Patrick Ianni

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Patrick Edward Joseph Ianni (born June 15, 1985) is a retired American soccer defender. He played nine seasons in Major League Soccer for Houston Dynamo, Seattle Sounders FC, and Chicago Fire. Ianni grew up in Lodi, California, where he starred at Lodi High School and earned Parade All-American and McDonald's All-American honors. He then played college soccer at UCLA (2003–2005), earning Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year in 2004 and All-American honors in 2005, and also played for the Southern California Seahorses in the PDL.

Drafted 8th overall by Houston in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, Ianni made his MLS debut that year and was part of Houston’s 2006 MLS Cup-winning team. He spent 2007 on loan to California Victory before being traded to Seattle Sounders FC in 2009. While with Seattle, he scored a notable bicycle-kick goal against Houston in 2009 that won MLS Goal of the Week and helped the team win the U.S. Open Cup in 2009, 2010, and 2011. He also scored the 2012 MLS Goal of the Year with an acrobatic volley against Sporting Kansas City and played in the CONCACAF Champions League. A foot injury during the 2013 preseason limited his playing time that year. In 2014 he joined the Chicago Fire, making 12 league appearances and 2 Open Cup appearances before Chicago declined his contract, and he announced his retirement in January 2015.

Ianni briefly came out of retirement in 2018 to play for Orange County FC in the NPSL, though he did not appear in games. Internationally, he represented the United States at the U-20 World Championship in 2005 and the U-23 team at the 2008 Olympics. He is the brother of Tayt Ianni, another former professional soccer player. He studied sociology at UCLA.