Pat Noonan

Patrick John Noonan (born August 2, 1980) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the head coach of FC Cincinnati in Major League Soccer.

Playing career

College and amateur Noonan attended De Smet Jesuit High School, and played college soccer for the Indiana University Hoosiers from 1999 to 2002. He was named an NSCAA first-team All-American his senior and junior seasons, and second-team All-American his sophomore year. His senior year, he also finished as runner-up to Alecko Eskandarian for the Hermann Trophy. He finished his career at Indiana with 48 goals and 31 assists. During his college years, Noonan also played with the Mid-Michigan Bucks in the USL Premier Development League

Club New England Revolution Upon graduation, Noonan was selected in the first round (9th overall) of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft by New England Revolution. He made his MLS debut in the 2003 season opener on April 13, coming on as a 92nd-minute substitute for Daniel Hernandez in a 1–1 draw against the Chicago Fire. He recorded his first assist on April 19 in a 2–1 loss to the Columbus Crew. He was additionally named MLS Player of the Week twice, in weeks 24 and 30, and named MLS Player of the Month for the month of October. tying with Amado Guevara for the MLS Scoring Champion Award. He was additionally named MLS Player of the Week for matchweek 10.

Injuries and a late-season slump saw Noonan end 2005 with eight goals and seven assists, being named MLS Player of the Week for matchweek 13, and representing the Revolution in the 2005 MLS All-Star Game. scoring a goal and providing two assists in the final.

Noonan's option for the 2008 season was not picked up by New England and on January 23, 2008, he signed with Norwegian club Aalesunds FK.

Columbus Crew On August 6, 2008, Noonan re-signed with MLS and was traded from New England, who still retained his rights, to Columbus Crew in exchange for the Crew's natural first-round selection in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money. Additionally, the teams traded spots in the current 2008 allocation standings – with Columbus moving into the 10th spot and New England moving to third – and agreed to considerations regarding 2009 allocation rankings. For Columbus Crew, Noonan won the MLS Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup and Trillium Cup, all of them in 2008.

Colorado Rapids Noonan was traded to Colorado Rapids in June 2009. After making seventeen league appearances, Noonan was waived by Colorado on March 23, 2010.

Seattle Sounders FC After a short trial with Seattle Sounders FC, Noonan signed with the club on March 30, 2010. He remained with Seattle through the 2011 season. At season's end, the club declined his 2012 contract option and he entered the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft.

LA Galaxy Noonan was selected by Los Angeles Galaxy in stage two of the draft on December 12, 2011. Eleven days later he signed with Los Angeles.

Noonan remained with Los Angeles through the 2012 season. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, LA declined the 2013 option on Noonan's contract and he entered the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Noonan became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft. On January 11, 2013, LA announced that Noonan had retired as a player and had joined the club as an assistant coach.

International

Noonan earned his first cap for the United States national team on March 13, 2004, against Haiti. While he has accumulated 15 caps, injuries and inconsistency prevented him from claiming a major role with the national team. He was named an alternate for the 2006 U.S. World Cup squad on May 2, 2006. However, in early 2008 he started with the U.S. National Team against Sweden and registered an assist in a 2–0 victory. He did not play for the national team after 2008.

International goals Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 March 9, 2005 Fullerton, California 1–0 3–0 Friendly match

Coaching career United States national team After Noonan's retirement as a player, he joined the Galaxy's technical staff as an assistant coach to Bruce Arena. When Arena was announced as returning to be the head coach of the United States national team, he brought his supporting staff from the Galaxy, including Noonan, to work as assistants.

Philadelphia Union In January 2018, Noonan was hired as an assistant coach alongside Jim Curtin at the Philadelphia Union.

FC Cincinnati Noonan was named head coach of FC Cincinnati on December 14, 2021. The team had previously finished last in the regular season standings in their three prior MLS seasons. Noonan, along with new general manager Chris Albright, oversaw 24 player changes and the hiring of assistants Kenny Arena and Dominic Kinnear.

He led Cincinnati to fifth place in the Eastern Conference as they clinched their first-ever MLS Cup Playoff berth, Noonan's Orange and Blue beat New York Red Bulls on the road 2–1 before falling to the Philadelphia Union, 1–0, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

In the 2023 season, Noonan guided Cincinnati to their first trophy in MLS, finishing top of the league standings, clinching the Supporters' Shield and their second consecutive playoff berth. Noonan was named the MLS Coach of the Year on November 21, 2023.

Coaching statistics

+ Coaching record by team and tenureTeamNatFromToRecordFC CincinnatiDecember 14, 2021 PresentTotal

Honors

As a player Columbus Crew MLS Cup: 2008 Supporters' Shield: 2008

New England Revolution U.S. Open Cup: 2007

Seattle Sounders FC U.S. Open Cup: 2010, 2011

Los Angeles Galaxy MLS Cup: 2012

United States CONCACAF Gold Cup 2005

As a coach FC Cincinnati Supporters' Shield: 2023

Individual MLS Coach of the Year: 2023