Geoffrey "Geoff" Edward Ramer Aunger (born 4 February 1968 in

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education ...

) is a former Canadian soccer player. He played in various Canadian leagues and the lower tiers of the English leagues system before playing in the United States in the A-League and Major League Soccer. Aunger was also a member of the Canadian national soccer team member.

Club career

A striker/midfielder later converted into a defender as well, Aunger played youth soccer with the

Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club (''CMFSC''), formerly known as ''FC Xtreme'' and ''Tri-Cities Xtreme'', are a Canadian men's and women's soccer club soccer team, founded in the city of Coquitlam, British Columbia in 2003. The team is a member of ...

. He began his professional career in 1987 in the Canadian Soccer League and played all six years of the league's existence and with five different teams. He started with the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

and went on to play with the

Winnipeg Fury The Winnipeg Fury were a professional soccer team in Winnipeg, Canada. The team was part of the Canadian Soccer League from 1987 to 1992. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. In 1993, they played in the Canadia ...

, Victoria Vistas, Hamilton Steelers, London Lasers, and once more with the 86ers. He was the league's 7th leading scorer in 1988 with the Fury, 4th in 1991 with the Steelers and named a league All-Star in 1992, the final year of the league. He continued with the 86ers as they joined the APSL for the 1993 season, scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances. He was also a 1990 and 1991 All Canada soccer player with the

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main campus in B ...

Europe

Aunger tried his luck in England and successfully tried out for and signed with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

for the 1993–94 season. Aunger had the best imagineable start, scoring two minutes into his debut match. He played but 6 times however for the Hatters first-team, having been dropped to the reserves after playing only 3 games. He was not re-signed at the end of the season. A brief stint with Third Division Chester City did not meet with any success either for Aunger.

United States

He rejoined the 86ers of the A-League and also played for the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional soccer team in the United States and are seven-time league champions, m ...

of the indoor National Professional Soccer League. Aunger had 7 goals in 18 games with the 86ers in 1995. Aunger played in the MLS for the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

in 1996, when he led the team in games and minutes played, while scoring 3 goals, all on penalties. He tried his luck once more in England, this time with

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional football club in Stockport, England, who compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, they were renamed Stockport Co ...

but made but one appearance, as a substitute the day after signing. He then joined the A-League's

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. A second chance in MLS in 1998 with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

, as Aunger won in training camp the right-back position. After 6 matches he lost his starting position and spent rest the season in and out of the line-up. 1999 saw him however start 24 games for the team however as a midfielder, and won the 1999 MLS Championship with United. He was also the first Canadian to play in the MLS Cup final. In 2000, Geoff made 26 appearances for United. He was traded to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

in 2001, and appeared in one game. In total, Aunger played 104 regular season MLS games and 9 Cup play-off contests. He became eligible for induction into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

International career

He made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in a March 1991 North American Championship match against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, but since this game was not regarded official he won his first senior cap coming on as a sub in an April 1992 friendly match against China. He earned a total of 44 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented Canada in 13 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.Record at FIFA Tournaments
– FIFA His final international was a November 1997 World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica, a game after which Alex Bunbury,

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach. Yallop is currently the head coach and sporting director of USL Championship side Monterey Bay FC. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich, including the ...

and Colin Miller also said farewell to the national team.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Honours

D.C. United

* Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1):

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aunger, Geoff 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Red Deer, Alberta Canadian people of German descent Soccer people from Alberta Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Men's association football utility players Canadian soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Winnipeg Fury players Victoria Vistas players Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players London Lasers players Luton Town F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Major League Soccer players Milwaukee Wave players New England Revolution players Stockport County F.C. players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players D.C. United players Colorado Rapids players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players English Football League players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players A-League (1995–2004) players Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer All-Stars D.C. United draft picks Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England