Josh Rife

Football player infobox| playername= Josh Rife
fullname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|12|29
cityofbirth = Honolulu, Hawaii
countryofbirth = United States
height = height|ft=6|in=0
currentclub = Charlotte Eagles
clubnumber = 24
position = Defender
youthyears = 1998-1999
2000-2001
youthclubs =Texas Christian University
Indiana University
years = 2003-
2005-2006
2006-2008
clubs = Charlotte Eagles
Philadelphia KiXX (indoor)
Detroit Ignition (indoor)
caps(goals) =
25 (6)
58 (8)
pcupdate = September 9, 2008
ntupdate =

Josh Rife (born December 29, 1979 in Honolulu, HI) is an American soccer defender who currently plays during the summer with the Charlotte Eagles of the USL Second Division and during the winters with the Detroit Ignition in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was the 2006 USL-2 Defender of the Year.

Youth

Rife played for the Texas Longhorns, a Dallas based soccer club, from the age of nine until he was eighteen years old. At the young age of eleven, he toured Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with a Venezualan youth team and played in a series of tournaments where he garnered local and national attention. Rife attended Denton High School in Denton, TX where he was a varsity starter all four years.

College

Upon graduation Rife played for Texas Christian University as a starting defender. After two years with the TCU, Rife transferred to soccer powerhouse Indiana University to pursue a higher level of play under legendary coach, Jerry Yeagley. During his two years at Indiana University, Rife started all 46 matches in the backfield. He was awarded first team All-Big Ten Selection in 2000 and 2001 and first team NSCAA All-Region selection in 2001. During his two years with Indiana University, they attained two College Cups, National Runner-Up and the Big Ten Tournament in 2001, and the 2000 regular season championship. The Hoosiers also boasted the fifth best single season GAA (goals against average) in NCAA history in 2001 with nine goals in 23 matches for a GAA of 0.37.

Professional

In 2003, Rife signed with the Charlotte Eagles, of the USL Second Division. The Eagles are a part of the Missionary Athletes International,(MAI), which is an organization that shares their message of Christianity through their love of soccer. Rife has played with the Charlotte Eagles from 2003 - 2007. In 2004, the team was a PSL National Finalist, in 2005, they were the USL-2 National Champions. 2006 brought them close to winning the championship again and in 2007 they lost in the semi finals. In 2005, Rife was named USL Division 2 Defender of the Year. [ [http://iuhoosiers.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/090805aab.html Rife Named Defender of the Year] ] On November 4, 2005, Rife signed with the Philadelphia KiXX of the Major Indoor Soccer League. This came after a successful trial with the team during October. [ [http://www.misl.net/news/?id=4204&cat=1 KiXX Sign Defenders Josh Rife and Clay Roberts] ] He was named to the 2006 All-MISL Rookie Team which includes only two defenders. On October 19, 2006, KiXX traded Rife to the Detroit Ignition in exchange for Don D’Ambra. [ [http://www.detroitignition.com/news/?cat=19&id=776 Ignition Acquires Defender Josh Rife] ]

In 2006, Rife married Charlotte Lady Eagles player Christy Timbers-Rife.

References

External links

* [http://www.detroitignition.com/players/?id=19 Detroit Ignition Player Profile]