Hayden Knight (born March 15, 1957 in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

) is a retired Trinidad-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 and current

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

soccer coach. He earned three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

in 1984.

Playing career

Youth

Knight, a native of

, moved to the United States with his family when he was a young boy. He grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. When he was a sophomore, Knight attended high school in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

as part of a program known as 'A Better Chance'. This program placed inner-city youths in rural high schools. He attended

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

where he played on the men's soccer team. He holds the team's career scoring record with 52 goals. He also holds the NCAA record for career assists per game with 42 in 44 games. Marquette inducted Knight into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. In college, he also played with the

Milwaukee Bavarians Bavarian United SC is an American soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Bavarian Majors of the Bavarian Soccer Club compete in the United Premier Soccer League. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at the Hear ...

. Knight is one of 22 college players to be part of the

40-40 club 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, having both 40 goals and 40 assists in their college career.

Professional

In 1980, the Edmonton Drillers drafted Knight. Although he starred in college as a forward, he moved to defense in the pros. He played a single season with the Drillers before moving to the

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 19 ...

. While with the Drillers, he received his first taste of indoor soccer when the Drillers won the 1980-1981 NASL indoor championship.
/sup> The Chiefs folded after the 1981 season and Knight moved north to the

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. The Montreal Manic were brought back in 2020 by Canadian businessman Gary Gaul as an ...

for the 1982 season. In 1983, the

U.S. Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

, in coordination with the NASL, entered the U.S. national team, known as Team America, into the NASL as a league franchise. The team drew on U.S. citizens playing in the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Soccer League. Knight left the Manic and signed with Team America. When Team America finished the 1983 season with a 10-20 record, the worst in the NASL, USSF withdrew the team from the league. Knight moved to the

Golden Bay Earthquakes Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

for the 1984 season, but was traded to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

with

Manny Rojas Manuel Antonio "Manny" Rojas Zúñiga (born June 13, 1954) is a retired football midfielder from Chile, who represented his native country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. His professional career took him from his native Chile to Mexico a ...

on July 10, 1984, in exchange for

Ricardo Alonso Ricardo Alonso was a soccer player who began as a forward before moving to defender later in his career. Alonso spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in Major Indoor Soccer League, at least three in the American Indoor Socc ...

and

Charlie Fajkus Charlie Fajkus (born March 4, 1957 in the United States) is a retired American soccer midfielder who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League and five in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned three caps with the U.S. nation ...

.
/sup> He remained with the Sting through the 1984-1985 MISL season and won the 1984 NASL championship with them. On May 10, 1985, the Sting released Knight. In September 1985, Knight signed with the

Chicago Shoccers The Chicago Vultures were an indoor soccer club based in Chicago, Illinois that competed in the American Indoor Soccer Association. After their first season, the club was renamed the Chicago Shoccers. Coaches Luis Dabo 1985–1986 Aleks Mih ...

of the

American Indoor Soccer Association 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 ...

.New Chicago Team Has Some Old Faces
/ref> He was an AISA All Star and led the Shoccers in scoring despite playing defense. In March 1986, he rejoined the Sting and finished the 1985-1986 MISL season with them. On August 6, 1986, he signed with the Dallas Sidekicks of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)as a free agent. On July 4, 1987, the team announced that they would not renew his contract and he again became a free agent. He signed with 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

(AISA) where he played as a forward for the next two seasons. At the end of the 1987-1989 AISA season, Knight retired from playing professionally.

National team

In 1984, Knight earned three

with the U.S. national team. The three games all came within a week as Knight played first on October 11 in a win over

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, followed by a loss three days later to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and another loss three days after that to

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 ...

Coaching

That year

Cedarburg High School Cedarburg High School (CHS) is a Public Education High School in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Curriculum Classes offered at Cedarburg High School are grouped into 13 departments: art, business and information technology, engineering/technology education ...

Cedarburg, Wisconsin Cedarburg is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburban community in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city incorporated in 1885, and at ...

hired Knight to coach the girls' soccer team as well as teach. Since then, Knight has remained at Cedarburg, teaching history and social studies as well as coaching both the girls' and boys' teams. In 2005, he resigned from the girls' team, after

beating Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

, but resigned later from the boys' side in 2008 to take a technical directing job at the Mequon Soccer Club. The CHS won the state championships in 1989, 1991 and 1996.
/sup> He is also a staff coach at the Mequon Soccer Club. He is looking for his 300th win, then possibly retiring from soccer.

References

External links

Marquette University bio

Dallas Sidekicks profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Hayden 1957 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate men's soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Atlanta Chiefs players Chicago Shoccers players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982) players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Bavarian United SC players Milwaukee Wave players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Soccer players from New York (state) Team America (NASL) players Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States People from Cedarburg, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Ozaukee County, Wisconsin United States men's international soccer players Marquette Golden Eagles men's soccer players Men's association football defenders High school soccer coaches in the United States