John Houska (May 13, 1956 – September 7, 2020) was an 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 ...

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 The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League.

College

Houska attended

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

, where he played on the men's soccer team from 1973 to 1978. He holds the team records for saves in a season (193) and career (471). When he was a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

in 1976, he served as the Greyhounds' goalkeeper when they won the

NCAA Men's Division II Soccer Championship The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship is the annual tournament held by the NCAA to determine the top men's Division II college soccer program in the United States. It has been played annually since 1972; prior to then, all teams competed ...

, earning him a mention in '' Faces in the Crowd'' in the December 13, 1976 issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

''. He was also a 1976 Honorable Mention (third team) and 1975 Second Team All American. He was inducted into the Loyola University Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

In 1980, he signed with the

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978, 1979, and 1980 seasons and played their home games in Memphis' Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. They also played indoor s ...

of the

. He led the league during the 1979-1980 NASL indoor season. In the fall of 1980, he moved to the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League where he spent two seasons. He also played for the St. Louis Steamers from 1982 to 1984. He was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999.Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houska, John 1956 births 2020 deaths Soccer players from Baltimore American soccer players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Loyola Greyhounds men's soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Memphis Rogues players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Association football goalkeepers