Brad Evans (soccer)

Evans became a regular starter for the first-year Sounders, starting 27 of his 29 MLS appearances and scored two more goals, against San Jose in April and FC Dallas in October, to finish as the team's 4th top goalscorer, behind Montero, Nate Jaqua, and Steve Zakuani.

Evans played in the last 12 minutes of the U.S. Open Cup Final as the Sounders won their first trophy by defeating a 10-man D.C. United 2–1 on September 2.

He also played in both playoff matches as the Sounders lost 1–0 on aggregate to the Houston Dynamo in the Conference Semifinal.

Bradley Ray Evans (born April 20, 1985) is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder.

He is now a color commentator for radio broadcasts of Seattle Sounders FC matches.

Evans played 6 matches during the 2004 season and scored 4 goals.

Evans has appeared five times for the under-20 national team in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, and 27 times for the senior national team, including the 2009 Gold Cup.

Evans was born to Tom and Dawn Grippando in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was raised with his brother and two sisters.

Evans attended Mountain Pointe High School and played 4 seasons for the school's team, scoring 54 goals.

He was named all-state and team captain during his junior and senior seasons.

He also played 10 seasons for the Tempe Warriors youth club.

He is married to wife Becky, supports Liverpool, and admires Zinedine Zidane.

The midfielder attended the University of California, Irvine and majored in social sciences with a minor in education while playing college soccer.

Playing for the UC Irvine Anteaters, Evans scored a record 31 goals during his four-year career and graduated as the school's career leader in total points, at 73.

He won Big West Offensive Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006 and was an All-American in 2006.

Evans played with Orange County Blue Star in the Premier Development League during the college off-season alongside future Sierra Leonean international Kei Kamara and future U.S. international Sacha Kljestan.

He played a single match during the 2005 season, scoring in a 1–0 win over the San Diego Gauchos at UC Irvine.

Evans appeared 8 times during his final season with Blue Star, scoring twice in wins over Los Angeles and Bakersfield.

Born in Phoenix, Evans was drafted out of University of California, Irvine in the second round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew, where he stayed for two seasons before being selected in the Expansion Draft by the Sounders in 2008.

During the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, Evans was drafted by the Columbus Crew in the second round (15th overall).

Coach Sigi Schmid described him as versatile and Columbus' fortune that Evans only played the first of three combine games due to injury.

The midfielder made his MLS debut on April 7 against the New York Red Bulls, and appeared for 3 more matches without scoring a goal in the 2007 season.

Evans played in 26 games for the Crew during the 2008 season and scored the final goal in a 3–2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes in May for his first MLS goal.

The midfielder went on to score 4 more goals, including the MLS Goal of the Week during the final week of the regular season in a 1–0 win over D.C. United.

He helped Columbus win the MLS Cup, starting in all 4 playoff games and scoring in a 2–0 win over the Kansas City Wizards in the Conference Semifinals.

Evans started and played minutes during the MLS Cup final, a 3–1 win over the New York Red Bulls on November 23.

Three days after winning the MLS Cup, Evans was selected by Seattle Sounders FC with the tenth pick in the Expansion Draft, later being reunited with coach Sigi Schmid.

He started the first match in club history on March 19, a 3–0 win over the New York Red Bulls as he scored the second goal in the 24th minute from a Fredy Montero pass, finishing between the legs of New York goalkeeper Danny Cepero to begin the 2009 season.

Evans began the 2010 season by scoring in a 2–0 win over the expansion team Philadelphia Union in the 12th minute from A Pass from Steve Zakuani.

Evans would not score for the rest of the season in MLS play, but assisted on Michael Fucito's goal in a 1–0 over the Kansas City Wizards in April via a throw-in and on Steve Zakuani's goal in a 3–0 win over the New England Revolution.

After a 3–2 loss to D.C. United in June, Evans suffered a knee injury and was forced to not play until the next season.

The midfielder returned for the 2011 season and played 71 minutes in a 1–1 draw with the Houston Dynamo in late March, missing the first 2 matches of the season.

He earned "Team of the Week" honors for a two-goal and assist performance against Toronto FC on April 30.

He scored the following weekend in a 2–1 loss at D.C. United from a penalty earned by Fredy Montero, and he later scored in his first Champions League match, a 4–1 win over Comunicaciones in Group D on August 16.

Evans contributed his fourth league goal, his third from a penalty, in a 3–1 win at Vancouver Whitecaps FC to clinch the Cascadia Cup.

Evans assisted an Álvaro Fernández goal against Chivas USA before playing both games of the MLS Cup playoffs, where the Sounders lost 3–2 on aggregate to Real Salt Lake.

Evans finished with a career-high 5 goals and 5 assists in all competitions and ranked 3rd in both goals and assists in MLS play.

He won "Player of the Week" honors in October 2012 for a two-goal performance against FC Dallas.

Evans began the 2012 season by scoring in the Champions League quarterfinals in a 2–1 win over Santos Laguna, later losing 7–3 on aggregate and being eliminated from the tournament.

He was initially named a secondary captain behind Mauro Rosales, but declined in favor of giving the vice-captaincy to Fredy Montero.