PRONUNCIATION
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2016 (Columbus/Pittsburgh): Barson made seven appearances (three starts) for Crew SC in 2016. He made an appearance on-loan for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, starting at the Charleston Battery (April 30), registering one shot on goal. He recorded his first Crew SC appearance of the season as a substitute against Real Salt Lake (May 28). Barson started his first match of the campaign at centerback at Philadelphia (June 1). He was loaned to Pittsburgh on a game-by-game basis and started for the Riverhounds at FC Montreal (August 10), his second Pittsburgh appearance of the season. He started at rightback at Chicago (October 13). The defender made two appearances in the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, starting at centerback against Tampa Bay (June 15), playing 90 minutes as part of a shutout win and again started in the Round of 16 at Chicago (June 28).
2015 (Columbus): Barson made 10 appearances (four starts) in 2015, with nine appearances coming at rightback and one at leftback. He came on for his first appearance of the season at rightback at Vancouver (April 8). In the club's international friendly vs. Valencia CF (May 27), he came on at halftime. Barson made his first start of the season at rightback at Philadelphia (June 3). He recorded his first assist of the campaign on Ethan Finlay’s 83rd-minute goal after coming on as a substitute vs. Chicago (July 19) at rightback. Barson started in Crew SC’s 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round contest at Richmond (June 17), helping the club earn a 3-1 victory. He again started in the Round of 16 at Orlando (June 30).
2014 (Columbus): Barson made 13 appearances -- including eight starts -- on the backline. He started five matches at rightback and three at leftback. He made his season debut as a sub against Philadelphia in Columbus’s 2-1 home-opener win (March 22). He made his first start of the season in the match at Portland (May 17), starting at leftback, and started there again in the next match in the 2-0 shutout victory against Chicago (May 24). He started at rightback in the Columbus’s international friendly versus Crystal Palace FC (July 23). Barson did not dress for the club’s postseason opener against New England (November 1) and he was an unused substitute in the second leg at the Revolution (November 9). Barson made two appearances -- including one start -- on the backline in the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament.
2013 (Columbus): The Homegrown Player made 20 appearances, including 18 starts, and recorded one assist for the Black & Gold in his rookie season. He made his MLS debut in an appearance at leftback at Toronto (May 18) and made his first MLS start at rightback at Houston (June 1), becoming the third Homegrown Player in club history to start. Barson started 15 times at rightback and made three starts and two substitute appearances at leftback. He started eight consecutive League matches from June 1 to July 20, including three consecutive starts at leftback beginning with the match at LA (July 4). After starting in the international friendly against Wigan Athletic (July 13) he returned to the starting lineup at rightback for three straight matches against New York (August 10), Toronto (August 17) and Real Salt Lake (August 24). He then returned with a start against Houston (September 4) and made a sliding goal-line clearance in the first minute of action en-route to a 2-0 victory. Barson later recorded his first career assist in the 4-2 win at FC Dallas (September 29). He made five starts on the backline in MLS Reserve League action and recorded one assist on Ben Speas’ goal against New York (May 4). In Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action, he started once at rightback in the Third Round win against Dayton Dutch Lions (May 29).
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE
The defender appeared and started in all but two matches of his college career (93 of 95 games) in four seasons at the University of Akron and was a part of the 2010 National Championship squad in 2010. In his second season as team captain as a senior in 2012, Barson earned NSCAA All-America First Team, Top Drawer Soccer's (TDS) Team of the Season Second Team, All-MAC First Team honors and was one of four Zips to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-American team for the second straight season with a 3.99 GPA as a biology major. Barson finished his career as a three-time Academic All-American, which matches teammate David Meves as the most honors in program history. The veteran was a leader on a unit that produced 16 shutouts in his final season, including eight straight from September 14 to October 16, the second-highest total in school history and tied for the 13th-highest total in NCAA history. As a junior he was also All-MAC First Team, Academic All-MAC and All-Ohio team honors in 2011. Barson started all 23 games for the Zips at central defender as a junior, helping lead Akron to 11 shutouts on the year while limiting opponents to one or fewer goals in a game 19 times. As a sophmore in 2010, Barson earned Academic All-America Second Team, All-MAC First Team and Academic All-MAC honors, starting all 25 games for the Zips. Barson led Akron's NCAA Championship winning squad with 2,254 minutes in 2010. That year, he recorded the game-winning team save in the final minutes of the NCAA Championship game against Louisville; a match UA won 1-0 to clinch its first team National Championship in any sport. Barson finished with two goals and an assist from his center back position in 2010. As a result, he was called up by the U.S. U-20 National Team at the end of March for a pair of competitions. As a freshman in 2009, Barson started all 25 games to earn Soccer America All-Freshman Second Team and College Soccer News All-Freshman Second Team status. He was a key contributer on a defense unit that set school records for goals-against-average (0.27) and shutouts (19) in his first season.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Barson starred on multiple U.S. national teams, including the U-18s, U-17s and U-15s. The Lewis Center native spent two semesters in the U.S. U-17 Residency program in Bradenton, Fla.
YOUTH EXPERIENCE
As a senior, Barson was named to the 2008 Parade All-American team. The defender was two-time NSCAA Youth All-American and 2008 all-state second team honoree for Div. I at Olentangy High School.
ACQUIRED
Barson was signed by Columbus as a Homegrown Player on January 10, 2013.
PERSONAL
Barson is the son of William and Darlene Barson. During his time off the field, Barson enjoys being outdoors, cooking healthy meals and exercising. His favorite movies include “Happy Gilmore,” “Heavyweights,” “Remember the Titans” and “Zoolander.” If Barson is listening to music, there’s a good chance that he’s listening to his favorite bands: Bruno Mars, Bastille, The Script and Mumford and Sons. The Columbus native’s favorite place he’s traveled to is Japan, and would like to travel to another coastal country, Greece. The 22-year old has traveled heavily during his life as he’s played soccer on every continent except Africa and Antarctica. Barson is a supporter of La Liga’s FC Barcelona, as well as Ohio State University athletics, and his favorite soccer player is FC Barcelona defender Carles Puyol. His favorite soccer memory is winning the 2010 NCAA National Championship at the University of Akron.
