Back home in Colorado, as he spent his days refereeing the game he loved instead of playing it, Ken Tribbett couldn’t help but wonder if his professional soccer career would end before it even began.
Despite an impressive four-year career at Drexel, Tribbett didn’t draw much interest – he wasn’t drafted by an MLS club, and a contract wasn’t forthcoming after trials with USL clubs – coming out of college in 2014. And so, aside from a stint with the amateur Michigan Bucks, who he helped lead to the 2014 PDL championship, Tribbett spent the better part of a year living with his parents, reffing and, well, hoping something would turn up.