Brian Ashton (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian former soccer player who played notably with the Toronto Lynx, and is currently the

Ontario Soccer Association The Ontario Soccer Association, founded in 1901, is one of the oldest and largest sport organizations in Canada. The OSA currently has more than 500,000 registered participants and provides development opportunities for players, coaches, refere ...

Region 6 Head Coach.

Professional career

Ashton began playing professional soccer with the

London Lasers The London Lasers were a professional soccer team in London, Ontario, Canada that played in the original Canadian Soccer League in 1990 and 1992. History The London Lasers were founded in 1990 as an expansion franchise in the Canadian Soccer L ...

in 1992. He later played with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League in 1998 the second year of the franchise's inception. He made his debut for the club on April 9, 1998, in an exhibition match against the

Rochester 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 ...

. During his tenure with the Lynx he was awarded the Toronto Lynx Fan Favorite award a record five times including a Public Relations award. He held the record for most club appearances for the Lynx, until he was surpassed by David Diplacido in 2006. In the 2000 USL A-League season he assisted Toronto by reaching the post season for the second time in the franchise's history. In the playoffs Ashton scored a goal in the conference quarterfinals against the

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Hofst ...

, which resulted in a 2–1 victory. The Lynx playoff run came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final against the Rochester Rhinos in a 2–1 loss on aggregate. Once the 2002 A-league season came to a conclusion he was loaned to the Mississauga Olympians of the Canadian Professional Soccer League. He made his debut on September 11, 2002, in an Open Canada Cup match against the Toronto Croatia. He helped the Olympians secure a playoff berth by finishing second in the Western Conference, but unfortunately were defeated by the

North York Astros The North York Astros were a Canadian soccer team that was founded in 1990. The team initially played in the National Soccer League. The team played their home games at Esther Shiner Stadium in North York, a district of the city of Toronto, Cana ...

in a wild card match. On February 12, 2004, Ashton announced his retirement from professional soccer after he was offered a regional coach of youth development position with the Ontario Soccer Association.

International career

Ashton made his national team debut on March 25, 1991, with the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team at the

1991 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament The 1991 CONCACAF U-17 Championship was a North American international association football tournament, it determined the 1991 FIFA U-17 World Championship entrants from the CONCACAF region. The 1991 edition of the competition was held in Trinid ...

. He later featured with the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team in the

1992 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament The 1992 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was held in Canada. It also served as qualification for the 1993 FIFA World Youth Championship. Teams The following teams qualified for the tournament: Round 1 Group A Group B In this group, Honduras ...

. He also played with the Canada men's national under-23 soccer team at the 1994 Jeux de la Francophonie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashton, Brian 1974 births Living people Canadian soccer coaches Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Canadian soccer players Men's association football midfielders Soccer people from Ontario Sportspeople from Greater Sudbury Toronto Lynx players Durham Storm players A-League (1995–2004) players London Lasers players