Jim Tietjens is a retired American soccer

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 professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and

United Soccer League 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 ...

. Tietjens graduated from Oakville High School. He then attended St. Louis University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1978 and 1979. He was inducted into the Billikens Hall of Fame in 1995. In 1980, he turned professional with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League. He spent three season with the Strikers as a backup to

Jan van Beveren Jan van Beveren (, 5 March 1948 – 26 June 2011) was a Dutch football player and coach, who played as a goalkeeper. Van Beveren was born in Amsterdam, but moved to Emmen as a teenager. After reaching the first team with amateur side VV Emmen ...

except for two games during his rookie season when injuries put him in the nets. He suffered a knee injury requiring surgery during a February 1983 indoor tournament and remained a backup for the 1983 season. In November 1983, he signed with the Kansas City Comets of the Major Indoor Soccer League. However, he lost much of the early season with a dislocated shoulder then served as a backup for the rest of the season. In May 1984, he signed with the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun. Origins The United S ...

of the

. He led the league with the lowest

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

. He continued to play for the Sun, now known as the South Florida Sun in 1985. He had the second lowest goals against average. When the team and the league collapsed after six games, Tietjens moved back to St. Louis where he worked for Rawling Sports. In October 1991, Tietjens was diagnosed with a heart problem. In July 1992, Tietjens was given a life saving heart transplant.Transplant helps brother, sister overcome hereditary heart problem
/ref> Jim is currently the Director of Trade Marketing Planning at Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, MO.

Yearly Awards

*USL Top Goalkeeper: 1984

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tietjens, Jim 1960 births Living people Soccer players from St. Louis American men's soccer players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Fort Lauderdale Sun players Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players United Soccer League (1984–85) players Men's association football goalkeepers