Carl Christensen (born July 5, 1956 in
Jackson, Michigan
Jackson is the only city and county seat of Jackson County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534, down from 36,316 at the 2000 census. Located along Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127, it is approxi ...
) 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 ...
defender who played in the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
and
Major Indoor Soccer League.
Player
Christensen graduated from
Essex High School in
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. He then attended the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
, where he was a 1976
First Team All American soccer player. He was inducted into the University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1978, he signed with the
Dallas Tornado
The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons.
...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
. He played no games for them before being traded to the
San Jose Earthquakes
The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...
where he finished the season, then played the 1979 season. In the fall of 1979, Christensen signed with the
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
Major Indoor Soccer League.
Coach
Christensen served as an assistant coach to the
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...
soccer team in 1981 and 1982. In 1983, he became the head coach of the
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
soccer team. He coached the team for seven seasons and compiled a 97–28–5 record.
Awards and honors
In December 1999,
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
named Christensen number twenty-eight on its list of the top 50 athletes from Vermont. Christensen was inducted into the
Vermont Sports Hall of Fame
The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Vermont. Above all, induction "is for accomplishments in sports and recreation that generate a great source of pride to the state." Launched as a project in 2011, t ...
in 2015.
Family
Christensen now lives in New Hampshire with his wife, Lori. He has two sons, Sam and Daniel, and a daughter, Jenna, whom he loves dearly,
.
References
External links
NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Carl
1956 births
Living people
American soccer coaches
American men's soccer players
Dallas Tornado players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players
Vermont Catamounts men's soccer players
Soccer players from Vermont
Wichita Wings (MISL) players
Soccer players from Michigan
People from Jackson, Michigan
Soccer in Michigan
Sports coaches from Michigan
Soccer in Vermont
Sports coaches from Vermont
All-American college men's soccer players
Men's association football defenders