Ralph Golen is a former Polish footballer. He played the majority of his career in Canada particularly in the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

and the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

Playing career

Golen began his professional soccer in 1987 with the

North York Rockets The North York Rockets were a professional soccer team based in North York, Toronto, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. Upon the demise of the CSL, ...

of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

. His greatest success with North York was in 1991 when they defeated the

Nova Scotia Clippers The Nova Scotia Clippers were a professional soccer team based in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, but played their matches in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia at Beazley Field. They played only a single season i ...

with a 9-1 goal aggregate to advance to the league cup semi-finals. In 1994, North York re-branded itself as the

Toronto Rockets The Toronto Rocket (TR) train is the fifth and latest series of rolling stock used in the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the trains were built by Bombardier Transpo ...

and moved from the

to 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 ...

. After finishing last in the standings, the Rockets folded from the league due to a financial dispute with the league's front office. He returned to the CNSL in 1995 by signing with

Toronto Italia The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

. He made his debut for the club on August 7, 1995 in a cup match against London City. In 1996, he signed with Oakville Canadian Westerns. He reached the playoffs with Oakville by finishing fourth in the league standings. He featured in the semi-final match against Toronto Italia, but unfortunately were eliminated by the eventual playoff champions by a score of 5-4 goals on aggregate. In April, 1997 he signed with newly expansion franchise the

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

of the

, his signing was announced in a press conference which revealed the team roster. Golen made his debut for the club on April 12, 1997 in the Lynx's first official match against

Jacksonville Cyclones The Jacksonville Cyclones were a professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They played in the A-League from 1997 to 1999. The team originated as the Tampa Bay Cyclones, who played in Tampa, Florida from 1995 to 1996 before moving ...

; the game would eventually result in a 3-1 defeat for the fledgling side. Golen assisted the club in qualifying for the post season for the first time in the franchise's history, by finishing 4th in the Northeastern division. The Lynx were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Impact. He returned to the Lynx the following year where he appeared in 17 matches, but failed to make the post season by finishing second last in their division. During the winter of 1998 he signed with the Montreal Impact indoor team which operated in the National Professional Soccer League, he appeared in 3 matches.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Golen, Ralph Living people American Professional Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Polish men's footballers Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North York Rockets players Toronto Italia players Toronto Lynx players Toronto Rockets (soccer) players People from Stalowa Wola Sportspeople from Podkarpackie Voivodeship Canadian National Soccer League players Men's association football midfielders 1970 births