Larry Hulcer is a former U.S. soccer forward and

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least three in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eight

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 Ja ...

, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team in 1979 and 1980.

Player

College

Hulcer attended St. Louis University where he played on the men's soccer team from 1975 to 1978. He was the team's assist leader in 1976 and was a 1978 Honorable Mention (third team) All American. In 1995, St. Louis University inducted Hulcer into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional

In 1979, the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tourn ...

drafted Hulcer. That season he earned NASL Rookie of the Year honors. In December 1979, the Aztecs traded Hulcer and

Angelo DiBernardo Angelo DiBernardo (born May 16, 1956) is an Argentine-American former soccer player who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympic ...

to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independ ...

in exchange for

Gary Etherington Gary Etherington (born April 22, 1958 in England) is a retired soccer player who began his professional career in the North American Soccer League before moving to the Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned seven caps with the U.S. national tea ...

and

Santiago Formoso Santiago Formoso (born July 4, 1953) is an American soccer defender who spent five seasons in the North American Soccer League. He also earned seven caps with the U.S. national team in 1976 and 1977. Club career Santiago Formoso was born in ...

. Hulcer spent the next two seasons with the Cosmos. On December 8, 1981, the St. Louis Steamers of Major Indoor Soccer League purchased Hulcer's contract from the Cosmos. Hulcer then spent the next three indoor seasons with the Steamers, the first year as a forward, the next two as a midfielder. The Steamers unexpectedly released him in February 1985. Hulcer then signed with the Kansas City Comets for the remainder of the season. The Comets released him in October 1985.

National team

Hulcer began playing with the U.S. B-Team in 1978 as it began preparation for the 1980 Summer Olympics. At the time professionals could not play in the Olympic games and Hulcer signed a professional contract in 1980 which took him off the Olympic squad which qualified for the Olympic games. Unfortunately for the team, the U.S. boycotted the games and the team did not compete. Hulcer 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 U.S. national team on February 3, 1979 in a 3–1 loss to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. He then saw time in about half of the U.S. games in 1979.USA - Details of International Matches 1970-1979
On October 5, 1980, he scored his only goal with the national team in a 2–0 victory over

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. His last cap came on November 23, 1980 in a loss 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 ...

Coach

After Hulcer retired from playing professionally, he remained in St. Louis where he joined the coaching ranks and worked for St. Louis Envelope Company. His coaching career included time with the St. Louis Soccer Club and the Busch Soccer Club.

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hulcer, Larry 1957 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players Association football midfielders Association football forwards Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Los Angeles Aztecs players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players New York Cosmos players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Saint Louis University alumni Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players Soccer players from St. Louis United States men's international soccer players