The Houston Dynamo have acquired forward Jason Garey in a trade with the Columbus Crew, the teams announced today. In exchange for Garey, the Dynamo sent their natural fourth-round pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft to the Crew.
READ: Jason Garey player bio
READ: Gulf Coast native excited for return
Garey, 26, has played for Columbus over the last five seasons and helped the club to the 2008 MLS Cup title, back-to-back Supporters’ Shield titles in 2008-09, and two trips to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. Garey has scored 15 goals and added six assists in 83 regular-season games, including 40 starts. Garey is from Gonzales, Louisiana, a five-hour drive from Houston.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Garey said. “I’ve always admired the team and the coaching staff and organization down there. Being from the Gulf Coast area, the Dynamo have always been the hometown team of Louisiana, because even being in Houston, they’re pretty close. So I’m very excited and looking forward to getting to play with those guys.”
A collegiate standout at the University of Maryland, Garey won the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy as the nation’s top player in 2005 after his second consecutive 22-goal season, and his Maryland squad won the national championship that year. Garey’s sister, Melissa, captained the woman’s soccer team at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and played for U.S. youth national teams.
“I’ve always thought he was a good player,” Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “When he played against us, I enjoyed his work rate and his hunger to help the team, so we’re looking forward to seeing him in Houston.”
Garey won the Crew’s Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2010 for his work on behalf of victims of the BP oil spill in his native Louisiana. He serves as a spokesman for Vanishing Paradise, a campaign to raise awareness of the issue.
The Houston Dynamo are a Major League Soccer club that has won two MLS Cup championships in its first five seasons and represented the United States in international competition four consecutive years from 2007-10. For more information, log on to www.HoustonDynamo.com or call (713) 276-7500.
JASON GAREY
Position: Forward
Height: 6’0” Weight: 180 lbs.
Date of Birth: July 19, 1984
Birthplace: Baton
Rouge, Louisiana
Hometown: Gonzales,
Louisiana
Citizenship: United
States
College: University
of Maryland
Last Club: Columbus
Crew
How Acquired: Traded from Columbus for a 2015 draft pick on December 3,
2010
