Dustin Swinehart (born July 1, 1974, in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 spent virtually his entire professional career playing with the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

. Swinehart was named the Director of Community Relations for

Charlotte FC Charlotte FC is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise ...

in January 2020.

Career

College

Swinehart grew up in

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus. The population in the 2020 Census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to ...

and played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

from 1992 to 1995. He finished his college career with 32 career goals, a school record.

Professional

Swinehart professional career began in 1996 when he signed with the Hampton Road Mariners in the USISL. 1997 he played with the Indiana Blast. In 1998, Swinehart signed with the

in the

USISL 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 ...

, where he remained, with the exception of two brief loan periods 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 2004 and 2005. Swinehart was named the MVP of the 2000

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 ( ...

championship game, and in 2001, after the Eagles moved up to 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 ...

, he was named to the USL-1 All League First Team. In 2004, after the Eagles returned to the USL Second Division, Swinehart considered retiring, but decided to continue with the team. He was named to the USL-2 All League first team in 2005, 2006 and 2008, while in 2008 he was also named as the USL-2 MVP. On March 10, 2010, Swineheart announced his retirement from professional soccer. At his retirement, he was the Eagles' all-time leading goal scorer and was with the team longer than any other player. He was six time First Team All-League, and was part of two National Championship squads with the Eagles. He finished his professional career with 135 goals. Swinehart played the amateur team CASL Elite in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

; his team won their regional qualification group (which also featured NPSL teams

FC Tulsa FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, bro ...

and Atlanta FC) before falling 4–2 to

pro side

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

in the first round of tournament proper. Swinehart current work for Charlotte Football Club of Major League Soccer as the Director of Community Engagement.

References

External links

Charlotte Eagles bioSeptember 2004 Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinehart, Dustin Living people American soccer players Charlotte Eagles players Richmond Kickers players USISL players USL First Division players USL Second Division players 1974 births People from Worthington, Ohio Miami RedHawks men's soccer players Association football forwards Soccer players from Columbus, Ohio