Jeff Duback is a retired U.S.

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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who played in the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

, American Soccer League and

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. He also earned four

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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 ...

Youth

Duback grew up in the

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, area, where he played for the powerhouse San Diego Nomads youth club. After graduating from La Jolla High School, Duback attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where he played on the men's soccer team in 1982. He spent the 1983 season with the U.S. U-20 national team before returning to Yale the next season. He remained with the team through 1986. He holds several Yale records, including season GAA (.31 in 1986) and career GAA (.82) . He also hold the school's record for season shutouts (11) and career shutouts (25). He was named a first-team All-American goalkeeper in 1984 and 1986. He topped this with garnering the ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year in 1986.

Professional career

In 1986, Duback returned to San Diego to play during the collegiate off season for the Nomads' senior team, which competed at that time in the

(WSA). He graduated from Yale in the spring of 1987 and spent that summer with the national team. In the fall of 1987, he broke his toe training with the Kansas City Comets during the Major Indoor Soccer League preseason. He returned to San Diego where he trained with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

while recuperating. The Sockers signed him for the 1987–1988 MISL season, but he never saw first team time. In 1988, Duback played with the Boston Bolts of the American Soccer League (ASL). However, he lost most of the season due to national team commitments. In 1989, the Bolt decided against bringing him back for a second season and he signed with the

San Diego Nomads Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club. History The Nomads wer ...

. He once again saw only a handful of games with his team as he spent most of the summer with the national team. He returned to the Nomads late in the season as the team won the league title, putting it in the first national championship game since the demise of the North American Soccer League in 1984. Duback started the game against the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

which the Nomads lost 3–1. By the spring of 1990, Duback was out of contention for a spot on the national team and he signed with the Boston Bolts now of the

. Duback played with the Bolts the entire season. Duback retired at the end of the season and went into the sporting goods business. In the spring of 1993, he went on trial with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the APSL. The Rowdies signed him to a short-term contract on May 13, 1993, as backup to starter

Bill Andracki Bill Andracki is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who had an extensive professional career playing both indoor and outdoor soccer. Youth In 1988 and 1989, Andracki attended Mercer County Community College, playing on the men's soccer team. H ...

and second string keeper Brett Philips. However, with Andracki suspended and Phillips injured, Duback started the first game of the season and posted a shutout. This led the Rowdies to extend his contract. However, the team released him on June 2, 1993, when Duback did not agree to the terms of another contract extension. In 1994, he signed 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 ...

of 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 ...

. He played two seasons with the Eagles. On June 6, 1995, Duback signed with

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 ...

as that league began preparations to begin its first season in 1996. However, he was not drafted and retired permanently in the spring of 1996.

National team

In 1983, Duback was the starting goalkeep for the U.S. U-20 national team as it qualified for the

1983 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship was the fourth edition FIFA World Youth Championship tournament, hosted from 2 June to 19 June 1983 in seven venues in Mexico — Guadalajara, Irapuato, León, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca — wh ...

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 ...

.FIFA Player Profile
/ref> He played all three games in the tournament, gaining a single win and single shutout. In 1987, he earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exam ...

becoming only one of four national team goalkeepers to earn a shutout in their debut game. Previous to this game,

David Vanole David Charles "Dino" Vanole (February 6, 1963 – January 15, 2007) was an American soccer goalkeeper and coach. He spent his professional career in the Western Soccer Alliance and its successor league, the American Professional Soccer League. ...

had been the keeper of choice through 1986 and 1987. In 1988, the national team began searching for another keeper and Duback was in the mix. However, by 1989, Vanole had staged a resurgence and

Tony Meola Antonio Michael "Tony" Meola (; ; born February 21, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He represented the United States national team at the 1990, 1994, and 2002 World Cups. From 1996 to 2006, he p ...

was entering the goalkeeping scene, which he would dominate through 1994. This led to Duback earning only three more caps, despite his excellent start with the national team. In his four games, he earned only one victory and two shutouts. Duback was also a member of the 1988 U.S. Olympic team which went 0-1-2 at the games.

Coaching

He currently runs goalkeeper camps and markets a goalkeeper video. He served as a volunteer coach at his children's school, Woodlawn of

Davidson, North Carolina Davidson is a suburban town located in northern Mecklenburg and Iredell counties, North Carolina, United States, on the banks of Lake Norman. It is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 10,944 at the 2010 census, and in ...

, during the 2004–2005 season. 2009 assistant coach for the Women's Professional Soccer League's (WPSL) Boston Aztec.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duback, Jeff 1964 births All-American college men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Boston Bolts (1988–1990) players Charlotte Eagles players Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Living people Olympic soccer players for the United States Nomads Soccer Club players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players United States men's international soccer players USISL players Western Soccer Alliance players Yale Bulldogs men's soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Soccer players from San Diego