Robert “Rob” Paterson (born October 17, 1967 in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

) is a former U.S. soccer

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who spent two seasons in the

Western Soccer Alliance Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer All ...

and one in 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 ...

. Paterson began his collegiate career at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) syste ...

in 1987. In 1988, he transferred to the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

where he played on the men’s soccer team. He was part of the SDSU team which went to the semifinals of the NCAA Division I tournament. In 1989, Paterson was named a first team All American and was honored as the

ISAA Player of the Year The ISAA Player of the Year was an annual U.S. college soccer award presented by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) between 1984 and 1995. In 1984, the ISAA began recognizing outstanding men's NCAA soccer players with an ann ...

. He finished his two seasons at Evansville with 42 goals and 11 assists. In 1997 Evansville inducted Paterson into its Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1987, Paterson joined the semi-pro

San Diego Nomads Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club. History The Nomads we ...

of the

.WSA 1987 Season
/ref> He spent the 1989 collegiate off season with the Nomads. However, in 1990, he moved to the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

of the

which was formed by the merger of the WSA and American Soccer League. He scored eight goals with the Timbers. His four assists that season led the team.

References

External links

1989 San Diego Nomads roster
1967 births Living people Soccer players from San Diego American men's soccer players Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer players San Diego State Aztecs men's soccer players Indoor soccer players Western Soccer Alliance players Nomads Soccer Club players American Professional Soccer League players Portland Timbers (1985–1990) players All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football forwards {{US-footy-forward-stub