Paul Hunter (born January 18, 1956) is a Canadian-born retired

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 ...

player. He played for the University of Connecticut Huskies and spent five seasons 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 ...

. His position was defender.

High school and college

While born in Canada, Hunter and his brother Tim grew up in Westport, Connecticut where he attended

Staples High School Staples High School is a public high school located in the town of Westport, Connecticut, United States. Staples High School is named after Horace Staples, who founded the school on April 26, 1884. Westport is one of eight school districts in Dis ...

. Staples won the 1971 Connecticut state championship Hunter's junior year. While the team repeated as champions in 1972, Hunter shattered his leg mid-season, putting him out for the rest of the year. He then attended the University of Connecticut, playing on the men's soccer team from 1974 to 1976. He was selected as an honourable mention (third team) All American in 1975 and a first team All American his senior season. He was also team captain that season.

Professional

Hunter signed with the New York Cosmos of the

(NASL) in 1977. He played only three games and transferred to the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express was a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Jimmy Hill, Roger Fa ...

where he became a regular starter for two seasons. In 1980, he played only five games for the Express and in 1981, found himself with the

Tulsa Roughnecks Tulsa Roughnecks may refer to any of four distinct professional soccer teams: *Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984), the original top-flight team that played in the North American Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. *Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000), the team ...

where he played twenty games. He also played NASL

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

during the 1979–80 and 1980–81 seasons. Hunter was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Paul 1956 births Soccer players from Toronto Canadian men's soccer players Canadian emigrants to the United States Detroit Express players Men's association football defenders North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut Soccer players from Fairfield County, Connecticut Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Living people All-American college men's soccer players Staples High School alumni