Wells Thompson

Wells Thompson
Thompson in 2011 with the Colorado Rapids
Personal information
Full name Thomas Wells Thompson
Date of birth (1983-11-25) November 25, 1983 (age 41)
Place of birth Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2006 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 56 (9)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Carolina Dynamo 29 (2)
2007–2009 New England Revolution 71 (2)
2010–2012 Colorado Rapids 75 (5)
2012–2013 Chicago Fire 12 (0)
2014 Charlotte Eagles 25 (6)
2015 Carolina RailHawks 16 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 30, 2015

Thomas Wells Thompson (born November 25, 1983, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a retired American soccer player who last played as a midfielder for Carolina RailHawks in the North American Soccer League (NASL).

Career

High school and College

Thompson attended R.J. Reynolds High School, Forsyth Country Day School (aka, FCDS), and the Family Foundation School. He earned an All-North Carolina first team selection as a junior and senior as well as an all-conference and all-region selection.[1] After graduating from FCDS, he attended Wake Forest University where he played college soccer for four years. During his college years Thompson also played with Carolina Dynamo in the USL Premier Development League.

Professional

New England Revolution

Thompson was drafted in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by New England Revolution on January 12, 2007.[2] He officially signed with the club on February 2, 2007.[3] 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.[4] 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.[4] He scored his first MLS goal on May 6 in a 3-1 home victory over the Chicago Fire.[5] 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's famous bicycle kick.[6][4][7] Thompson also started MLS Cup 2007,[8] 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.[9]

In 2008, Thompson made 19 appearances for the club, recording one assist, and appearing in a substitute in both of the Revolution's playoff matches.[10] He also helped the club win their first piece of international silverware, the 2008 North American SuperLiga.[11]

In 2009, Thompson played in 25 matches, making 17 starts, scoring a goal and recording two assists.[10] He also appeared in both of the Revolution's playoff matches.[10] Thompson won MLS Goal of the Week honors in week 24 for his goal against San Jose Earthquakes on August 19.[12]

Colorado Rapids

On January 22, 2010, the Revolution traded Thompson to the Colorado Rapids along with Jeff Larentowicz in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, Preston Burpo and Cory Gibbs.[3] On April 14, 2010, Thompson scored his first two goals for Colorado in a 2–1 victory over Kansas City Wizards in a 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup qualification match.[13]

Thompson made 27 regular season appearances for Colorado in 2010, including 13 starts, scoring 2 goals.[10] His first goal in MLS regular season play came against his former club, the New England Revolution, on September 18.[14][15] He started two matches in the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs, and appeared as a 90th minute substitute in MLS Cup 2010, which Colorado won.[16][17]

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 matches.[12]

Chicago Fire

He was traded to the Chicago Fire after asking for a trade.[18][19] Thompson made 4 appearances for the Fire in the 2012 campaign,[10] and played in 8 games in 2013,[10] earning his first start on March 24, 2013.[20] Thompson's aggressive on-field play has earned him the nickname "El Diablo".[21][22] At the end of 2013 season the club did not renew Thompson's contract.[23]

Charlotte Eagles

Thompson signed with USL Pro club Charlotte Eagles on March 3, 2014.[24]

Carolina RailHawks

After Charlotte Eagle's move down to the USL PDL, Thompson signed with Carolina RailHawks on February 3, 2015.[25]

Honors

New England Revolution

Colorado Rapids

References

  1. ^ "Wells Thompson Bio - Wake Forest Men's Soccer - WakeForestSports.com".
  2. ^ "2007 MLS SuperDraft". mlssoccer. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  3. ^ a b "Club History Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "New England Revolution 2024 Media Guide". New England Revolution. 2023-11-02. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  5. ^ "Former Deacon Wells Thompson Scores First MLS Goal". Wake Forest University Athletics. 2007-05-08. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  6. ^ Connolly, John (2007-11-09). "Revs ride along on Twellman's bike". Boston Herald. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  7. ^ "Playoff Moments". mlssoccer. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  8. ^ "MLS Cup 2007". Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  9. ^ "Revolution wins 2007 U.S. Open Cup". October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Wells Thompson". mlssoccer. 1983-11-25. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  11. ^ McCarthy, Kyle (August 6, 2008). "Revs Capture SuperLiga 2008 Crown". Archived from the original on June 15, 2009.
  12. ^ a b "Wells Thompson". mlssoccer. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  13. ^ "Thompsons brace leads Rapids past KC".
  14. ^ The Associated Press (2010-09-18). "Colorado beats New England 3-0". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  15. ^ "Colorado 3-0 New England (19 Sep, 2010) Commentary". ESPN. 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  16. ^ "2010 MLS Cup: FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids". November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on March 20, 2016.
  17. ^ Seltzer, Greg. (December 17, 2019). Carolinas XI: As Charlotte joins MLS, here's an all-time team hailing from the soccer hotbed. mlssoccer.com. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  18. ^ Groke, Nick (2012-09-09). "Colorado Rapids trying to trade midfielder Wells Thompson". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  19. ^ McCarthy, Jack (September 10, 2012). "Fire pick up midfielder Thompson in deal with Rapids". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  20. ^ Chicago Fire Soccer Club Roster, retrieved May 7, 2013
  21. ^ Gregg Mixdorf (April 13, 2013). "As it happened: Game 6 Houston vs Chicago".
  22. ^ Jeff Crandall & Eunice Kim (April 30, 2013). "All-In Podcast Ep. #101 All-In with Wells Thompson". Chicago-Fire.com (Podcast). Event occurs at 28:10. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  23. ^ "RELEASE: Chicago Fire Exercise Contract Options on 10 Players Ahead of Thursday's Re-Entry Draft". chicago-fire.com. December 9, 2013.
  24. ^ "Eagles Add Thompson To Squad". March 3, 2014. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014.
  25. ^ "RAILHAWKS ADD MIDFIELDER THOMPSON". February 3, 2015. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015.