Jaqua is a graduate of South Eugene High School, where he led his team to two Midwestern League titles and one co-championship with North Bend in 1996. South Eugene took home an Oregon Class 4A state title in 1998. He was named a Parade All-American twice and named Oregon 4A Player of the Year twice. Jaqua played college soccer at the University of Portland from 2000 to 2002. He totaled 29 goals and 22 assists in his three years there was named West Coast Conference freshman of the year.
After his 2002 season, Jaqua signed a Project-40 contract with MLS, and entered the 2003 MLS SuperDraft, where he was selected third overall by the Fire. Although Jaqua was expected to fill the hole in the Fire's lineup left by Josh Wolff, Damani Ralph quickly took that position, and Jaqua was relegated to a reserve role, starting only five games, scoring two goals and two assists. Although Jaqua remained blocked at forward by Ralph and Ante Razov in the 2004 season, DaMarcus Beasley's departure to PSV Eindhoven left an open spot in the Fire midfield, which Jaqua soon took. He finished the season having started 21 games for the team, while scoring four goals and two assists. In the years since, Jaqua has continued to be used as an outside midfielder from time to time, however the majority of his appearances have come as a forward. Along with Chris Rolfe, Jaqua has formed one of the MLS's most dangerous strike partnerships over the last two seasons. In 2006, Jaqua was chosen as a reserve to participate in the MLS All Star Game, taking on Chelsea FC in an exhibition match at the Fire's home field, Toyota Park. Jaqua played well in the event, which the MLS side won in shocking fashion, 1-0.
Jaqua was taken by Toronto FC on November 17, 2006 in the 2006 MLS Expansion Draft, but he never played for the club, and was instead traded to the Galaxy soon after. The Galaxy traded him to the Houston Dynamo on July 2, 2007 in exchange for Kelly Gray and a 2nd-round pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.
Jaqua has played for the U-18, U-20, and U-23 United States national teams. He got his first cap for the senior team on January 29, 2006, against Norway and nearly scored in the U.S. victory.
Nate Jaqua signed with Austrian side SCR Altach on January 28, 2008, but was released despite performing well with the club. On July 13th, he re-signed with Houston Dynamo until 2009.
He is the son of Jon Jaqua, a former National Football League player who played for the Washington Redskins.
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Last updated on Sunday September 28, 2008 at 13:20:09 PDT (GMT -0700)
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