Thomas Wells Thompson (born November 25, 1983, in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

) is a retired 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 as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

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 North American Soccer League (NASL).

Career

High school and College

Thompson attended R.J. Reynolds High School,

Forsyth Country Day School Forsyth Country Day School (FCDS) is a coeducational private day school located in Lewisville, North Carolina. FCDS was established in 1970. Accreditation FCDS is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS) and the Southe ...

(aka, FCDS), and the

Family Foundation School Allynwood Academy, formerly the Family Foundation School, was a private, co-educational, college preparatory, therapeutic boarding school located in Hancock, New York. The school was in operation from 1984 through 2014, when it closed due to d ...

. He earned an All-North Carolina first team selection as a junior and senior as well as an all-conference and all-region selection. After graduating from FCDS, he attended

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

where he played

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 ...

for four years. During his college years Thompson also played with

Carolina Dynamo Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...

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 ...

Professional

New England Revolution

Thompson was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) in the

2007 MLS SuperDraft The 2007 MLS SuperDraft was held in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 12, 2007. It was the eighth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection belonged to expansion team Toronto FC. The SuperDraft was followed by the 2007 MLS Su ...

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

on January 12, 2007. He officially signed with the club on February 2, 2007. Thompson made his Revolution debut in the opener of the 2007 New England Revolution season, a 1-0 loss to the Chicago Fire on April 7. He made his home debut the following week in the Revolution's home opener on April 14, in a 4-0 win over

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 ...

. He scored his first MLS goal on May 6 in a 3-1 home victory over the Chicago Fire. In his rookie campaign, Thompson made 27 regular season appearances, and started all four of the Revolution's playoff matches, providing a game-winning assist in the 2007 Eastern Conference final, setting up

Taylor Twellman Taylor Timothy Twellman (born February 29, 1980) is an American former soccer player who played professionally from 1999 to 2010. He now works in the media as a soccer television commentator for MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Twellman is best kn ...

's famous bicycle kick. Thompson also started

MLS Cup 2007 MLS Cup 2007 was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup, the post-season championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. It was played on November 18, 2007, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., between the ...

, and helped the Revolution win their first-ever piece of silverware, the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, scoring the game-winning goal in the final. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, Thompson made 19 appearances for the club, recording one assist, and appearing in a substitute in both of the Revolution's playoff matches. He also helped the club win their first piece of international silverware, the

2008 North American SuperLiga The 2008 North American SuperLiga was the second edition of the SuperLiga competition. The top four Major League Soccer and Liga MX teams by point totals at the end of the season earned qualification. All games of the tournament were broadcast liv ...

. In

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, Thompson played in 25 matches, making 17 starts, scoring a goal and recording two assists. He also appeared in both of the Revolution's playoff matches. Thompson won MLS Goal of the Week honors in week 24 for his goal against

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 ...

on August 19.

Colorado Rapids

On January 22, 2010, the Revolution traded Thompson to the

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 ...

along with

Jeff Larentowicz Jeffrey Adam Larentowicz ( ; born August 5, 1983) is an American former soccer player. He was a starting midfielder on the Colorado Rapids' 2010 MLS Cup Championship team, and a starting defender for Atlanta United's 2018 Cup-winning side. Du ...

in exchange for a third-round 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 consi ...

, Preston Burpo and

Cory Gibbs Cory Gibbs (born January 14, 1980) is an American former soccer player. A defender, played professionally for clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and England. He also played 19 international matches for the U.S. national soccer team, including a ...

. On April 14, 2010, Thompson scored his first two goals for Colorado in a 2–1 victory over

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

in a 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification match. Thompson made 27 regular season appearances for Colorado in 2010, including 13 starts, scoring 2 goals. His first goal in MLS regular season play came against his former club, the New England Revolution, on September 18. He started two matches in the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs, and appeared as a 90th minute substitute in

MLS Cup 2010 MLS Cup 2010 was the 15th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. The match took place on November 21, 2010, at BMO Field in ...

, which Colorado won. Thompson was named the Rapids' 2011 Humanitarian of the Year, and was one of only two players to appear in all six of the club's 2011

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, ...

matches.

Chicago Fire

He was traded to the Chicago Fire after asking for a trade. Thompson made 4 appearances for the Fire in the 2012 campaign, and played in 8 games in 2013, earning his first start on March 24, 2013. Thompson's aggressive on-field play has earned him the nickname "El Diablo". At the end of 2013 season the club did not renew Thompson's contract.

Charlotte Eagles

Thompson signed with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

club

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 ...

on March 3, 2014.

Carolina RailHawks

After Charlotte Eagle's move down to the

USL PDL 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 feature ...

, Thompson signed with

on February 3, 2015.

Honors

New England Revolution

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

(1):

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

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 ...

Eastern Conference Championship (1):

North American SuperLiga The SuperLiga was an annual association football competition in North America between four clubs from the Major League Soccer (United States and Canada) and four clubs from the Primera División (Mexico), the top professional league in each count ...

(1):

Colorado Rapids

Eastern Conference Championship (1):

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 ...

MLS Cup (1):

References

External links

*
"With Wells Thompson" blog

"Wells Thompson Interview" interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Wells 1983 births Living people American men's soccer players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players North Carolina Fusion U23 players New England Revolution players Colorado Rapids players Chicago Fire FC players Charlotte Eagles players North Carolina FC players Soccer players from North Carolina New England Revolution draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Men's association football midfielders