Michael Boxall
Encyclopedia
Michael Joseph Boxall is an New Zealander professional
footballer who plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC in Major League Soccer
.
Boxall played college soccer
for NCAA Division I University of California, Santa Barbara
men's soccer team.
. With Boxall anchoring the defence, Mount Albert won the league title in 2004 and 2005 and placed first at the national tournament in 2005. In his senior season in 2006, Boxall was named the team captain. He led the team to a second Knockout Cup title in three years. They also went to the Auckland Secondary School Soccer Association Championship. Mt. Albert went on to finish second at nationals that year.
Boxall played for a number of teams in his native New Zealand. He played on multiple club teams including Central United
, Ellerslie, and Auckland City
. With Central United, Boxall led the team to the 2007 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier title. In addition, Boxall won the NZFC
with Auckland City. He was named the Auckland City Young Player of the Year with Central United in 2006 and then again with Auckland City F.C. in 2007.
at the University of California, Santa Barbara
by head coach Tim Vom Steeg
. He followed in the New Zealand tradition at Santa Barbara, following former players Tony Lochhead
and Neil Jones, both of whom have received senior international caps after appearing for UCSB. In his first season with the Gauchos, Boxall played in 12 games, starting 10 of them. He scored no points and only had one shot on goal, but proved himself to be a solid defensive rock alongside Gaucho defensive stalwart Andy Iro
. Boxall's season was cut short due to a knee injury which forced him to miss the rest of the year. Despite missing half the season, Boxall led all rookies with 10 starts and tied for the team high in both yellow cards and red cards, 6 and 1 respectively.
.
) in which he made 14 appearances with no goals. During this time, he appeared in the 2007 U-20 World Cup OFC qualifying tournament
and ultimately the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
. He played in all three U-20 World Cup games before New Zealand were knocked out.
Boxall has also represented the New Zealand U-23
Olympic team, known as the Oly-Whites. He played in all 5 2008 OFC Olympic Qualifiers
which saw New Zealand advance to their first ever Olympic Games
. At the 2008 Summer Olympics
, Boxall again appeared in all three of New Zealand's games before they were eliminated. In addition to these 8 games, he played four Olympic warm-up matches against Central Coast Mariners
, Persikota Tangerang
, Indonesia (senior squad)
, and Persija Jakarta
between the Qualifying Tournament and the Beijing Olympic Tournament.
Boxall has made 2 appearances for New Zealand A at the Agribank Cup
in Vietnam during October 2006, appearing against Thailand
and Bahrain
. Both games were held at the My Dinh National Stadium
in Hanoi
, Vietnam
.
Only days after making his Whitecaps debut, Boxall was called up to the All Whites' squad for their match against on 25 March 2011, where he made his début as a second half substitute.
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...
footballer who plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC 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...
.
Boxall played college soccer
College 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...
for NCAA Division I University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
men's soccer team.
Early career in New Zealand
For high school, Boxall attended and played for Mount Albert Grammar SchoolMount Albert Grammar School
Mount Albert Grammar School, or MAGS, is a co-educational secondary school in Central Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches from year 9 to year 13. Mount Albert Grammar is one of the largest secondary schools in the country...
. With Boxall anchoring the defence, Mount Albert won the league title in 2004 and 2005 and placed first at the national tournament in 2005. In his senior season in 2006, Boxall was named the team captain. He led the team to a second Knockout Cup title in three years. They also went to the Auckland Secondary School Soccer Association Championship. Mt. Albert went on to finish second at nationals that year.
Boxall played for a number of teams in his native New Zealand. He played on multiple club teams including Central United
Central United
Central United Football Club is a semi-professional Association football club based in Sandringham, Auckland, New Zealand...
, Ellerslie, and Auckland City
Auckland City FC
Auckland City Football Club is a football club based in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. The club competes in the eight-team ASB Premiership which is the highest level of domestic football in the country...
. With Central United, Boxall led the team to the 2007 Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier title. In addition, Boxall won the NZFC
New Zealand Football Championship
The New Zealand Football Championship is the national association football league in New Zealand. It is a professional/semi-professional status Association football sports Franchise league that is operated by New Zealand Football...
with Auckland City. He was named the Auckland City Young Player of the Year with Central United in 2006 and then again with Auckland City F.C. in 2007.
US College
Boxall was recruited to play 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 California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
by head coach Tim Vom Steeg
Tim Vom Steeg
Timothy Harold "Tim" Vom Steeg is an American collegiate soccer head coach who is currently with the University of California, Santa Barbara men's soccer team. He has been with the Gauchos since 1999 and is the most successful coach in the history of UC Santa Barbara...
. He followed in the New Zealand tradition at Santa Barbara, following former players Tony Lochhead
Tony Lochhead
Tony James Lochhead is a New Zealander football defender who currently plays for Wellington Phoenix of the A-League.-Club career:Lochhead went to America to play college soccer for UC Santa Barbara in 2001...
and Neil Jones, both of whom have received senior international caps after appearing for UCSB. In his first season with the Gauchos, Boxall played in 12 games, starting 10 of them. He scored no points and only had one shot on goal, but proved himself to be a solid defensive rock alongside Gaucho defensive stalwart Andy Iro
Andy Iro
Andrew "Andy" Iro is an English footballer who currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.-Youth and college:...
. Boxall's season was cut short due to a knee injury which forced him to miss the rest of the year. Despite missing half the season, Boxall led all rookies with 10 starts and tied for the team high in both yellow cards and red cards, 6 and 1 respectively.
Professional
Boxall was selected first overall in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft by Vancouver Whitecaps FC. He agreed to terms with the club on 17 March 2011, and made his professional debut on 19 March, in Vancouver's 2011 MLS opener against Toronto FCToronto FC
Toronto FC is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
.
International
Boxall has represented New Zealand at various international levels. His début with the national set up was with the Junior All-Whites (U-20'sNew Zealand national under-20 football team
The New Zealand Under 20's football team, more commonly known as the Junior All Whites, is controlled by New Zealand Football and represents New Zealand in international Under 20 or youth football competitions.-OFC:...
) in which he made 14 appearances with no goals. During this time, he appeared in the 2007 U-20 World Cup OFC qualifying tournament
2007 U-20 World Cup OFC qualifying tournament
The 2007 OFC U-20 Championship was held at the Trusts Stadium in Waitakere, New Zealand from 19 to 31 January 2007 in a league tabele format. It was the first tournament in which regular Oceania powerhouse Australia were not participating, following their switch to the Asian Football Confederation...
and ultimately the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the sixteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup , hosted by Canada from June 30 to July 22, 2007. Argentina defeated Czech Republic in the title game by the score of 2–1, thus managing a back-to-back world title, its fifth in the past seven editions, and sixth...
. He played in all three U-20 World Cup games before New Zealand were knocked out.
Boxall has also represented the New Zealand U-23
New Zealand national under-23 football team
The New Zealand Under-23 Football Team, informally known as the "Oly-Whites", represents New Zealand Football and New Zealand in international Under-23 football events, such as the Summer Olympics....
Olympic team, known as the Oly-Whites. He played in all 5 2008 OFC Olympic Qualifiers
2008 OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament
The 2008 OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament functioned as the qualifying tournament to the association football competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing for the member nations of the Oceania Football Confederation. The tournament consisted of a single round-robin tournament played in...
which saw New Zealand advance to their first ever Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
. At the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, Boxall again appeared in all three of New Zealand's games before they were eliminated. In addition to these 8 games, he played four Olympic warm-up matches against Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast Mariners FC
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is a professional football club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. They participate in the A-League and are one of three teams from the state of New South Wales playing in the competition...
, Persikota Tangerang
Persikota Tangerang
Persatuan Sepakbola Kota Tangerang is a famous Indonesian football team located in Tangerang. They play in the top division in Indonesian football, Liga Indonesia. Their home stadium is Benteng Stadium. The club was founded in 1994....
, Indonesia (senior squad)
Indonesia national football team
The Indonesia national football team represents Indonesia in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Indonesia . Prior to independence in 1945, the team competed as the Dutch East Indies national football team. Under this name, Indonesia was the first Asian team to...
, and Persija Jakarta
Persija Jakarta
Persija Jakarta is an Indonesian football club from Jakarta. It is one of Indonesia's most successful clubs and the most popular sports club in the city. The club's patron is Sutiyoso, the governor of Jakarta until 2007. Persija Jakarta was founded on November 28, 1928, with the embryo called...
between the Qualifying Tournament and the Beijing Olympic Tournament.
Boxall has made 2 appearances for New Zealand A at the Agribank Cup
Agribank Cup
The Vietnam Football Federation Cup or VFF Cup is an annual football tournament organised in Vietnam. The organisation of the tournament was announced on August 19, 2004, replacing the Independence Cup. Every year the tournament is held at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi...
in Vietnam during October 2006, appearing against Thailand
Thailand national football team
The Thailand national football team represents Thailand in international football competition and is governed by the Football Association of Thailand. The team has a history of success in Southeast Asian competition, with three ASEAN Football Championship titles and nine senior-level Southeast...
and Bahrain
Bahrain national football team
The Bahrain national football team is the national team of the Kingdom of Bahrain and is controlled by the Bahrain Football Association; it was founded in 1951 and joined FIFA in 1966. They have never reached the finals of the World Cup, but have twice come within one match of doing so...
. Both games were held at the My Dinh National Stadium
My Dinh National Stadium
My Dinh National Stadium is a stadium in My Dinh commune, Tu Liem District, Hanoi, Vietnam, has a capacity of 40,192 seats and is the centerpiece of Vietnam's National Sports Complex...
in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Only days after making his Whitecaps debut, Boxall was called up to the All Whites' squad for their match against on 25 March 2011, where he made his début as a second half substitute.
Club
- Northern Premier LeagueNorthern League (New Zealand)The Northern Region Football League, or Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier for sponsorship reasons, is a professional/semi-professional New Zealand association football league competition that is run by the...
Champions- 2007 - New Zealand Football ChampionshipNew Zealand Football ChampionshipThe New Zealand Football Championship is the national association football league in New Zealand. It is a professional/semi-professional status Association football sports Franchise league that is operated by New Zealand Football...
Champions - 2007
Individual
- ACFCAuckland City FCAuckland City Football Club is a football club based in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. The club competes in the eight-team ASB Premiership which is the highest level of domestic football in the country...
Young Player of the Year - 2006 and 2007 - All Big West Honorable Mention-2008
- All Big West First Team-2009
- NSCAANSCAAThe National Soccer Coaches Association of America is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. The NSCAA has grown from a handful of college soccer coaches to more than 22,000 members, making it the largest coaching organization in the world. Its members coach at all levels of...
Third Team All-American - 2010 - College Soccer News Third Team All-America-2010
- All-Far West Region First Team - 2010
- Big West Defender of the Year - 2010