Nick Krat ( ua, Микола (Нік) Крат; born February 24, 1943) is a retired Ukrainian-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 ...
defender who played professionally in the
National Soccer League of Chicago
The National Soccer League (Chicago), formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which is the oldest continuously operating soccer leagu ...
and 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 ...
. He earned fourteen
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 Java ...
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 ...
between 1968 and 1972.
Youth
Krat, a native of Ukraine, attended college at
Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...
where he played on the men’s soccer team. In 1965, he was named the Defensive MVP of the NCAA post-season tournament as the Spartans went to the
championship game
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
, only to lose to
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...
. That season, Krat was also named a
First Team All American.
Professional
In 1962, Krat began his career with the
Ukrainian Lions
The Ukrainian Lions was a soccer club that was operated by the Ukrainian American Sports Club. The club was based in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1949 by Ukrainians that had settled in the Chicago area after the Second World War. They comp ...
of the
National Soccer League of Chicago
The National Soccer League (Chicago), formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which is the oldest continuously operating soccer leagu ...
. He would play every season for the Lions until 1974 except for two. In 1967, he began the season as a center back with the
Chicago Spurs
Chicago Spurs were an American soccer team that was a charter member of the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967. The team was based in Chicago, Illinois and played their home games at the Soldier Field. When t ...
of the
National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) before moving to the
St. Louis Stars. In 1968, the NPSL merged with the
United Soccer Association
The United Soccer Association was a professional soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League to form the North American S ...
to form 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 ...
. After the merger, Krat spent one more season, 1968, with the Stars, this time in the NASL. He won the 1972 and 1974 NSLC championships the Lions.
National team
Krat earned fourteen
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 Java ...
with the national team between 1968 and 1972. His first game came on September 15, 1968 in a tie with Israel. At the time, the U.S. was preparing for the
1970 FIFA World Cup
The 1970 FIFA World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's senior national teams. Held from 31 May t ...
qualifying games. Krat started all six of those matches as the U.S. went 3-3, failing to make the tournament. The national team had no games in 1970 and 1971. When it resumed play in 1972, Krat started the first three games.
References
External links
NASL stats*
Ukrainian Football Diaspora at Sport.ua
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krat, Nick
1943 births
Living people
American men's soccer players
Chicago Spurs players
Michigan State Spartans men's soccer players
National Professional Soccer League (1967) players
National Soccer League (Chicago) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
St. Louis Stars (soccer) players
Ukrainian Lions players
Ukrainian SSR emigrants to the United States
United States men's international soccer players
Men's association football defenders