On-Site Drug Testing Williams, SC

Local Area Info: Josh Williams (soccer)

Born in Akron, Ohio, Williams was a three-sport athlete at Copley High School, lettering in soccer, basketball, and baseball. He was a co-captain and three-year varsity soccer player for the Indians, finishing his career tied for the school record with 124 career points. He tallied 44 goals and 21 assists across his junior and senior seasons, was named the Akron Touchdown Club's Soccer Player of the Year as a junior, and earned second team all-Ohio honors his senior season. During his prep career, Williams was twice named all-Suburban League, all-Northeast Region, and NSCAA all-region. He was additionally named to the Akron Beacon Journal's all-star first team as a junior and senior. Williams played point guard on the basketball team and was a shortstop on the baseball team. He was recruited as a baseball player by Kentucky and West Virginia, and received interest from Akron as a soccer player, but saw his only scholarship offer come from Cleveland State and head coach Ali Kazemaini.

Williams started every game of his collegiate career; his 74 starts for the Vikings is tied for third in program history, and his 74 appearances are tied for seventh. As a freshman, he appeared in 18 games and scored twice, helping the Vikings go from a winless season the year before he arrived to eight wins. Williams scored his first collegiate goal on October 18, 2006 as part of a 2–0 victory over Detroit, and followed it up 10 days later with his first postseason goal, in a 3–2 loss in the Horizon League Tournament against Loyola. He was named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team at the end of the season. Williams fell off slightly his sophomore season, only tallying one goal and three assists across 17 appearances. He found his lone goal on September 19 in a 4-1 defeat to Notre Dame College. Williams added assists in back-to-back games in October and finished the season second on the team in assists and points. As a junior, Williams helped the Vikings to a 9–8–3 season, their first year with more wins than losses since 1993. He notched three goals and three assists on the season; those three assists were good for a tie for second on the team. Williams scored in back-to-back games in October, a 3–2 victory over Valparaiso and a 1–0 victory over Detroit that marked his first career game-winning goal. He also scored against Wright State in the quarterfinals of the league tournament, helping the Vikings pick up their first postseason victory since 2002. Williams was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team, one of four Vikings players to earn the honor. His senior season at Cleveland State overlapped with the freshman season of Brad Stuver, who he would play alongside for two seasons in Columbus. Williams set career highs with his 20 appearances and six goals; those six goals tied for the team lead with Slavisa Ubiparipovi?. Williams scored the first goal of the season for the Vikings, as part of a 3–0 season-opening victory over St. Bonaventure, and also had a stretch of three straight games with a goal in mid-October. His three game-winning goals were the most on the team. Williams capped off his collegiate career by being named to the All-Horizon League First Team, alongside Ubiparipovi?. He appeared 74 times for Cleveland State across his four years, scoring 12 goals.

Williams had been a youth player for the Cleveland Internationals, and he joined the senior team in the USL Premier Development League following his freshman season at Cleveland State. He played sparingly for the Internationals during the 2007 PDL season, making just two appearances as the club finished sixth in the Great Lakes Division, 12 points outside of the playoff positions.