougars men's soccer players Southern California Seahorses players Columbus Crew players San Jose Earthquakes players FC Imabari players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Japan Football League players Columbus Crew draft picks Soccer players from Florida Association football forwards American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in Japan American expatriate sportspeople in Japan Participants in American reality television series