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Aaron Wheeler (soccer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aaron Wheeler
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-05-11) May 11, 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Position(s) Forward
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears
2009 Towson Tigers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Hampton Roads Piranhas 13 (4)
2009 Reading Rage 16 (17)
2009 Vancouver Whitecaps 0 (0)
2010 FC Tampa Bay 19 (4)
2011 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 6 (0)
2012 KTP 17 (2)
2013–2014 Philadelphia Union 25 (1)
2013 → Harrisburg City Islanders (loan) 3 (2)
2014 → Harrisburg City Islanders (loan) 3 (1)
2015 Wilmington Hammerheads 10 (2)
2016–2017 Harrisburg City Islanders 27 (7)
2022–2023 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 44 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 20, 2023

Aaron Wheeler (born May 11, 1988) is an American former professional soccer player.

Career

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College and amateur

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Wheeler attended Patapsco High School in Dundalk, Maryland, who he led to the 2005 Baltimore County championship title, and played three years of college soccer at Lenoir-Rhyne University before transferring to Towson University prior to his senior year. At Lenoir-Rhyne he was a two-time NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region First Team selection and a three-time All-South Atlantic Conference First Team member.

During his college years Wheeler also played for the Hampton Roads Piranhas[1] and Reading Rage in the USL Premier Development League. He was the 2009 PDL Most Valuable Player, and led the league in scoring, recorded a goal or an assist in 13 of 17 regular season and playoffs matches, and finished the 2009 campaign with 17 regular season goals.[2]

Professional

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Following the conclusion of the 2009 PDL season, Wheeler signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps[3] He trained with the first team, and played exhibition games with the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency PDL team, but was never called up to the senior USL First Division squad, and released when his contract expired in October 2009.

Wheeler signed for the FC Tampa Bay in the USSF Division 2 Professional League in early 2010, and made his professional debut on April 16, 2010, in Tampa's first-ever game, a 1–0 victory over Crystal Palace Baltimore. He scored his first professional goal on May 19, 2010, in a 3–3 tie with the Austin Aztex.[4]

He also was one of the trialists for the Philadelphia Union in the 2011 Major League Soccer preseason.[5] He was not offered a contract by the Union, and instead signed with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League, on November 30, 2010.[6] He played just six games with the Strikers before suffering a season-ending injury. Wheeler was released at the end of the 2011 season.

He signed with FC KooTeePee of the Finnish Ykkönen in March 2012. In January 2013, Wheeler signed with Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer.[7]

On June 8, 2022, after nearly five years after playing his last professional game, Wheeler signed with USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks.[8]

In addition to playing professionally, in his spare time, Wheeler coaches soccer to aspiring players in Maryland.[9]

Career statistics

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Club

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Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Canada League Canadian Championship League Cup North America Total
2009 Vancouver Whitecaps USL First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2010 FC Tampa Bay USSF Division 2 19 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 4
2011 Fort Lauderdale Strikers NASL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Finland League Suomen Cup League Cup Europe Total
2012 KooTeePee Ykkönen 17 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 19 5
USA League Open Cup League Cup North America Total
2013 Philadelphia Union Major League Soccer 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Harrisburg City Islanders USL Pro 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2
Total Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
USA 33 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 7
Finland 17 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 19 5
Career total 50 9 2 3 0 0 0 0 52 12

References

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  1. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  2. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-03.
  3. ^ Former L-R Men's Soccer Standout Aaron Wheeler Signs Professional Contract Archived 2010-04-21 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "USSF Division-2 Pro League". Archived from the original on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  5. ^ "Unknown No More: Sixth Philadelphia Union Trialist Identified As Former PDL MVP Aaron Wheeler - Brotherly Game". 28 January 2011. [permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ "FC Tampa Bay Exercises Options on Four Players - OurSports Central - Independent and Minor League Sports News". Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  7. ^ "T&T youth international Damani Richards and 6-4 forward Aaron Wheeler are latest offseason signings | Philadelphia Union". Archived from the original on 2013-01-21.
  8. ^ "Colorado Springs adds veteran forward Aaron Wheeler". 8 June 2022.
  9. ^ "CoachUp | Private and Group Coaching Lessons and Local Sports Training Courses".
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