Anthony Maher (born March 18, 1979) was a

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 ...

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Maher was a 10-year outdoor and indoor soccer professional and also a member of the United States National Futsal team and took part in the 2007 Pan-American Games in Brazil. Maher retired in 2013.

Amateur

He started playing

Cape May County, New Jersey Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...

, as a member of the Cape Express Soccer Club. He played high school soccer at

Middle Township High School Middle Township High School is a four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Middle Township Public Schools. In ...

in New Jersey.

College

Maher attended

Mercyhurst College (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administrat ...

on an athletic scholarship. He was a 2001 NSCAA First Team All-American and runner up for NCAA DII National Player of the Year. He was additionally, a four-time All-GLIAC selection including Time Conference Player of the Year and All Time Goal Scorer in college history. He was captain of the team and led Mercyhurst to two Division II NSCAA Final Fours. While in college was a member of the USL Premier Development League (PDL) with the

West Michigan Edge West Michigan Edge was an American soccer team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the fra ...

and set franchise records for goals (14) and points (34 points) and was named to the 2001 All PDL team. Maher was then 1 of 2 Division II players asked to take part in the MLS Combine.

Professional career

Anthony Maher started his professional soccer career with the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. History ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

in 2002. He was the Hammerhead's team MVP and an All League selection his rookie season, leading the team to the National Championship Game. That fall, Maher joined the Cleveland Force of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He was the 'Team Rookie of the Year' and also selected to the All League Rookie First Team. In 2003, the Force traded Maher to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for Nick Corneli. Maher was named the Comets' "Newcomer of the Year" producing 28 goals and 10 assists. He followed that with 20 goals and 5 assists in only 14 games his second season with the Comets before tearing his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

(ACL). The Comets folded at the end of the 2004–2005 season and Maher signed with the Milwaukee Wave United of the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

, playing one season with them. He then signed with the

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

of MISL in the fall of 2005. He played only seven games with the Cougars before being traded to the Chicago Storm in exchange for John Ball. Maher finished the season, playing fifteen games in Chicago. In 2006, Maher signed with the outdoor Syracuse Salty Dogs where he was the Teams's Offensive Player of the Year and the Army Man of the Year for high work rate. The Salty Dogs folded at the end of the season and Maher moved to the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. However, he never played for Rochester due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. On October 17, 2006, the Storm traded Maher and Tijani Ayegbusi to the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

for

Randy Soderman Randy Soderman is a retired American soccer player and technology entrepreneur. The younger brother of Rick Soderman, Randy played for CISCO Soccer Club in Phoenix growing up. In 1992, he graduated from Cactus High School. That year, he joined ...

and Alen Osmanovic. In 2007, Maher signed with the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

, where he scored the team's only goal in the semifinal loss to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

in the

2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 94th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early October. The New England Revolution defeated FC Dallas 3–2 in the final played at Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, T ...

. In 2008, Maher joined the

Philadelphia KiXX The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. History The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also pr ...

where he played for two seasons. He then moved to the

Chicago Riot The Chicago Riot was an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They were based in Villa Park, Illinois, near Chicago, and they played their home games at the Odeum Expo Center. Namesake The team is named after the num ...

where he began the 2010–2011 season. In March 2011, the Riot sent Maher to the

Missouri Comets Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to th ...

. Maher signed for the Major Indoor Soccer League club, the

Syracuse Silver Knights Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' * Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Mis ...

at the end of 2011, at the halfway point of the season.

Personal

Maher is a spokesperson for

Athletes in Action Athletes in Action (AIA) is an American sports organization founded in 1966. It is the sports ministry of Cru Ministries, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ. History Athletes in Action was started in 1966 by Dave Hannah."Fact Sheet: ...

as well as sponsored nationally by Powerbar as a 2008 and 2009 TEAM ELITE MEMBER. He founded the Maher Brother's Pro Touch Soccer Camps that run camp programs in southern New Jersey. Maher has also been nominated for 2008 induction into South Jersey Soccer Hall of Fame. Maher’s father, John Maher, was a top NJ HS coach and also inducted into the South Jersey Soccer Hall of fame in 2018. Anthony is married to Wayne State College Women's Soccer player Anne Marie Collins. His brother, Matthew Maher also plays for the Philadelphia KiXX in the MISL and had also played alongside Anthony with the RailHawks (USL-1)during the 2007 season. Anthony and Matt were the first brothers to play against each other in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

References

External links

Philadelphia KiXX: Anthony Maher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maher, Anthony 1979 births Living people People from Cape May, New Jersey American men's soccer players California Cougars players North Carolina FC players Chicago Storm (MISL) players Cleveland Force (2002–2005 MISL) players Men's association football forwards Kansas City Comets (2001–2005) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Mercyhurst Lakers athletes Middle Township High School alumni Milwaukee Wave players Milwaukee Wave United players Kansas City Comets (2010–) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players People from Middle Township, New Jersey Philadelphia KiXX (2008–2010 MISL) players Rochester New York FC players Soccer players from New Jersey Sportspeople from Cape May County, New Jersey Syracuse Salty Dogs players Syracuse Silver Knights players USL Second Division players USL First Division players USL League Two players West Michigan Edge players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players American men's futsal players