Marine Cano (born September 13, 1954) is an American collegiate soccer head coach and a retired professional

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 ...

. He played 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 ...

, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and Western Soccer Alliance. He is currently the head coach of the women's soccer team at CSU Dominguez Hills.

Playing career

Born in 1954, Cano grew up in

South Bay, Los Angeles The South Bay is a region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in the southwest corner of Los Angeles County. The name stems from its geographic location stretching along the southern shore of Santa Monica Bay. The South Bay contains fi ...

. He played in the inaugural AYSO season when he was 10-years old alongside his friend

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American Association football, soccer Manager (association football), coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West ...

. Cano prepped at

Bishop Montgomery High School Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is a Catholic high school serving twenty-five parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the S ...

in Torrance, where he played basketball and was the team captain during his junior and senior years. The school did not have a soccer program at the time. In 1976, Cano signed his first professional contract with the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League at the age of 21. There, he was the backup to

Brian Parkinson Brian Parkinson is an English retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, spending five seasons in the American Soccer League. Parkinson began his career with Everton, where he earned the backup goalkeeper job for a brief spe ...

and helped the Skyhawks to the ASL championship. In the spring of 1978, he briefly played for Welsh side

Rhyl FC Rhyl Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Y Rhyl) was a Welsh football club based in Rhyl in Denbighshire. It withdrew from footballing activities in April 2020 and had its entire footballing record for the 2019/2020 season expunged. It was form ...

. He was selected to be a member of the U.S. Men's National Team for its Caribbean Tour that summer. Later in the fall, he signed with 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 ...

of the

. In 1979, Cano returned to the ASL with the

California Sunshine The California Sunshine was an American soccer club based in Fountain Valley, California that was a member of the American Soccer League. The team was owned by Dr. Robert Everakes and his wife Alexandra, who was the general manager. Their home game ...

. He stayed in the ASL the following year to play for the Cleveland Cobras. That fall, he signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1985, after a four-year hiatus, he joined the independent Los Angeles United. In 1986, he signed with the

Los Angeles Heat Los Angeles Heat joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the American Soccer League, then folded in 1990. The club played in Torrance, California at West Hi ...

of the Western Soccer Alliance. The next season he took on the role of player-manager, coaching the team and serving as backup to national team member

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. ...

, and solely coached the team in 1988. He returned to the Heat as a player in 1990, now part of the

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 permanently retired from playing after the conclusion of that season.

Coaching career

Even before retiring from playing in 1990, Cano had an extensive coaching resume. His first experience came when he was still in high school, as he managed one of the first AYSO girls' youth teams. He founded and became the co-head coach of the boys' soccer program at his alma mater,

, alongside his friend

just two years after graduating. In 1980, he was hired as an assistant coach by Schmid at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. In 1984, Cano founded and became the head coach of the CSU Dominguez Hills women's soccer team. A year later, he took over the men's program in addition to leading the women's side. Cano led the women's team to the NCAA Division II national championship in 1991. In 1994, he was hired at UC Irvine to become the Director of Soccer, supervising both men's and women's programs, and the women's head coach by

Dan Guerrero Dan Guerrero (born November 10, 1951) is best known for being the athletic director for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He also has served as the chairman of the Selection Committee for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tou ...

. He resigned after the 2005 season, having compiled a record of 111-94-27 in his twelve seasons as coach. In 2006, he was hired by Soka University to start an intercollegiate soccer program. The men's team had their inaugural season in 2008 and the women's in 2009. In 2018 he accepted to become the women's soccer head coach at CSU Dominguez Hills for the second time. Outside of collegiate soccer, Cano served as the head coach for the

in the Western Soccer Alliance in 1987 and 1988. He has also been a goalkeeping advisor for the Los Angeles Galaxy during

's stints. He is the director of "Mr. Soccer" youth soccer camps that attract more than 1,000 people.

References

External links

NASL/MISL statsMr. Soccer Camps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cano, Marine 1954 births American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Cleveland Cobras players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Living people Los Angeles Heat players Los Angeles Skyhawks players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players UC Irvine Anteaters women's soccer coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Western Soccer Alliance coaches Western Soccer Alliance players Men's association football goalkeepers Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros men's soccer players Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros women's soccer coaches Soccer players from Los Angeles California Sunshine players Los Angeles United players American expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate football managers in Japan Academic staff of Sōka University American expatriate soccer coaches Bishop Montgomery High School alumni