Cole Grossman

Acquired by Real Salt Lake in November 2012 after spending the first two years of his career with Columbus, Grossman’s Claret-and-Cobalt career got off to a tough start, with the 24-year-old sidelined for several months due to a concussion suffered at FC Dallas on March 23, 2013. The tenacious midfielder recovered in time to make four league appearances for RSL last year, starting in two of them. Grossman played hero for Real Salt Lake in his first appearance back after his concussion on Aug. 21, 2013 at the Portland Timbers. The Duke product came on as a late substitution with RSL down a man and a goal, and ended up scoring the equalizer in stoppage time to give the Claret-and-Cobalt a 3-3 draw at JELD-WEN Field.

The hard-working, aggressive midfielder will hope to remain healthy and see more time on the field for the Claret-and-Cobalt in 2014.

Acquired:

RSL: Selected by Real Salt Lake in the MLS Waiver Draft on Nov. 19, 2012
CLB: Selected by Columbus in the second round (28^th overall) of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft

Professional Career:

2013: Played in a total of four regular season games, two of which were starts … Suffered a concussion at FC Dallas on March 23, an injury that kept him out for several months … Made his first appearance following his injury coming on as a late sub against Portland Timbers on Aug. 21 and ended up scoring the equalizer in stoppage time in a 3-3 draw … Subbed on during extra time in RSL’s 2-0 win over LA Galaxy in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinal series

2012: Played in 10 league games in his second year as a pro, starting five … Scored his first professional goal in Columbus’s Aug. 19 2-2 draw at Houston, ripping a first-time shot into the top-right corner from the top of the box … The Crew went 5-1-4 in Grossman’s 10 appearances in 2012 and 3-0-2 in his five starts

2011: Played in just two MLS matches, totaling just 12 minutes on the field in league play in his rookie year … Started for Columbus in both legs of Real Salt Lake’s CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal win over the Crew, making his professional debut in the first match on Feb. 21, 2011 at Crew Stadium

College:

Played in 70 career games and started 59 in four years at Duke University … Finished career with 25 goals and 24 assists for 74 points … Picked 28th by the Columbus Crew in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft … A two-time NSCAA All-South Region second team pick … Named to All-ACC teams twice (2^nd-Team in 2009 and 1^st-Team in 2010) … Played over 5,000 minutes for his career

High School/Club:

Ranked No. 20 in Rise Magazine for 2007 top recruits ... 2006 adidas Youth All-America team ... Named to All-State, All-Metro, and All-Conference teams at St. Louis University High School ... Led team to No. 2 ranking in Missouri in 2006 ... Six-time club state champion with Scott Gallagher team ... adidas ESP All-Star ... Two-time ODP regional team member ... Trained in Brazil for seven months with club Curitiba in fall of 2005 ... honors student every year of high school.

Personal:

Born Nicholas Holland Grossman on April 10, 1989 in Sacramento, Calif. ... Son of Skip and Karen Grossman ... Has a younger sister Lauren ... Holds a black belt in Chinese kempo karate ... Father, Skip, played soccer at Williams College and uncle, Cap, played baseball at Yale