Robert Tyrel "Ty" Harden (born March 6, 1984) is an American

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 last played for Chicago Fire in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Career

Collegiate

Harden was a regular for four years 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 ...

, playing every match of his first two seasons before a minor injury in his junior year. He was named team captain as a junior and senior. Before that, he was Oregon's class 3A Player of the Year twice as a junior and senior. He is the only soccer player to have his jersey retired at his high school. He won four youth state championships with FC Portland Blue being coached by Jim Rilat and Jim Brazo, the club was run by the late Clive Charles.

Professional

Harden was selected by

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

in the second round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, 23rd overall. He made his MLS debut on April 8, 2007, starting in central defense against the

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 ...

in a 0–0 tie. In February 2008, Harden announced his retirement after only one season as a professional soccer player, deciding instead to work for a charitable organization and to finish college at the University of Washington Despite retiring in 2008, his rights were transferred to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

on January 13, 2009. In return the Galaxy received a third-round pick in 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 MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, ...

. Following the draft, it was announced that Harden would be returning to MLS to play for the Rapids. Harden was traded on February 10, 2010, to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

for a third-round draft pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft. Shortly after the trade he was joined in Toronto by teammate Nick LaBrocca. Harden suffered a deep gash to his shin that required 22 stitches after a collision while scoring from a corner on April 28, 2010, against rivals Montreal Impact in the first game of the 2010 Canadian Championship. Harden was released by Toronto on November 15, 2012. He chose to participate in 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 ...

and was selected in stage two by

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 ...

. He signed with the Earthquakes on January 25, 2013. On June 26, 2015, Harden was traded to Chicago Fire in exchange for

Quincy Amarikwa Quincy Obinna Amarikwa ( ; born October 29, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. Career Early career Amarikwa attended Liberty High School. He was a member of the Bakersfield Alliance club soccer team and played college soc ...

. On November 30, 2015, Chicago Fire declined his contract option.

Honors

Toronto FC

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

(3):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harden, Ty 1984 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate men's soccer players LA Galaxy players Colorado Rapids players Rochester New York FC players Toronto FC players San Jose Earthquakes players Chicago Fire FC players Major League Soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks Soccer players from Oregon University of Washington alumni USL First Division players Washington Huskies men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada People from Junction City, Oregon Men's association football defenders