Tyler Ruthven (born July 18, 1988) 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a defender.

Career

College and amateur

Ruthven attended Roswell High School and Milton High School and played club soccer for the Concorde Fire Elite, before beginning his

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

career at the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

. He transferred to the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

as a sophomore in 2007, where he received numerous awards and accolades, being named Conference USA Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Conference USA Third Team and the NSCAA All-South Third Team in 2007, All-Conference USA Second Team as a Junior, and collecting First-Team All-Conference USA honors and being named to the NSCAA All-South Third Team as a senior. During his college years Ruthven also played in the

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 ...

with

Colorado Rapids U23's Colorado Rapids U–23 were an American soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado. Originally founded in 2000 as part of the development system for the Colorado Rapids, the team played in the Premier Development League, t ...

and

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. ...

Professional

Ruthven turned professional in 2010 when he signed with the

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were 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 ...

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 July 3, 2010, in a game against the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...

, and scored his first professional goal on July 10 in a 3–2 victory over the

Real Maryland Monarchs Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the Americ ...

. Ruthven 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 game ...

of 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 ...

on March 7, 2011. Ruthven earned his first league honors on July 26, 2011, winning the NASL Defensive Player of the Week. He re-signed with Atlanta on January 30, 2012, but was allowed to go on trial with

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. On March 5, 2012, Ruthven agreed to terms with the

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 ...

after impressing during his trial stint. His first appearance in MLS came in the second half of the April 22, 2012, match against

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

. Ruthven then started the club's next three matches, helping New York to three consecutive clean sheets (all 1-0 victories). On November 19, 2012, the Red Bulls announced it declined options for an additional 6 players, having released 4 a week earlier, with Ruthven included in the mix. In 2013, he rejoined the

during preseason and earned a contract. However, the contract was revoked before the 2013 season began. On March 28, 2013, Ruthven agreed to terms with

IK Brage Idrottsklubben Brage, also known as IK Brage or simply Brage, is a Swedish Association football, football club located in Borlänge. The club is affiliated with Dalarnas Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Domnarvsvallen. The club colou ...

Superettan Superettan (; ) is an association football league and the second highest league in the Swedish football league system, league system of Swedish football, Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and rel ...

after impressing the team's sport director Michael Kallback. After becoming a regular in the lineup the first half of the season with IK Brage, the club ran into some difficulties and Ruthven left on a free transfer during the summer window to KuPS in Finland. On October 1, 2019, after two seasons with

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

side

Atlanta United 2 Atlanta United 2 are the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC. The team plays in MLS Next Pro, the official reserve league of MLS. The team was established on November 14, 2017 and began their first professional seaso ...

, Ruthven announced he would retire from playing professional soccer.

Personal

He is the son of former Major League Baseball pitcher

Dick Ruthven Richard David Ruthven (born March 27, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through for the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs. The two- ...

.Roberson, Doug. "Soccer-playing son of ex-Brave leans on dad," ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', Friday, August 10, 2012.
Retrieved March 4, 2021

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruthven, Tyler 1988 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Atlanta United 2 players Chicago Fire U-23 players Colorado Rapids U-23 players Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in Finland IK Brage players Jacksonville Armada FC players Kuopion Palloseura players Major League Soccer players Miami FC players New York Red Bulls players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Penn FC players Sportspeople from Alpharetta, Georgia Phoenix Rising FC players San Francisco Dons men's soccer players Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state) South Carolina Gamecocks men's soccer players Superettan players USL Championship players USL League Two players USL Second Division players Veikkausliiga players