March 27, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Former Penn State forward Jason Yeisley has signed a contract with Major League Soccer's FC Dallas and is on the active roster as the club begins its 2010 regular season on Saturday afternoon. Yeisley was selected by FCD with the sixth pick in the third round (38th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft in January.
After an injury slowed his progress early on in training camp, Yeisley made a strong return to impress the FC Dallas coaching staff and earn a contract offer and a roster spot. Yeisley, who wears jersey No. 31, was in uniform for FC Dallas' season and home opener versus the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
Yeisley departed Penn State following a distinguished and highly decorated collegiate career marked both by excellence and adversity. After missing the 2008 season while recovering from a serious knee injury suffered the year prior, he battled back to return for his senior season. Yeisley's hard work paid off, as he flourished in 2009, leading Penn State to an undefeated regular season home record, a second place finish in the Big Ten, the Big Ten Tournament title game, and a berth in the NCAA Championship. He was a central figure on the Big Ten's top scoring offense, totaling eight goals and five assists to tie for second on the team with 21 points. During the year, Yeisley was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 7) for the second time in his career and to the Soccer America Team of the Week (Sept. 6), the College Soccer News National Team of the Week (Oct. 4), and to the all-tournament teams for the Wolstein and Penn State Classics. Yeisley's standout season culminated with his selection by the conference coaches as Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten He was also named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Second Team.
Also an all-conference selection in 2005 and 2007, Yeisley totaled 24 goals and 16 assists (64 points) in 63 career games. A three-time team captain, including in 2009, he overcame two knee injuries, over the course of his career. In recognition of the exemplary character he displayed in triumphing over adversity, Yeisley was presented with the True Grit Award at the 2009 Penn State Student-Athlete Advisory Board Academic Achievement Awards Banquet.
In December, Yeisley was announced as the 2009 winner of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's soccer, an honor presented annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in NCAA Division I men's soccer. He was also named one of just two Division I men's soccer recipients of an 2009-10 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a one-time grant of $7,500 awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.
FC Dallas is led by head coach Schellas Hyndman, who is in his second season at the helm of the franchise after spending 31 highly-successful years in the collegiate ranks, including 24 at nearby SMU. FC Dallas plays its home games at Pizza Hut Park, a 21,193-seat state-of-the-art, world-class complex located in Frisco, Texas, approximately 30 miles from downtown Dallas.