Chris Leitch
Encyclopedia
Chris Leitch is an American
soccer player who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes
in Major League Soccer
.
at the University of North Carolina
, leading them to the NCAA Championship
in 2001, setting a school record for games played (88) and starts (87).
in the fourth round of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft
, but only played 13 games for his hometown team in his first professional season.
Leitch was traded to the MetroStars
with Jeff Matteo for Ross Paule
prior to the 2003 season. He became a regular in the Metro lineup late in the year, playing in 15 games. He then became an automatic starter in 2004, playing every minute of all but a single game. Originally a right back, Leitch acquitted himself well on the left flank when the Metros needed help at that position. He switched back to the right flank in 2005. Despite being named the team's Defender of the Year, he was waived by the club in the offseason and then came back to Columbus. He appeared in 24 matches in the 2006 season for his hometown club.
In the 2007 pre-season, Leitch was waived again, this time by the Crew as they sought to clear roster spots. He would return to the now-rebranded MetroStars, now New York Red Bulls, in July. The versatile defender appeared in 12 league matches for the club, starting 11. In 2008 Leitch appeared in 17 regular season matches. He helped the club reach the 2008 Western Conference Final, starting in both matches of the Red Bulls historic upset over defending champion Houston Dynamo
(4-1 on aggregate). The following week he helped shut out Real Salt Lake
1-0 to help the Red Bulls reach the MLS Cup Final for the first time in club history.
Just prior to the start of the 2009 season on March 2, the San Jose Earthquakes
acquired Leitch in a trade with New York for an undisclosed sum of allocation money and one of the Earthquakes' eight international slots. Leitch had a career year with San Jose
in 2009 appearing in 29 matches during the MLS regular season and contributing with 7 assists from his full back position.
|2002||rowspan="1"|Columbus Crew
||rowspan="1"|Major League Soccer
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|2003||rowspan="3"|MetroStars||rowspan="3"|Major League Soccer
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|2004||29||0||1||0|||2||0||-||-||32||0
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|2005||28||0||1||0|||-||-||-||-||29||0
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|2006||rowspan="1"|Columbus Crew
||rowspan="1"|Major League Soccer
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|2007
||rowspan="2"|New York Red Bulls||rowspan="2"|Major League Soccer
||12||0||-||-||1||0||-||-||13||0
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|2008
||17||0||1||0||4||0||-||-||22||0
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|2009
||rowspan="2"|San Jose Earthquakes
||rowspan="2"|Major League Soccer
||29||0||1||0||-||-|||-||-||30||0
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|2010
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soccer player who currently plays for San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
in Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
.
College
Leitch played college soccerCollege soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, leading them to the NCAA Championship
NCAA Men's Soccer Championship
The NCAA began conducting a Men's Division I Soccer Championship tournament in 1959 with an eight-team tournament. Currently, the tournament field consists of 48 teams...
in 2001, setting a school record for games played (88) and starts (87).
Professional
Leitch was drafted by the Columbus CrewColumbus Crew
The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
in the fourth round of the 2002 MLS SuperDraft
2002 MLS SuperDraft
The 2002 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.-Round 1:-Round 2:-Round 3:-Round 4:-Round 5:-Round 6:...
, but only played 13 games for his hometown team in his first professional season.
Leitch was traded to the MetroStars
Red Bull New York
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The team competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
with Jeff Matteo for Ross Paule
Ross Paule
Ross Paule is a former American soccer midfielder, who last played for the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer....
prior to the 2003 season. He became a regular in the Metro lineup late in the year, playing in 15 games. He then became an automatic starter in 2004, playing every minute of all but a single game. Originally a right back, Leitch acquitted himself well on the left flank when the Metros needed help at that position. He switched back to the right flank in 2005. Despite being named the team's Defender of the Year, he was waived by the club in the offseason and then came back to Columbus. He appeared in 24 matches in the 2006 season for his hometown club.
In the 2007 pre-season, Leitch was waived again, this time by the Crew as they sought to clear roster spots. He would return to the now-rebranded MetroStars, now New York Red Bulls, in July. The versatile defender appeared in 12 league matches for the club, starting 11. In 2008 Leitch appeared in 17 regular season matches. He helped the club reach the 2008 Western Conference Final, starting in both matches of the Red Bulls historic upset over defending champion Houston Dynamo
Houston Dynamo
The Houston Dynamo is an American professional soccer club, based in Houston, Texas, that plays in Major League Soccer, the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Founded in 2005 as Houston 1836, the team name was renamed to Houston Dynamo following protests from Hispanic...
(4-1 on aggregate). The following week he helped shut out Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake is an American professional soccer club based in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. They currently play their home games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake won...
1-0 to help the Red Bulls reach the MLS Cup Final for the first time in club history.
Just prior to the start of the 2009 season on March 2, the San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
acquired Leitch in a trade with New York for an undisclosed sum of allocation money and one of the Earthquakes' eight international slots. Leitch had a career year with San Jose
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
in 2009 appearing in 29 matches during the MLS regular season and contributing with 7 assists from his full back position.
Titles
| Season | Team | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Columbus CrewColumbus Crew The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada... |
US Open Cup |
| 2008 | New York Red Bulls |
MLS Western Conference (Playoffs) MLS Western Conference The Western Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences.-Current members:*Chivas USA*Colorado Rapids*FC Dallas*Los Angeles Galaxy*Portland Timbers*Real Salt Lake*San Jose Earthquakes*Seattle Sounders FC*Vancouver Whitecaps FC... |
Career statistics
|-|2002||rowspan="1"|Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
||rowspan="1"|Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||13||0||2||0||-||-|||-||-||15||0
|-
|2003||rowspan="3"|MetroStars||rowspan="3"|Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||15||0||3||0|||2||0||-||-||20||0
|-
|2004||29||0||1||0|||2||0||-||-||32||0
|-
|2005||28||0||1||0|||-||-||-||-||29||0
|-
|2006||rowspan="1"|Columbus Crew
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada...
||rowspan="1"|Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||24||0||2||0||-||-||-||-||26||0
|-
|2007
2007 Major League Soccer season
The 2007 Major League Soccer season was the 12th season in league history. The season began on April 7 and concluded with MLS Cup 2007 on November 18, 2007 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C.....
||rowspan="2"|New York Red Bulls||rowspan="2"|Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||12||0||-||-||1||0||-||-||13||0
|-
|2008
2008 Major League Soccer season
The 2008 Major League Soccer season was the 13th season in league history. The season began on March 29 and ended with MLS Cup 2008, on November 23 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.-Changes from the 2007 season:...
||17||0||1||0||4||0||-||-||22||0
|-
|2009
2009 Major League Soccer season
The 2009 Major League Soccer season was the 14th season of Major League Soccer. The season began on March 19 and ended with Real Salt Lake winning the MLS Cup 2009, on November 22 at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington-Changes from the 2008 season:...
||rowspan="2"|San Jose Earthquakes
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes professional soccer team is located in the San Jose, California, United States suburb of Santa Clara, and participates in Major League Soccer , the top level soccer league in the United States and Canada....
||rowspan="2"|Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
||29||0||1||0||-||-|||-||-||30||0
|-
|2010
2010 Major League Soccer season
The 2010 Major League Soccer season was the 98th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer, the 32nd with a national first-division league, in the United States and Canada, and the 15th in MLS history. It began on March 25 at Seattle's Qwest Field with Seattle Sounders FC defeating the expansion...
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