Former Beavers Off To Hot Starts For Major League Soccer Teams
May 30, 2012
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Former Oregon State men's soccer players Alan Gordon and Ryan Johnson, traded for one another last summer, are each enjoying success with their new teams early into the 2012 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.
Gordon, who starred for the Beavers from 2002-03, has been a human highlight reel with the San Jose Earthquakes, scoring goals in the final minutes in three consecutive games to give the team two ties and an exciting win over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 94th minute.
His trio of consecutive late-game goals directly secured five points for the Earthquakes and earned him Soccer By Ives MLS Player of the Month honors, becoming the second Earthquake to win in as many months, following in the footsteps of teammate Chris Wondolowski.
Here is a clip of Gordon's header for the match-winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time against the Galaxy, where he spent the first seven seasons of his career:
Gordon has played in seven games overall with one start and also had the winning goal on a diving header against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Johnson, who was traded to Toronto FC for Gordon on July 14, 2011, is the only player on the roster to start all 10 games and leads the team in minutes played (900), shots (31) and assists (2). He played for the Beavers from 2002-05.
The two former Oregon State standouts have their names all over the school's record book as Gordon is fourth all-time in goals (26) and fifth in points (59) and game-winning goals (7), while Johnson is first all-time in assists (30), fourth in points (66) and tied for seventh in goals (18).
Other Oregon State players in the MLS include Danny Mwanga (2008-09), who has played nine games for the Philadelphia Union, and Bryan Jordan (2003-06), who has two appearances with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
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