Andy Kirk (born October 3, 1977) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who spent three seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He was also a member of the

United States U-17 men's national soccer team The United States U-17 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team may compete is in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is held every two years. History Champ ...

at the

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993. Players born after 1 August 1976 were allo ...

and the United States U-20 men's national soccer team at the

1997 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, known as the 1997 FIFA/Coca-Cola World Youth Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 11th staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship. It was held from 16 June to 5 July 1997 in Malaysia. It was th ...

Youth

Kirk graduated from

Marquette University High School Marquette University High School (MUHS) is a private, all-male, Jesuit, Roman Catholic school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an acc ...

where he was a Gatorade High School Soccer Player of the Year. He then attended the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

where he spent two seasons with the men's soccer team. In January 1998, he announced his intention to leave the team in order to pursue a professional career.

Professional

He signed with

MLS Project 40 Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He spent time with both the Pro-40 team as well as playing nine games with the Clash. On January 27, 1999, the Clash sent Kirk to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

in exchange for a second round selection in the

2000 MLS SuperDraft The 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds. One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on to hold the record ...

.January 27, 1999 Sports Transactions
/ref> He played six games in 1999, but none in 2000. Following the season, he decided to retire. He returned to the University of Maryland where he gained a bachelor's degree in finance. He then became an accountant with Rydex Investments.

National team

In 1993, he was a member of the

which competed at the

. However, Kirk never entered a game as he backed up

Jon Busch Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. Busch is currently the goalkeeping coach for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. He is best remembered for h ...

. In 1997, Kirk was called into the United States U-20 men's national soccer team. He played nineteen games, four at the

that year. He served for one year at Maryland.

References

External links

*
Soccertimes.com Player Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, Andy 1977 births Living people Soccer players from Milwaukee American soccer players Association football goalkeepers Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players San Jose Earthquakes players MLS Pro-40 players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players