Clarence Goodson

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Clarence Edgar Goodson IV (born May 17, 1982) is a retired American soccer defender from Alexandria, Virginia. He played high school soccer in Virginia, helped his teams win titles, and was the Annandale High School MVP as a sophomore in 1998. He also won a Virginia state title with W.T. Woodson High School in 2000 and a U-17 national championship with the Braddock Road Warhawks in 1999.

Goodson played college soccer at the University of Maryland from 2000 to 2003, redshirted in 2001, and finished with 66 games, 10 goals, and 11 assists. In 2003 he played for Boulder Rapids Reserve. He entered MLS in 2004 with the Dallas Burn (which became FC Dallas) as a Project-40 player and spent 2004–2007 with Dallas, becoming a regular starter by 2005.

In 2007 he was taken by the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Expansion Draft, but he left MLS in 2008 to join IK Start in Norway, where he played until 2010. He then signed with Brøndby in Denmark and stayed there through 2010. Goodson returned to MLS in 2013 with the San Jose Earthquakes and played there until his retirement in 2016 due to a spinal injury.

Internationally, Goodson earned 46 caps and scored 5 goals for the United States. He debuted on January 19, 2008, against Sweden. He played in the 2009 and 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cups (scoring in the 2009 semifinal) and was part of the 2010 World Cup squad; he was named to the 2014 World Cup preliminary roster but did not make the final team.

After retiring, Goodson became a players relations manager for the MLS Players Association and coaches youth soccer. He and his wife, Kelsey, helped create the Clarence Goodson Field at North Springfield Elementary School with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to benefit underprivileged kids, part of the Mini-Pitch Initiative that promotes safe play and healthy habits. The couple, who are licensed ministers and Youth Directors in San Jose, California, also speak publicly about teamwork and youth development. Goodson and Kelsey Dawson married on January 31, 2009, in Tacoma, Washington. He and his family have appeared on HGTV’s House Hunters International while searching for a home in Copenhagen during his Brøndby transfer.