View source for Brian Carroll

{{short description|American soccer player}}
{{About|the American soccer player}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Brian Carroll
| image = Brian Carroll at Preseason Training for the Philadelphia Union, Jan 2011.jpg
| upright = 0.9
| alt = 
| caption = Carroll with the [[Philadelphia Union]] in 2011
| full_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1981|7|20}}
| birth_place = [[Fairfax, Virginia]], U.S.
| height = 1.78 m
| position = [[Defensive midfielder]]
| currentclub = 
| youthyears1 = 2000–2002
| youthclubs1 = [[Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer|Wake Forest Demon Deacons]]
| years1 = 2003–2007
| clubs1 = [[D.C. United]]
| caps1 = 121
| goals1 = 2
| years2 = 2003
| clubs2 = → [[Richmond Kickers]] (loan)
| caps2 = 8
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2008–2010
| clubs3 = [[Columbus Crew]]
| caps3 = 84
| goals3 = 2
| years4 = 2011–2017
| clubs4 = [[Philadelphia Union]]
| caps4 = 166
| goals4 = 5
| years5 = 2017
| clubs5 = → [[Philadelphia Union II|Bethlehem Steel]] (loan)
| caps5 = 1
| goals5 = 0
| totalcaps = 380
| totalgoals = 9
| nationalyears1 = 2001
| nationalteam1 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States U20]]
| nationalcaps1 = 3
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 2005–2009
| nationalteam2 = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps2 = 8
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| medaltemplates = 
}}

'''Brian Carroll''' (born July 20, 1981) is an American former professional [[soccer]] player who played as a [[defensive midfielder]], notably appearing for [[D.C. United]] [[Columbus Crew]] and [[Philadelphia Union]] in [[Major League Soccer]]. He is the only player in MLS history to have won four consecutive Supporter Shields.<ref name=Retirement>{{cite web |url=https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/b/2017/10/19/philadelphia-union-midfielder-brian-carroll-announces-retirement |title=Philadelphia Union Midfielder Brian Carroll Announces Retirement |publisher=Philadelphia Union |date=19 October 2017 |access-date=19 December 2020 |archive-date=16 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116024239/https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/b/2017/10/19/philadelphia-union-midfielder-brian-carroll-announces-retirement |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Youth and college career==
While in high school, Carroll was the [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/hssports/longterm/allmets/spring00/soccerboys.htm#player ''Washington Post'' All-Met Player of the Year], was twice named to the [https://web.archive.org/web/20061022190350/http://all-americans.parade.com/2006_boy_soccer/2006_national_team.html ''Parade''] [[All-America]]n team, and led the [[West Springfield High School (Virginia)|West Springfield]] Spartans to the final of the [[Virginia High School League|Virginia state tournament]] in 1998. He played college soccer at [[Wake Forest University]] from 2000 to 2002. Named captain as a sophomore, Carroll tied the school record for most assists in a game with three and finished the year as a second-team All-[[Atlantic Coast Conference|ACC]] selection. As a junior, he was again team captain, an All-American, and was a finalist for the [[Hermann Trophy]]. After his junior year, he signed a [[Project-40]] contract with MLS, completing his career at Wake Forest with 7 goals and 15 assists, having started all 61 games over the three years.

==Club career==
===D.C. United===
[[File:BrianCarroll.jpg|thumb|Carroll at a D.C. United Meet the Team event, July 17, 2005]]

Carroll was selected 11th overall in the [[2003 MLS SuperDraft]] by [[D.C. United]].<ref>{{cite web| url=https://godeacs.com/news/2003/1/17/Brian_Carroll_Drafted_11th_Overall_in_MLS_SuperDraft |title=Brian Carroll Drafted 11th Overall in MLS SuperDraft |website=godeacs.com |date=17 January 2003 |access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> Unfortunately for him, coach [[Ray Hudson]] preferred a lineup dominated by veterans, and although he saw time in [[U.S. Open Cup]] competition, Carroll did not appear in any regular season games. [[Piotr Nowak|Peter Nowak]] replaced Hudson following the 2003 season, and soon expressed incredulity that a player as talented as Carroll saw no playing time under Hudson.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Carroll was a fixture in Nowak's lineup for the first game of the 2004 season, and would remain there all year long, appearing in all 30 of the team's games, starting 26 of them, earning his first MLS assist, and winning the [[MLS Cup]]. In 2005, he led the team in minutes and games played, scored his first league goal, added three more assists, and led MLS in consecutive games played, at 62. Carroll was one of three players nominated for the 2005 [[MLS Fair Play Award]].  Carroll started 31 games for the club in 2006, with 1 goal and 3 assists.  Carroll lost his starting role with United to fellow defensive midfielder [[Clyde Simms]] midway through the 2007 season, but still had a productive year, with 4 assists to his credit.
It was announced on 27 November 2006 that Carroll was on trial with [[France|French]] club  [[Olympique de Marseille]] with hopes for an eventual transfer. However, on 23 January 2007 it was announced that Carroll had re-signed with D.C. United.

===Columbus Crew===
On November 21, 2007, Carroll was selected as part of the [[2007 MLS Expansion Draft|expansion draft]] to join the new [[San Jose Earthquakes]] club. On November 26, he was traded to the [[Columbus Crew]] in exchange for [[Kei Kamara]].<ref name=Crew>
{{cite web |url=https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2010/06/25/brian-carroll-inks-four-year-extension-crew |title=Brian Carroll inks four-year extension with Crew |author=Craig Merz |publisher=Columbus Crew |date=25 June 2010 |access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref>

In June 2010, Caroll signed a four-year contract extension with the Crew.<ref name=Crew/> On November 6, 2010, he missed the penalty which ended the Crew's playoff run, sending the ball over the crossbar.

===Philadelphia Union===
On November 22, 2010, Carroll was traded to [[Philadelphia Union]] in exchange for a second-round draft pick and allocation money.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2010/11/22/union-acquire-mf-brian-carroll |title=Union Acquire MF Brian Carroll |publisher=Philadelphia Union |date=22 November 2010 |access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref>

Between 2004 and 2016 he made at least 21 appearances for 13 different seasons. Upon retirement he was praised for his professionalism and leadership.<ref name=Retirement/>

==International career==
Carroll played on the [[United States men's national under-18 soccer team|Under-18]], [[United States men's national under-20 soccer team|Under-20]], and [[United States men's national under-23 soccer team|Under-23]] [[United States men's national soccer team|national teams]], including at the [[2001 FIFA World Youth Championship]] in Argentina and 2003 Olympic Qualifying. In his first game for the full national team (a [[FIFA World Cup qualification|World Cup qualifier]] vs. [[Panama national football team|Panama]] on October 12, 2005), he was named Man of the Match. He ended his career with eight [[cap (football)|caps]].

==Personal life==
Carroll is the brother of fellow former professional soccer players [[Jeff Carroll (soccer)|Jeff Carroll]] and [[Pat Carroll (soccer)|Pat Carroll]], both of whom have also played for [[D.C. United]]. He is a lifelong Catholic whose soccer career has been influenced by former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncregister.com/news/seeking-the-union-of-sport-and-faith-in-philly |title=Seeking the Union of Sport and Faith in Philadelphia |last=Beattie |first=Trent |date=7 August 2014 |website=ncregister.com |access-date=12 December 2020}}</ref>

Following retirement Carroll was planning to move to the [[Indianapolis]] area to pursue a career in financial planning.<ref name=Retirement/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sirkbook.com/2019/01/13/savedthecrew-reaction-brian-carroll/ |title=#SavedTheCrew Reaction: Brian Carroll |date=13 January 2019 |website=sirkbook.com|access-date=19 December 2020}}</ref>

== Career statistics ==

===Club===
{{Updated|April 16, 2016}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|[[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|Open Cup]]
!colspan="2"|[[MLS Cup Playoffs|Playoffs]]
!colspan="2"|North America
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[D.C. United]]
|[[2003 Major League Soccer season|2003]]
|rowspan="5"|[[Major League Soccer]]
|0||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||3||0
|-
|[[2004 D.C. United season|2004]]
|30||0||1||0||4||0||0||0||35||0
|-
|[[2005 D.C. United season|2005]]
|32||1||2||0||2||0||0||0||36||1
|-
|[[2006 D.C. United season|2006]]
|31||1||3||0||3||0||0||0||37||1
|-
|[[2007 D.C. United season|2007]]
|28||0||1||0||1||0||0||0||30||0
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Columbus Crew]]
|[[2008 Major League Soccer season|2008]]
|rowspan="3"|Major League Soccer
|30||1||2||0||4||0||0||0||36||1
|-
|[[2009 Columbus Crew season|2009]]
|26||0||0||0||2||0||5||0||33||0
|-
|[[2010 Columbus Crew season|2010]]
|28||1||1||0||2||0||3||0||34||1
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Philadelphia Union]]
|[[2011 Philadelphia Union season|2011]]
|rowspan="6"|Major League Soccer
|30||1||1||1||2||0||0||0||33||2
|-
|[[2012 Philadelphia Union season|2012]]
|33||1||4||1||0||0||0||0||37||2
|-
|[[2013 Philadelphia Union season|2013]]
|33||2||2||1||0||0||0||0||35||3
|-
|[[2014 Philadelphia Union season|2014]]
|21||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||24||0
|-
|[[2015 Philadelphia Union season|2015]]
|22||0||3||0||0||0||0||0||25||0
|-
|[[2016 Philadelphia Union season|2016]]
|5||0||0||0||0||0||0||0||5||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!349!!8!!26!!3!!20!!0!!8!!0!!403!!11
|}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
|[[2005 in American soccer|2005]]||2||0
|-
|[[2006 in American soccer|2006]]||2||0
|-
|[[2007 in American soccer|2007]]||2||0
|-
|[[2008 in American soccer|2008]]||0||0
|-
|[[2009 in American soccer|2009]]||1||0
|-
|[[2010 in American soccer|2010]]||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!8!!0
|}

==Honors==
'''D.C. United'''
* [[MLS Cup]]: [[2004 Major League Soccer season|2004]]
* [[Eastern Conference (MLS)|Eastern Conference]] (Playoffs): [[2004 Major League Soccer season|2004]]
* [[MLS Supporter's Shield|Supporter's Shield]]: [[2006 Major League Soccer season|2006]], [[2007 Major League Soccer season|2007]]

'''Columbus Crew'''
* MLS Cup: [[2008 Major League Soccer season|2008]]
* Eastern Conference (Playoffs): [[2008 Major League Soccer season|2008]]
* Supporter's Shield: [[2008 Major League Soccer season|2008]], [[2009 Major League Soccer season|2009]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{MLS player|brian-carroll}}
*[http://wakeforestsports.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/carroll_brian00.html Wake Forest bio]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Brian}}
[[Category:1981 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players]]
[[Category:D.C. United players]]
[[Category:Richmond Kickers players]]
[[Category:Columbus Crew players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Union players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Union II players]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Fairfax County, Virginia]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:A-League (1995–2004) players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's youth international soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's under-20 international soccer players]]
[[Category:United States men's under-23 international soccer players]]
[[Category:D.C. United draft picks]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Springfield, Virginia]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:West Springfield High School (Virginia) alumni]]