Peter Vagenas

Panayiotis Alexiou "Peter" Vagenas (born February 6, 1978) is an American former soccer player.

Peter Vagenas
Personal information
Full name Panayiotis Alexiou Vagenas
Date of birth (1978-02-06) February 6, 1978
Place of birth Pasadena, California, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 UCLA Bruins 82 (15)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2008 LA Galaxy 183 (14)
2009–2010 Seattle Sounders FC 21 (0)
2011 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 16 (0)
2012 Chivas USA 13 (0)
Total 233 (14)
International career‡
2000 United States U23 6 (3)
2000-2003 United States 3 (0)
Managerial career
2020 Shijiazhuang Ever Bright F.C. (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 30, 2012
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of April 4, 2010

High school and college

Vagenas graduated from Saint Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, class of 1996, where he played for coach Glen Appels and captained the team to a CIF Southern Section Championship his senior year, as well as being named CIF SS divisional player of the year. Vagenas played club soccer for Afshin Ghotbi. He played college soccer at UCLA from 1996 to 1999, leading them to the NCAA title in 1997, and finished his career there with 15 goals and 30 assists in 82 games. He was elected team MVP during his campaign at UCLA.

Career

Professional

Vagenas was drafted by Los Angeles Galaxy in the second round of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft and subsequently spent nine years with the team, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2001 and 2005, and the MLS Cup in 2002 and 2005, captaining the team to the 2005 double. Vagenas missed most of 2007 and 2008 due to injury, but during his time with Galaxy he scored 14 goals and 12 assists in 183 league appearances, plus added two goals and two assists in the playoffs. He was a fan favorite with Galaxy due to his energetic play and local roots (earning him the nickname "Pasadena Pete").

On November 26, 2008, Vagenas was selected by Seattle Sounders FC in the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft.[1]

After two seasons with Seattle, Vagenas was traded to Colorado Rapids on November 22, 2010.[2] After the trade Colorado declined Vagenas's contract option and he elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft.

Vagenas became a free agent in Major League Soccer when he was not selected in the Re-Entry draft; after a couple of months out of the game he signed for expansion side Vancouver Whitecaps FC in April 2011.[3] At season's end, Vancouver declined his 2012 contract option and he entered the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Vagenas was not selected in the draft and became a free agent.

He was signed by Chivas USA on February 22, 2012.[4] His contract expired after 2012 and he made himself eligible for the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft in December 2012. Vagenas became a free agent after he went undrafted in both rounds of the draft.

International

Vagenas played for the United States in the 2000 Summer Olympics, scoring three goals, all on penalty kicks. He earned his first cap for the senior national team on October 25, 2000 against Mexico, but injuries have curtailed his appearances at the international level. He has earned three caps to date. He was also the captain and leading scorer in the 1999 Pan American Games in Canada for the USA national team.

Statistics
Season Club League Apps. Goals
2000Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer163
2001 263
2002 170
2003 200
2004 120
2005 295
2006 252
2007 240
2008 141
2009Seattle Sounders FC 140
2010 70
2011Vancouver Whitecaps FC 160
2012Chivas USA 10
Total Last Updated: February 22, 2012 22114

Personal life

Peter was born to Alex and Tassia Vagenas. He and his three siblings, George, Theoni and Dino were raised in Pasadena, California. Vagenas now resides in Pasadena along with his wife Mindy.[5]

Honors

Los Angeles Galaxy

Seattle Sounders FC

References
  1. "MLS announces expansion in Seattle". MLS.net. 2008-11-26. Archived from the original on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
  2. Mayers, Joshua (November 22, 2010). "Sounders FC trade Vagenas to Colorado for two defenders". The Seattle Times.
  3. "Whitecaps FC add experienced midfielder Peter Vagenas". Whitecapsfc.com. 2011-04-28. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  4. Adam Serrano. "Center back McKenzie hopes to finally stick at Chivas | Chivas USA". Cdchivasusa.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2012-02-24.
  5. Archived February 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
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