 He grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, attended Liberty High School, and began his college soccer career at the United States Air Force Academy where he scored 23 goals in 37 games and was named to the all-conference second team, two regular season all-tournament teams and the MPSF all-tournament squad as a freshman.He transferred to the University of Tulsa prior to his junior year, and subsequently he appeared in 43 games, scoring 8 goals and 6 assists, being named to the all-MVC first team, the all-Midwest Region second team, and his team's Defensive Player of the Year.During his college years he also played with Colorado Springs Blizzard and Chicago Fire Premier in the USL Premier Development League.