Darrius Barnes (born December 24, 1986) is a retired American soccer player. He played the majority of his professional career for the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer, the top flight of professional soccer in the United States. He primarily played defender. He is currently the president of Crown Legacy FC, the MLS Next Pro team of Charlotte FC.

Darrius Barnes
Barnes in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1986-12-24) December 24, 1986 (age 37)
Place of birth Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
2005–2008 Duke Blue Devils
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006 Raleigh CASL Elite 11 (2)
2007–2008 Cary RailHawks U23's 27 (1)
2009–2016 New England Revolution 129 (2)
2017 New York Cosmos 13 (0)
Total 180 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12:16, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Career

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Youth and College

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Barnes played high school soccer at Southeast Raleigh High School, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He started for Varsity all four years. His senior year he helped his team to reach the conference finals and defeat a tough Broughton High School team to claim the school's first ever conference championship. His merits include TAAC All-Conference 2005.[1]

Barnes played college soccer at Duke University. During his college years Barnes also played with Raleigh CASL Elite and Cary RailHawks U23's in the USL Premier Development League.[2]

Professional

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Barnes was drafted in the third round (40th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by New England Revolution on 15 January 2009, officially signing for the club on 17 March 2009.[3] He made his professional debut on 21 March 2009, in New England's first game of the 2009 MLS season against the San Jose Earthquakes.[4][5] He became the second rookie in the history of MLS to play every minute of every game, following in the footsteps of former Revs center back Michael Parkhurst, who was the first to accomplish the feat in 2005.[6] He was also the only outfield player to play every minute of every game in the 2009 season,[7] and helped the Revolution establish a club-record 386-minute shutout streak.[6]

In 2011, Barnes was a finalist for the MLS Fair Play Award.[5]

On 22 September 2012 against the New York Red Bulls, Barnes scored his first-ever (and only) professional goal, finding the net in the 95th minute of the match to help the Revolution salvage a 1-1 draw.[8] He made his 100th MLS appearance on 15 March 2014,[6] and recorded his 100th MLS start on 7 September 2014 against the Chicago Fire.[6]

Following his release from New England at the end of the 2016 season, Barnes joined North American Soccer League side New York Cosmos on 24 March 2017.[9]

On 15 December 2017, Barnes announced his retirement from playing professional soccer.[10]

Post-playing career

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After retiring from active play, Barnes joined the Major League Soccer offices and as of June, 2020 was working for the league in marketing.[11]

In March 2022, Charlotte FC named Barnes the president of their MLS Next Pro team Crown Legacy FC.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Duke University 2008 Player Profile". goduke.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2009-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Club History Coach and Player Registry" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 12, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  4. ^ "Major League Soccer: Match Tracker: Main". Archived from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  5. ^ a b 2024 Media Guide. New England Revolution. Archived from the original on 2024-03-22. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Darrius Barnes". Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "profile". Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Revolution Score Late to Tie Red Bulls". 22 September 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Cosmos Ink Versatile Defender Darrius Barnes". 24 March 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Darrius Barnes on Instagram: "Dreams definitely do come true! Never would have thought a little country boy from Raleigh (Knightdale), NC would make I️t this far. I have truly been blessed by the best 🙏🏽🙌🏽! It is with great passion, excitement, fulfillment and enjoyment that I announce my retirement from professional soccer. These have been the best 9 years of my life to say the least. This game has brought me so much joy since i started playing as a kid 25 years ago 😳👴🏽. I have experienced the high of highs and the low of lows that come with playing this beautiful game. Through I️t all, I always competed at the highest level i could and laid I️t all out on the line for my teammates. This game has introduced me to some of my best friends in life and gave me the opportunity to play against some of the worlds best competitors which I will cherish for a lifetime. I want to sincerely thank my loving parents, brother and fiancé for always supporting me through I️t all. Without them I would not be where I am today. I want to thank @nerevolution and @MLS for taking a chance on the kid 9 years ago and giving my first professional opportunity that lasted 8 fantastic years. I want to thank @nycosmos and @naslofficial for allowing me the opportunity to continue my dream. All the coaches along the way, thank you for helping shape me into the player I became today. I will always feel i have more to pay back and contribute to the game and hopefully i can do that through a different lens. Thank you for ALL of your support! D Barnes OUT!!! ✌🏾✌🏾 😎 #SigningOut #timeflieswhenyourehavingfun #LastKick"".
  11. ^ Bird, Hayden. "Revolution players and staff held a roundtable discussion about racial injustice. Here's what they had to say". boston.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  12. ^ "Charlotte FC Names Darrius Barnes President of MLS NEXT Pro Team". CharlotteFootballClub.ccom. Charlotte FC. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
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