| Sam Raben | |
| Fullname: | Sam Raben |
| Birth Date: | 11 May 1997 |
| Birth Place: | Birmingham, Alabama, United States |
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in |
| Position: | Defender |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2013 |
| Youthclubs1: | Colorado Storm |
| Youthyears2: | 2014–2015 |
| Youthclubs2: | Colorado Rapids |
| Collegeyears1: | 2015–2018 |
| College1: | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| Collegecaps1: | 91 |
| Collegegoals1: | 0 |
| Years1: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs1: | Colorado Rapids U-23 |
| Caps1: | 15 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2019 |
| Clubs2: | Colorado Rapids |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2019 |
| Clubs3: | → Colorado Springs Switchbacks (loan) |
| Caps3: | 8 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2020 |
| Clubs4: | Sporting Kansas City II |
| Caps4: | 7 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | October 6, 2020 |
Sam Raben (born May 11, 1997) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender. He won a gold medal with Team USA in the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel. Before turning pro, he played two seasons in the Premier Development League with Colorado Rapids U-23. In January 2019 the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer signed Raben to a guaranteed contract.
Raben was born in Birmingham, Alabama, to David and Carrie Raben, and is Jewish.[1] [2] [3] His father is an oncologist at the University of Colorado.[2] His sister Lizzy played soccer for Duke University.[4] His hometown is Greenwood Village, Colorado.[5] [3]
Raben plays soccer as a defender. He attended Cherry Creek High School.[1] He was second team All-State and All-Conference in 2012.[1]
He played for Wake Forest University.[2] [6] Raben made 91 starts for Wake Forest, tied for third-most in school history.[3] In 2018, he was named third team All-ACC and third team All-South Region by United Soccer Coaches.[1]
Raben played center back in soccer for Team USA in the 2017 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a gold medal.[2] [6] [7] He was on the Jewish Sports Review 2017 Division 1 Men's Soccer All-America Team, along with Jake Rozhansky and Harry Swartz.[8]
Before turning pro, Raben played two seasons in the Premier Development League with Colorado Rapids U-23.[9] [10]
In January 2019, the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer signed Raben to a guaranteed contract.[11]
On February 26, 2020, Raben signed with USL Championship side Sporting Kansas City II after going on trial with them in the preseason.[12] Raben was released by Sporting Kansas City on November 30, 2020.[13]