Born in Rhode Island, Michael Parkhurst attended college at Wake Forest University. In the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, the New England Revolution selected the center back to his hometown team with the No. 9 overall pick. He won the MLS Rookie of the Year award in 2005, the Fair Play Award in 2006 and 2007 and Humanitarian of the Year in 2006. In 2007, he was the MLS Defender of the Year and a part of the Best XI. He was named to the MLS All-Star Team in 2005, 2007 and 2008. He also won the US Open Cup in 2007. His years with New England were obviously decorated to make the list on their own, but we're talking about the past decade here.
After going abroad to play for Denmark's Nordsjælland and Germany's Augsburg, Parkhurst returned to Major League Soccer in 2014. New England traded his rights to the Columbus Crew, who signed Parkhurst in January. He was immediately named the captain of the club. Sadly, Parkhurst did not score any goals in his six years playing from 2014 on. This makes it hard to adequately portray just how good he was, as defensive highlights are not a common thing to stumble upon. Even though this series regards the last ten years, it would be remiss not to include his chipped goal from beyond midfield in Toronto. In 2014, though, Parkhurst helped Columbus keep 7 clean sheets. Right away, he returned to the MLS All-Stars in his first year back in the league. After finishing third in the East, his hometown and former team, New England Revolution, poetically knocked him out of the playoffs.
In 2015, Parkhurst kept 6 clean sheets and added an assist from the back. He started 33 matches over the course of the year. In October, he sent a bomb off a switch to Justin Meram on the left wing, providing his first assist with Columbus. He kept 6 clean sheets on the year. The Crew entered the postseason as the second seed. They sent Montreal out in 4-3 fashion in the first round of the playoffs. In their second series, it was a tight 2-1 aggregate win over the Red Bulls. Columbus advanced to MLS Cup, where Portland hoisted the trophy at Mapfre Stadium after a 2-1 victory. Parkhurst played every minute of the run, but his team fell short.
In 2016, Michael Parkhurst fell just short of playing every minute of every game, sitting out for just 24 minutes. He assisted 2 goals and kept 8 clean sheets during his final season in Black and Gold. His long ball down Main Street found Kei Kamara to register an assist against Montreal in May. Late in a match against the Red Bulls, he clipped a ball into the box that Harrison Afful brought down and chipped the keeper with. Parkhurst's final year with Columbus did not go to plan, as they missed out on the playoffs entirely.
On December 11, 2016, Atlanta United acquired Michael Parkhurst from the Columbus Crew in exchange for allocation money. The center back was acquired to be a veteran presence on the expansion team, who named him as captain right away as well. He returned to the MLS All-Star Game in 2017 with Atlanta. He contributed to 11 clean sheets on the year. He led the team in both clearances and blocks. He made two Team of the Weeks during the campaign. Atlanta finished fourth in their first season, but due to a knock, he came on as a sub in their round one loss in PKs against his former team in Columbus.
In 2018, Michael Parkhurst's curse was finally broken. After so much individual and even team success at times, the main trophy had eluded him. He assisted two goals on the year. The first helper of his AUFC career was a secondary assist with good control through the midfield that Julian Gressel put in at the back post. His second assist of the season came at the Benz in a win over Toronto FC, another secondary assist on a Josef Martinez header. He was named to the 2018 MLS All-Star Team, his sixth time with the honor. Parkhurst was also a finalist for MLS Defender of the Year. His 154 clearances led the team. He kept 7 clean sheets and made three TOTWS. As the second seed, Atlanta United beat out both New York sides in aggregate series. This sent them through to MLS Cup, in which they won 2-0 over Portland. As the captain, team owner Arthur Blank presented Parkhurst the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy to hoist with his teammates in an emotional presentation.
After a magical 2018 season, Michael Parkhurst stuck around for one last season in Atlanta in 2019. He helped the team win two more trophies. He kept 5 clean sheets on the year. Parkhurst did not play in the final of the US Open Cup or Campeones Cup, but he will of course always have those on his resume as well. In September, he announced his intention to retire after the season's close. After barely starting in recent games, he was thrown into the lineup in the knockout round against New England, sacrificing his body with a dislocated shoulder in the win. Toronto FC's 2-1 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium officially ended Parkhurst's professional career.
Michael Parkhurst retired with an incredible list of accomplishments. He has 25 caps for the United States as well. He is generally regarded as one of the better American center backs in recent times. Nowadays, Parkhurst stays quite involved in soccer. Back in his home state of Rhode Island, he joined the ownership group of Rhode Island FC at the very beginning of the project in 2021. The USL-bound team is currently making signings ahead of their inaugural season in 2024. Additionally, he works as the Vice President of US Sports at a software development company called RippleWorx. He has stayed busy after retirement. Michael Parkhurst, an incredible CB and an incredible man, comes in at #32.
YEAR | CLUB | MINUTES | GOALS | ASSISTS | CS |
2019 | ATL | 1,443 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
2018 | ATL | 2,903 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
2017 | ATL | 2,906 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
2016 | CLB | 3,036 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
2015 | CLB | 2,895 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
2014 | CLB | 2,806 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
留言