name: Rusty Pierce
position: D
height: 5-10 weight:165
Birthdate: July 24, 1979
Hometown: The Woodlands, TX
Regular Season Statsfull bio l year-by-year stats l video highlights
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2008Columbus00000000000
Career15515013,11002317266238401

MLS Experience

MLS Career Highlights: Had appeared in 134 games, 131 of them starts, entering this season… Originally selected in the second round (No. 14 overall) by the New England Revolution in the 2000 MLS SuperDraft… Picked up by Real Salt Lake in the eighth round (No. 1 overall) of the 2004 MLS Expansion draft… Has battled injuries throughout the seven seasons of his MLS career...

MLS Career Playoff Highlights: Had appeared in 12 playoff games, starting 11, entering this season.

2006: Started all 18 games in which he appeared... Wore the captain's armband in one game... Missed 9/23 game with right knee injury and 5/31 and 6/3 games due to right hamstring strain... Injured his left hamstring on 6/21, causing him to miss the next eight matches.

2005: Played 15 games, all starts... Picked up his first professional point with an assist on 8/13 vs. K.C. ... Missed the 5/7 game at Chivas due to tightness in his left hamstring… Injured his right hamstring 7/4 vs. N.Y.

2004: Again beset by injuries, making just 14 appearances for the Revs with 13 starts… Overcame a potentially season-ending muscle injury to play the final 12 games of the season after making just two starts through the first four months of the campaign.

2003: Moved to central defense and did not miss a beat, appearing in and starting 21 games for N.E. … Shown seven yellow cards to tie a career-high and was sent off for the first and only time in his MLS career on 9/7 in San Jose.

2002: Was hampered by injuries for most of the season, playing 14 games to tie a career-low, but his form never dropped and he was one of the most consistent Revolution defenders… Fought his way through a series of injuries to fill in admirably in the heart of the N.E. defense late in the season and postseason as the Revs reached MLS Cup for the first time in team history.

2001: Played 23 games with 22 starts, recording just less than 2,000 minutes of action along the Revolution backline… Was cautioned on six occasions and led the team with three blocks.

2000: Burst onto the scene and made himself one of the most important New England defenders… Anchored the Revolution defense in his rookie season, playing and starting 29 games, totaling 2,600 minutes, which were all still career highs entering this season… Received seven yellow-card cautions.

International

Appeared 21 times for the United States Under-20 National Team, including three games at the 1999 FIFA Youth World Cup in Nigeria… Was also a member of the U.S. Under-18 National Team.

College

Played three seasons at UNC-Greensboro where he started 50 of the 51 games in which he appeared.

Personal

His wife's name is Elizabeth… Invests in and manages real estate properties... Has the name 'Tito' and initials KM, MM, JC and MD written on the back of his cleats in memory of recently deceased friends… His hobbies include playing with his Siberian huskies and playing pool… Majored in Psychology at UNC-Greensboro… Enjoys listening to MatchBox20, Live and REM… His favorite movie is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation… Favorite food is chicken-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, and grits… Favorite show is King of Queens… Favorite athlete outside soccer is Jerry Rice… Enjoys reading the Bible… Has been involved with a number of charities, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.