Introduction
Michael Francis Stephens (born April 3, 1989) is an American soccer player.
Career
College and Amateur
Stephens grew up in Naperville, Illinois, attended Edison Academic Center, and played four years of college soccer at UCLA. He was honored as UCLA's Rookie of the Year in 2006, while also being selected to the Top Drawer Soccer All-Freshman first team and to Soccer America's All-Freshman second team, playing in all 24 games in his rookie season.
He was named to the Soccer America MVP second-team in 2008, and became only the third player in Bruin history to earn Pac-10 Player of the Year honors. As a senior, he was named to the All-Pac-10 First-team and was a NSCAA All-Far West second-team honoree. He finished his UCLA career with 81 appearances, 11 goals and 20 assists.
During his college years Stephens also played two seasons with Chicago Fire Premier in the USL Premier Development League.
Professional
Stephens was drafted in the first round (16th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Los Angeles Galaxy.He made his professional debut on March 27, 2010, in Galaxy's opening game of the 2010 MLS season against New England Revolution.
In March 2014, Stephens signed a two-year contract with Norwegian Tippeligaen side Stabæk. After one season with Stabæk, Stephens returned to MLS on 9 December 2014, signing with Chicago Fire. After the end of 2016 season, Fire did not exercise his contract option and he became a free agent.
After his release from Chicago, Stephens joined North American Soccer League side San Francisco Deltas on January 6, 2017.
International
Stephens was a member of U.S. squad at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup, having previously scored a goal in consecutive games against Costa Rica with the Under-20s in May. He was the US's starting forward in three games at the 2007 Pan American Games, and featured for the Under-18 National Team in 2006, scoring one goal with three assists. Previously, he had been a member of the U-17 National Team Residency Program from 2004–06, and played with the U-15 and U-16 National Teams.
Career statistics
- As of 10 December 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| LA Galaxy | 2010 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 2011 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 29 | 1 | |
| Total | 100 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 121 | 2 | |
| Stabæk | 2014 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | 34 | 1 | |
| Total | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| Chicago Fire | 2015 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 22 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 167 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 196 | 3 | |
Honors
Los Angeles Galaxy
- MLS Cup (2): 2011, 2012
- Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield (2): 2010, 2011
- Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship (2): 2011, 2012
San Francisco Deltas
- NASL Soccer Bowl (1): 2017