Mason Trafford
{{short description|American association football player}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mason Trafford
| image = Mason Trafford, Cavalry FC (cropped).jpg
| image_size = 240
| alt = Trafford walking on the pitch during a match
| caption = Trafford with Cavalry in 2022
| fullname = Mason Trafford
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|8|21}}
| birth_place = Boynton Beach, Florida, United States
| height = 1.88 m
| position = Defender
| currentclub =
| clubnumber =
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = North Shore Selects
| collegeyears1 = 2004–2007 | college1 = UNLV Rebels | collegecaps1 = 66 | collegegoals1 = 2
| years1 = 2008 | clubs1 = Whitecaps Residency | caps1 = 4 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 2008–2009 | clubs2 = Vancouver Whitecaps | caps2 = 37 | goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2010 | clubs3 = Real Maryland Monarchs | caps3 = 20 | goals3 = 2
| years4 = 2010–2012 | clubs4 = IFK Mariehamn | caps4 = 65 | goals4 = 2
| years5 = 2013 | clubs5 = Guizhou Zhicheng | caps5 = 29 | goals5 = 0
| years6 = 2014–2015 | clubs6 = Ottawa Fury | caps6 = 52 | goals6 = 1
| years7 = 2016–2018 | clubs7 = Miami FC | caps7 = 57 | goals7 = 0
| years8 = 2019–2022 | clubs8 = Cavalry FC | caps8 = 62 | goals8 = 1
| totalcaps = 279
| totalgoals = 6
| nationalyears1 = 2013 | nationalteam1 = Canada | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalgoals1 = 0
| medaltemplates =
| club-update =
}}
Mason Trafford (born August 21, 1986) is a Canadian former soccer player who most recently played for Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC. Besides Canada, Trafford has played in the United States, Finland, and China.[http://www.rednationonline.ca/RedNationInterviewSeriesMasonTrafford.aspx RedNation Interview Series: Mason Trafford rednationonline.ca][https://wildeastfootball.net/2013/06/mason-trafford-on-canada-arie-schans-and-the-harsh-reality-of-china-league-one/ INTERVIEWS Mason Trafford on Canada, Arie Schans and the harsh reality of China League One] wildeastfootball.net[https://ottawacitizen.com/sports/soccer/fury-fcs-mason-trafford-survived-his-chinese-adventure Fury FC's Mason Trafford survived his Chinese adventure] ottawacitizen.com
Club career
=Youth and amateur=
Born in Boynton Beach, Florida, Trafford grew up in North Vancouver, attended Handsworth Secondary School, and played club soccer for the North Shore Selects. Trafford honed his skills under the eye of soccer coach Roman Tulis, and played for 2 years on the British Columbia provincial team, before going on to play four years of college soccer at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was team captain in his final year with the Rebels, and in addition to soccer he maintained top marks at school, graduating with a Bachelor of Science/Accounting degree.
=Vancouver Whitecaps=
File:Mason-trafford-2008-10-05.jpg in 2008.]]
Trafford signed a one-year contract with the Vancouver Whitecaps in June 2008, after finishing his fall semester at UNLV.{{cite web|url=http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature08140801.aspx |title=Whitecaps call up 4 Residency players |access-date=2009-03-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917224207/http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature08140801.aspx |archivedate=September 17, 2008 }} He went on to play 14 games in the USL First Division in 2008, and was re-signed by the Whitecaps on December 3, 2008 for the 2009 season.{{cite web |url=http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature12030802.aspx |title=Thompson and Trafford back with 'Caps |access-date=2008-12-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224182635/http://www.whitecapsfc.com/archive/feature12030802.aspx |archivedate=February 24, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} Trafford played 23 games in 2009 as the team again reached the USL Championship game, eventually losing out to the Montreal Impact. Trafford played a variety of roles for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
=Real Maryland Monarchs=
In an effort to develop at one position, he signed with Real Maryland Monarchs under coach Anthony Hudson to be the club's left sided central defender. Trafford would go on to score two goals and played every minute during the club's 2010 campaign that ended in August 2010, allowing him to transition to a European club.
=Mariehamn=
On August 29, 2010, after impressing on trial, Trafford signed a 6-month contract with a 2-year option with Finnish club IFK Mariehamn.{{cite web |url=http://www.ifkmariehamn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2025&Itemid=1 |title=IFK Mariehamn - Fotboll |access-date=2010-08-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713004402/http://www.ifkmariehamn.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2025&Itemid=1 |archivedate=July 13, 2011 |df=mdy-all }} IFK Mariehamn picked up the option after Trafford played all seven matches to conclude the 2010 season. Mason would go on to play every match available throughout his IFK Mariehamn career.
=Guizhou Zhicheng=
Trafford rejected a new contract with IFK Mariehamn in order to test the free agency market. Trafford considered offers from Sweden, Finland and North America and participated in his first Canada national team camp in Phoenix, Arizona and Houston, Texas with friendlies against Denmark and the United States. Immediately after, he went on trial with Seattle Sounders FC for a week but could not play in a friendly match against the Portland Timbers due to having food poisoning the night prior, along with several other teammates. He then elected to go on trial in China where he was once again successful. On February 23, 2013, Trafford signed with China League One club Guizhou Zhicheng for 1 year as one of the club's three international players.{{cite web |url=http://www.gzzcclub.com/html/2013/02/22/181419_1221.html |title=加拿大国脚梅森正式签约智诚-加拿大国脚梅森正式签约智诚 |access-date=2013-03-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420044003/http://www.gzzcclub.com/html/2013/02/22/181419_1221.html |archivedate=April 20, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}
=Ottawa Fury=
On March 17, 2014, Trafford signed with North American Soccer League expansion club Ottawa Fury FC.{{cite web|title=Mason Trafford Joins Ottawa Fury FC|url=http://www.nasl.com/news/2014/03/17/mason-trafford-joins-ottawa-fury-fc|publisher=nasl.com|access-date=February 4, 2016}} In the club's first professional season, Trafford played a key role at centre-back, appearing in all 29 of the Fury's matches in all competitions and earning himself the club's Supporters' Player of the Year award.
In the 2015 season, the club's acquisition of centre-backs Colin Falvey and Rafael Alves pushed Trafford out of the starting lineup for much of the Spring season, however after discussions with management he was given an opportunity to play at left-back, a position he had played previously at IFK Mariehamn. Trafford was very successful and helped start a remarkable and record-breaking defensive run by the Fury during which they lost only one match and conceded by far the fewest goals of any club in the league, earning the club the NASL Fall Championship title and its first-ever berth in the Soccer Bowl playoffs. At the end of the season, Trafford once again earned the Fury Supporters' Player of the Year award.
=Miami FC=
On October 1, 2015, Trafford signed a contract extension with Ottawa through 2017.{{cite web|title=Trafford Inks Extension|url=http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/2015/10/01/trafford-inks-extension-|publisher=ottawafuryfc.com|access-date=February 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808211824/http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/news/2015/10/01/trafford-inks-extension-|archive-date=August 8, 2016|url-status=dead}} However, on February 4, 2016, a clause in Trafford's contract requiring the club to transfer him if a certain minimum fee was met was activated by expansion club Miami FC, sending him instead to his birthplace of Florida for the 2016 season.{{cite web|title=Miami FC Strengthens Back Line With Mason Trafford|url=http://www.nasl.com/news/2016/02/04/miami-fc-strengthens-back-line-with-mason-trafford|publisher=nasl.com|access-date=February 4, 2016}} At the time of his departure, he was the Fury's all-time appearance leader.
=Cavalry FC=
On February 27, 2019 Trafford signed with Canadian Premier League club Cavalry FC.{{cite web |title=Cavalry FC Announces the 'New' Trafford |url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/cavalry-fc-announces-the-new-trafford |publisher=Cavalry FC |access-date=February 27, 2019 |date=February 27, 2019}} In November 2019, Cavalry would confirm that Trafford would return for the 2020 season.{{cite web|url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/a-strong-core-confirmed-for-cavalry-fc-in-2020|title=A strong core confirmed for Cavalry FC in 2020|website=Cavalry FC|date=November 13, 2019}} In November 2020, Trafford would re-sign with the club for the 2021 season, his third season with the club.{{cite web|url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/cavalry-fc-secure-the-core-for-the-2021-canadian-premier-league-season|title=Cavalry FC secure the core for the 2021 Canadian Premier League Season|website=Cavalry FC|date=November 6, 2020}} In February 2022, Trafford would once again re-sign with the club for the 2022 season.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-11 |title=Cavalry FC Re-Signs Defender Mason Trafford |url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/cavalry-fc-re-signs-defender-mason-trafford |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=Cavalry FC |language=en-CA}} On April 7, 2022, following the retirement of previous club captain Nikolas Ledgerwood, Trafford was named club captain ahead of the start of the season.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-07 |title=Cavalry FC Announces New Captain for 2022 Season |url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/cavalry-fc-announces-new-captain-for-2022-season |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=Cavalry FC }} On February 10, 2023, the club announced that Trafford had retired from professional soccer and would be taking a role in the front office.{{cite web |title=Cavalry FC Announces the Retirement of Mason Trafford |url=https://cavalryfc.canpl.ca/article/cavalry-fc-announces-the-retirement-of-mason-trafford |website=Cavalry FC |access-date=12 February 2023 |date=10 February 2023}}
International career
On January 18, 2013, Trafford received his first call up by the Canada national team for friendlies against Denmark and the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.canadasoccer.com/canada-mnt-names-young-squad-for-january-camp-p153022|title=Canada MNT names young squad for January camp|publisher=CanadaSoccer.com|date=January 18, 2013|access-date=November 30, 2017}} He made his senior team debut on January 26 in a friendly against Denmark as a second half sub for Tosaint Ricketts, the game ended as a 4–0 defeat.{{Cite web|url=http://www.canadasoccer.com/inexperienced-canada-overpowered-by-denmark-p153122 |title=Inexperienced Canada overpowered by Denmark |publisher=Canada Soccer Association |access-date=January 26, 2013}}
Personal life
His cousin Charlie Trafford is also a professional soccer player. In 2013, Mason arranged for Charlie to sign for his former club IFK Mariehamn.{{cite web|url=http://www.rednationonline.ca/Interviews2012/RNOInterviewSeriesCharlieTrafford.aspx|title=Red Nation Interview Series: Charlie Trafford|date=November 24, 2013|access-date=January 12, 2015|author=Steve Bottjer|publisher=Red Nation Online}} In February 2022, they became teammates, with Charlie returning to Canada to sign a contract with Cavalry FC.
Career statistics
{{updated|October 23, 2022}}{{cite web |title=M. Trafford |url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/mason-trafford/77104/ |publisher=Soccerway |access-date=7 September 2019}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Club statistics | ||||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National CupIncludes the Canadian Championship, U.S. Open Cup and Finnish Cup. !colspan="2"|League CupIncludes the Finnish League Cup. !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|OtherIncludes the USL First Division Playoffs, Soccer Bowl and Canadian Premier League Finals. !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="1"|Vancouver Whitecaps
|2009 |23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 | |||
| rowspan="1"|Real Maryland Monarchs
|2010 |20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |||
| rowspan="4"|Mariehamn
|2010 |7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 2011
|Veikkausliiga |28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2012
|Veikkausliiga |30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!65 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 3 | |
| rowspan="3"|Ottawa Fury
|2014 |NASL |27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |||
| 2015
|NASL |25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 2 | 0 | 28 | 1 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!52 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 1 | |
| rowspan="4"|Miami FC
|2016 |NASL |31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2017
|NASL |26 | 0 | 5 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2018
|NPSL |? | ? | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| colspan="2"|Total
!57 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 0 | |
| rowspan="5"|Cavalry FC
|2019 |rowspan="4"|Canadian Premier League |20 | 0 | 6 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 2 | 0 | 28 | 0 | |||
| 2020
|8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2021
|13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |||
| 2022
|21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 0 | 0 | 25 | 1 | ||
| colspan="2"|Total
!62 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 77 | 1 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!279 | 6 | 29 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 324 | 7 |
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
Honours
=Club=
Ottawa Fury
- North American Soccer League Fall Championship: 2015
Calvary FC
- Canadian Premier League Finals
- Runners-up: 2019
- Canadian Premier League (Regular season):
- Champions: Spring 2019, Fall 2019
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{sports links}}
- {{Canada Soccer|3189}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081002014709/http://www.whitecapsfc.com/men/roster/teammember.aspx?id=15518&team=Male Vancouver Whitecaps bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trafford, Mason}}
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:Canadian men's soccer players
Category:Soccer players from Florida
Category:Soccer people from British Columbia
Category:Sportspeople from Boynton Beach, Florida
Category:Sportspeople from North Vancouver
Category:Canadian expatriate men's soccer players
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Finland
Category:Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Finland
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in China
Category:Canadian expatriate sportspeople in China
Category:UNLV Rebels men's soccer players
Category:Whitecaps FC Academy players
Category:Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players
Category:Real Maryland F.C. players
Category:IFK Mariehamn players
Category:Ottawa Fury FC players
Category:Cavalry FC non-playing staff
Category:USL League Two players
Category:USL First Division players
Category:USL Second Division players
Category:Veikkausliiga players
Category:China League One players
Category:North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players
Category:National Premier Soccer League players
Category:Canadian Premier League players