Ryan Finley

HOW ACQUIRED: Traded by Columbus on May 8, 2014

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2013 (Crew): In his rookie season with the Black & Gold, made 14 appearances -- including three starts at forward -- and scored one goal and recorded one assist. Made his Crew – and MLS – debuts in a substitute appearance at Chivas USA (March 2). Missed two matches – against Chicago (June 22) and at Sporting KC (June 29) – with a right ankle sprain, and was upgraded to “questionable” ahead of the match at LA (July 4). Made a substitute appearance and scored his first professional goal in the international friendly against Wigan Athletic (July 13), and made two more substitute appearances at Houston (August 3) and at Real Salt Lake (August 24). Earned his first career start at forward in the match against Seattle (August 31) and started again against Houston (September 4), scoring his first career goal – the game-winner – while also recording his first career assist in the 2-0 win. Made 13 appearances at forward in MLS Reserve League action including 12 starts, leading the Reserves with 11 goals. Scored the game-winner against New York (May 4), two goals in a start at Dayton (June 8), two more at Chicago (July 17) and recorded a hat trick in a 3-1 win at FC Dallas (September 29) to complete the campaign with 11 tallies.

COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

Finley spent two seasions at Duke University before playing his final two seasons at the University of Notre Dame. As a senior, Finley played in all 22 matches and ranked second nationally in goals (21) and points (46). The goal and point totals were career-best marks for the forward. His 21 goals rank fifth in Notre Dame history for a single season. Finley ranked third nationally in goals per game (0.95) and fourth in points per game (2.09). He was named to the NSCAA All-America First Team and was a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist . Finley received numerous national weekly honors throughout the season from outlets including Soccer America, TopDrawerSoccer.com, Soccer News Net, NSCAA and College Soccer News. The striker was also an All-Great Lakes Region First Team honoree and led the BIG EAST with 12 goals in league play and was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Finley was a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on three occasions (9/3, 10/8, 10/29) and had six game-winning goals, including two golden goals, six multiple-goal games, including one hat trick. As a junior, Finley played in 17 matches and led the Irish in goals (7) and points (16) in addition to two assists as a junior. Finley was an All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Great Lakes Region Third Team selection. In his final season at Duke, Finley played in 18 games and started 17 and was voted the ACC Offensive Player of the Year. earned All-ACC first team honors. Finley was named to the NSCAA All-America third team and also also garnered All-America recognition from College Soccer News. The forward was voted to the Soccer America MVPs first team, earned NSCAA All-South Region first team recognition and led the ACC in goals (17) and points (37), ranking first among all NCAA Division I players in goals per game (0.94). Nationally, Finley ranked second in points per game, fifth in total goals and sixth in total points goals. As a freshman, Finley started all 21 matches for the Blue Devils and tallied a team-best 11 goals and led the squad with 27 points overall. He was voted to the NSCAA All-South Region second team and selected to the ACC All-Freshman and TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Rookie teams. Finley played the fifth-most minutes on the team with 1,699, registering four game-winning goals.

YOUTH EXPERIENCE

Finley attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, N.J. where he led team to the state title in his senior year while tallying 20 goals and six assists. Finley was named Philadelphia Inquirer's South Jersey Player of the Year. The forward spent his sophomore and junior seasons in Bradenton, Fla., for the US Soccer Under-17 residency program.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Internationally, Finley was a member of the U-17 U.S. National Team in 2006, was selected to the U-18 U.S. National Team and most recently competed in the Lisbon International Tournament with the under-18 team.

ACQUIRED

Selected in the First Round (ninth overal) in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.

PERSONAL

Ryan is the son of Terry and Debbie Finley andhas one sister, Erin. At Notre Dame, Finley was enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters as a sociology major, boasting a 3.139 cumulative GPA.