Amateur and college McDonald was an NSCAA High School All-American while playing for
Cactus High School and participated in the annual High School All-America game. In addition, he was in the USA National under-17 pool. Before moving to the
University of San Francisco in 2004 McDonald played for the Sereno Golden Eagles youth club with
Michael Gavin,
Rob Valentino and current teammate
Robbie Findley. McDonald played over 50 games for the Dons, finishing second on the team in scoring in his freshman year. He also shared the Stephen Negoesco Award for achievement by an underclassmen in 2004. During his college years McDonald also played with both the
San Francisco Seals and the
San Jose Frogs of the
USL Premier Development League.
Los Angeles Galaxy McDonald was the 46th overall pick in the
2008 MLS SuperDraft, selected by the
Los Angeles Galaxy, and made his MLS debut as a substitute in Galaxy's first match of the 2008 season against
Colorado Rapids on March 29, 2008. He scored his first MLS goal on October 12, 2008, a 35-yard strike, also against Colorado. The then-rookie shared a locker room with
David Beckham and
Landon Donovan while taking instruction from Bruce Arena.
San Jose Earthquakes After a season in Carson, McDonald moved to San Jose, where the Earthquakes finally gave him the chance to play on a regular basis. McDonald made the most of the opportunity, starting 28 matches in 2010 as the Northern California side advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite the team's success, improved depth along San Jose's back line made playing time difficult to come by in 2011 and - in need of cap space - the 'Quakes began looking to make a deal involving the talented back. He was waived by the Galaxy in February 2009 and signed with the
San Jose Earthquakes on March 20, 2009.
D.C. United On June 27, 2011, McDonald was traded to
D.C. United from San Jose in exchange for allocation money. He signed a contract extension with D.C. on August 23, 2011. Terms of the new contract were undisclosed.
Real Salt Lake McDonald was traded to
Real Salt Lake on July 17, 2013, in exchange for a third-round
2014 MLS SuperDraft pick and a conditional pick in the
2015 MLS SuperDraft. He started three games for the team before being included in RSL's re-entry draft list but was not picked up in the draft.
Ljungskile SK In 2014, McDonald signed for
Ljungskile SK.
Chainat Hornbill In July 2015, he joined
Chainat Hornbill for the second half of the
2015 Thai Premier League season. Before moving to
Rovers FC (Guam) to play for them a season in 2016.
Penang FA In June 2017, McDonald signed for
Penang FA, a club in the top division of
Malaysian football, the
Malaysia Super League. He made his debut against Four time MSL Champions,
Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. Hanoi FC Early in the 2019 V.League 1 season, McDonald signed for
Hanoi FC. ==International career==