Dallas Texans Alumni:
Andre Akpan
Andre Akpan was born born December 9, 1987 in Grand Prairie, Texas. He played for coaches Hassan Nazari and David Hudgell on the '88 Dallas Texans - arguably the greatest American youth soccer team of all time. Akpan's prolific scoring touch helped lead his team to back-to-back-to-back USYSA National Championships (U17, U18, U19), as well as a Dallas Cup Super Group Victory - a feat that no other American team has accomplished in the last 25 years. Along with Akpan, other '88 Texan members Stephen McCarthy, Omar Gonzalez and Anthony Ampaipitakwong have all moved on to play in the MLS.
Akpan played high school soccer at The Oakridge School in Arlington, Texas where he was the all-time leading scorer with 111 goals over four years. He also attained the single-season scoring record with 37 goals.
In 2006, Akpan moved onto Harvard University where he was the 2006 Ivy League Rookie of the Year and First Team All Ivy League. In 2007, he was a second team NSCAA All American. While at Harvard he also made appearances for USL Premier Development League clubs Westchester Flames and Chicago Fire Premier, helping the latter to the 2009 USL PDL championship game, and scoring in the final.
Akpan was drafted in the second round (22nd overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Colorado Rapids. He made his professional debut on April 13, 2010, in a US Open Cup game against the Kansas City Wizards. His first MLS goal was scored on April 30, 2011 against the Chicago Fire equalizing just after halftime.
Akpan was a member of the United States U-20 team for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored a hat trick in qualifying and appeared in the quarterfinals.
