Ben Crawley (born May 6, 1971, in Austin, Texas) 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 ...

player. He was a member of the United States teams at both the

1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship The FIFA U-16 World Championship 1987, the second edition of the tournament, was hosted by Canada and held in the cities of Montreal, Saint John, St. John's, and Toronto between 12 July and 25 July 1987. Players born after 1 August 1970 could p ...

and

1989 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Saudi Arabia between 16 February and 3 March 1989. The 1989 championship was the 7th contested. The tournament took place across four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Ta'if. Qualification ...

but spent most of his professional career with lower division teams. He played five games 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 ...

with D.C. United in 1996.

Youth

Crawley spent his early youth in Portland, Oregon, moving with his family to Austin, Texas when he was six. He spent his early years as a goalkeeper in the Capital Soccer Club, but was put on the front line as a freshman in high school. He was a 1989

Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

High School All American soccer player at Westlake High School. He attended the University of Virginia, playing on the men's soccer team from 1989 to 1992. He led the Cavaliers in scoring in 1990, 1991 and 1992, finishing his career with forty-seven goals and thirty-three assists. In 1992, he was selected as a First-Team All-American. Crawley and his teammates won the 1989, 1991 and 1992

NCAA Men's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champ ...

National team

Crawley was a regular on the junior national teams during the late 1980s. In 1986, he joined the U-17 national team as it prepared for the

. The team successfully made it through qualification and Crawley played all three U.S. games at the World Championship. On July 12, 1987, he scored the winning goal in the opening game for the U.S., a 1–0 win over Ecuador. But two losses put the team out of contention for a spot in the second round. In 1988, he moved up to the U-20 national team which qualified for the

. Crawley again played every game as the U.S. took fourth.

Professional

In 1990, during the collegiate off-season, Crawley played for the Austin Sockadillos in the

SISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

outdoor league. He spent the 1991 with the Sockadillos as well. Following his graduation from Virginia in 1993, he signed with TuS Celle F.C. in the German Regionalliga Nord. In the fall of 1994, he had trials with the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

and

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the National Professional Soccer League, but was not signed by either team for the regular season. On January 27, 1995, he signed with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in USISL where he was named a 1995 USISL All Star. In August 1995, the Kickers take the "double" when they win the league and

1995 U.S. Open Cup The 1995 United States Open Cup is often considered the start of the modern era of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, although Lamar Hunt's name was not added until the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, 1999 edition. It was the 82nd edition of the soccer tournament t ...

titles. On February 7, 1996, D.C. United selected Crawley in the tenth round (100th overall) in the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before 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 State ...

. He played five games for United. On June 8, 1996, D.C. sent him on loan to the

, then waived him on June 30, 1996. He finished the season in Richmond. In 1997, he returned to the Austin Lone Stars in USISL. In 2000, he played a single season with the Palm Beach Pumas in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

. Crawley now coaches youth soccer at the River City Rangers Soccer Club, in Austin, Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawley, Ben 1971 births Living people All-American college men's soccer players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Soccer players from Texas Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Palm Beach Pumas players TuS Celle FC players Richmond Kickers players USISL players D.C. United players Austin Lone Stars players Major League Soccer players USL League Two players Soccer players from Oregon United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Men's association football forwards