Alan Woods (soccer)

Woods attended Paint Branch High School where he was a 1995 All Met Honorable Mention soccer player.[1] In 1996, he began his collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame where he was named to the Big East All-Rookie team and second team All Great Lakes Region.[2][3] He transferred to Clemson in 1998 where he was first team All ACC and first team All South.[4] In March 1998, Woods was called up to the United States men's national under-23 soccer team camp for its match against Canada.[5]

The Colorado Rapids selected Woods in the first round (tenth overall) of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft, but waived him after the first game of the regular season in which he played five minutes. He then signed with the Charleston Battery of the USL A-League where he started 26 of 27 games and was named Battery Rookie of the year. In April 2001, the Rapids traded Matt Okoh and the rights to Woods to the New England Revolution in exchange for Imad Baba and Carlos Parra. The New England Revolution then signed Woods and he played eighteen games for them making the MLS team of the week once. In 2002, he joined the Atlanta Silverbacks of the USL First Division and spent three seasons with the team and was team captain for two. In 2003, he was team MVP and Second Team All-League.[6] In September 2003, he went on trial with CSKA Sofia, but declined a contract.[7] On February 18, 2005, he rejoined the Charleston Battery after returning from the US Men's National Team camp at the Home Depot Center, for its World Cup Qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago during the player labor dispute, signing a two-year contract.[8] He played ten games, scoring one goal. On July 6, 2005, Woods moved to the Virginia Beach Mariners, playing the remainder of the 2005 as well as the 2006 season where he was named the Mariners Defensive MVP.[9]