Eddie Soto (born June 14, 1972) is a former 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 who played as a

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 ...

. Soto spent five seasons 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 ...

and has served as an assistant men’s and women’s collegiate soccer coach for eight seasons.

Youth

Soto played for the North Huntington Beach youth club, winning the 1991 James McGuire Trophy as the U.S. U-19 national champion. He was also a member of the U-18 and U-20 national teams. In addition to his national team and club commitments, Soto attended

Cerritos High School Cerritos High School, also called CHS, is a comprehensive, four-year public high school located in Cerritos, California, serving grades 9-12. It is part of the ABC Unified School District. As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enroll ...

where he was a two time

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 and the 1990 California 3A Player of the Year. Soto graduated from Cerritos in 1991 and entered

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...

that fall. He played one season at Chapman before transferring to

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

where he played from 1992 to 1994. He scored thirty-eight goals in his three seasons, earning second team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n recognition in 1992. His thirty-eight goals places him second on the school’s career goals list. He graduated in 1995 with a

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

Professional

In 1994, Soto spent the collegiate off-season playing for the Montclair Standard Falcons of the

. In the spring of 1995, Soto signed with the

Anaheim Splash The Anaheim Splash was a U.S. indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). It was founded in 1992 as the Los Angeles United, but was sold after the season. The new ownership moved the team to Anaheim, Californ ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

, but the team released him before he entered a game. In June 1995, Soto signed with the Los Angeles Salsa U-23 in the

. In February 1996, the MetroStars of

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 ...

selected Soto in the eighth round (79th overall) of the Inaugural Player Draft. The team waived him on March 26, 1996. Soto returned to Southern California where he played for U.S. Beach Soccer and worked as a machinist. In 1997, he signed with the

Orange County Zodiac Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

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 ...

. In March 1998, the San Jose Clash selected Soto in the second round (23d overall) in the

1998 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held on February 1, 1998, at the Airport Hilton in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Format Major League Soccer held a professional player combine in Fort Lauderdale the last week of January 1998. On Sat ...

. Once again, the team released him in the preseason. In 2000, the Zodiac was renamed the Wave. Soto left the Wave at the end of 2000 season and spent some time with the USA Pro Beach Soccer Team before retiring from playing.

Coaching

In addition to playing, Soto also coached at the collegiate and youth soccer levels. In 1997, he was the assistant coach with the

Long Beach City College Long Beach City College (LBCC) is a public community college in Long Beach, California. It was established in 1927 and is divided into two campuses, the Liberal Arts Campus in Lakewood Village and the Pacific Coast Campus in central Long Beach ...

women’s soccer team when they won the California State Championship. In 2001, he was hired as an assistant coach at

. In 2004, he moved to

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

as an assistant. On July 12, 2006,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

hired Soto as an assistant coach, but he also spent that season with

. On April 15, 2009, Soto also became the head coach of the

United States national beach soccer team The United States men's national beach soccer team represents the United States in international beach soccer competitions and is controlled by the USSF, the governing body for soccer in the United States. History Early years The sport of be ...

In 2012, the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

hired Soto to coach its U-18 Academy team. In January 2013, Soto became the head of the U-15 team.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins coaching profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soto, Eddie 1972 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players Cal State Fullerton Titans men's soccer players Montclair Standard Falcons players Los Angeles Salsa U-23 players Orange County Blue Star players UCLA Bruins men's soccer coaches USISL players A-League (1995–2004) players Chapman University alumni Los Angeles Salsa players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks LA Galaxy non-playing staff San Francisco Dons men's soccer coaches Association football forwards American beach soccer players Soccer players from California People from Artesia, California Chapman Panthers Long Beach City Vikings coaches Cal State Fullerton Titans men's soccer coaches Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros men's soccer coaches College women's soccer coaches in the United States Long Beach State Beach coaches Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California