Tiyiselani "Ty" Shipalane (born 5 October 1985 in

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a town situated in the Mopani district of the Limpopo Province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region. It is Limpopo's second largest to ...

) is a South African

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who last played for Wake FC in

USL League Two 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 ...

Career

College

Shipalane moved from his native South Africa to the United States in 2005 to attend and play college soccer at

Lindsey Wilson College Lindsey Wilson College is a private, United Methodist-related college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 as a training school, the college now offers in-person and online degree programs, offered at the associate, bachelor's, master's, and ...

, where he was the 2006 NAIA Region XI Player of the Year and a three-time All-American. During his college years Shipalane was a member of the highly successful

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, playing in Saginaw, and began playing in 1996. In ...

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 ...

team. With the Bucks, Shipalane scored the winning goal in the 2006 PDL championship game, lost in the final of the 2007 PDL Championship game, and won the PDL regular season title in 2008. In total, he scored 11 goals in 49 appearances over three seasons with the team.

Professional

Shipalane trialled with

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

during the 2009 pre-season, but was not offered a contract by the team; instead, he was signed by the Harrisburg City Islanders of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

. He made his professional debut on 18 April 2009 in Harrisburg's 2-2 opening day tie with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

. He scored 6 goals in 18 appearances for the Islanders in 2009, and was named USL-2 Rookie of the Year. On 28 August 2009, following the conclusion of the 2009 USL season, Shipalane was signed on loan by D.C. United of

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 ...

. He made his DC United debut on 24 September in a

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

game against C.D. Marathón, but never appeared for the team in league play. He was officially added to D.C.'s permanent roster on 14 December 2009, and in doing so became the first City Islander to jump directly to MLS. On 16 April 2010, Shipalane was loaned out to

side

, but played just one game before being released by D.C. United, simultaneously bringing to an end both his MLS tenure and his loan deal. After a brief stint with Harrisburg City Islanders in June 2010, he signed with

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

in the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

. Shipalane was not listed on the 2011 roster for Carolina and released on 4 April 2011. He instead played in the South African

National First Division The South African Championship, officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African football after the South African Premiership. Both the South African Championship and ...

for the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

during 2011. Shipalane returned to the United States when he signed again for

, now playing in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, in January 2012. On 29 May 2012, Shipalane played a key role as a substitute in the Railhawks' 2–1 win over the

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 3rd round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, scoring an equalizer in the 75th minute and setting up Brian Shriver's game-winning goal in the 88th minute. Shipalane also scored two crucial stoppage-time goals for the Railhawks in 2012: one against the

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 tie ...

on 7 July that salvaged a 3–3 draw, and one against

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

on 18 August that gave the Railhawks a 3–2 victory. In late 2018, Shipalane joined the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

Honors

Michigan Bucks *

: 2006 Harrisburg City islanders * USL Division 2 League Rookie of the year: 2009

References

External links

DC United player profileHarrisburg City Islanders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shipalane, Ty 1985 births Living people Flint City Bucks players Penn FC players D.C. United players Richmond Kickers players North Carolina FC players Baltimore Blast players South African men's soccer players South African expatriate men's soccer players USL Second Division players USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players Major Arena Soccer League players University of Pretoria F.C. players Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders men's soccer players Sportspeople from Tzaneen South African expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Limpopo 21st-century South African sportsmen