Steve Pecher (born
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
) is an American former
soccer defender who is currently the Missouri Girls Director of St Louis Scott Gallagher.
Youth and college
Pecher began playing soccer with the youth club, Florissant Cougars, then with his high school team at Normandy High School in St. Louis. He was part of the team which took the Missouri state championship in 1974, his senior year. He was also All State both his junior and senior years. The next year attended
Florissant Valley Community College where he played on the national junior college championship team in 1975. He was a junior college All American both years at Florissant.
Professional
In 1976, the
Dallas Tornado of 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 ...
(NASL) signed Pecher. That season he was named the 1976 NASL Rookie of the Year. He remained with the club through the 1980 season. By 1980, Pecher had begun a transition to indoor soccer when he joined the
St. Louis Steamers of
Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) for the 1979–1980 season. He was a 1980 MISL All Star with the Steamers. He remained with the Steamers through the 1983–1984 season. Pecher became a free agent in August 1984 and on September 11, 1984, he signed with the
Kansas City Comets. He began the 1985–1986 season in Kansas City, but the Comets traded him to the Steamers for
Stuart Lee in December 1985. He would remain with the Steamers until they traded him and
Don Ebert
Don "Mad Hatter" Ebert is a retired U.S. soccer forward who spent most of his career with two indoor clubs, the St. Louis Steamers and the Los Angeles Lazers.
Youth
Ebert attended Rosary High School in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1976, Ebert and h ...
on February 20, 1987 to the
Los Angeles Lazers
The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989.
History
Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of ...
in exchange for
Poli Garcia
Jose “Poli” Garcia (born in San Diego, California) is an American former soccer player. He spent at least four seasons in the American Soccer League, three in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League. H ...
and
Jim Kavanaugh
James P. "Jim" Kavanaugh (born 1963) is an American businessman. He is known as the CEO and co-founder of World Wide Technology.
Early life
Kavanaugh received his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Saint Louis University in 19 ...
. He retired at the end of the 1987–1988 season.
National team
Pecher earned 17
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 Ja ...
with the
U.S. national team from 1976 to 1980. He made his first appearance with the national team in a September 24, 1976, 1–1 tie with
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
where he received a red card. He received another red card in 0–3 loss to Canada in
Port-au-Prince on December 22, 1976.
He played his last game with the U.S. national team in a November 9, 1980 1–5 loss to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
and was U.S. captain from 1978 to 1980.
Post-playing career
After retiring from playing, Pecher joined Marriott, where he became the director of retail sales. In September 2002, he was hired as the director of the former Busch Soccer Club then St. Louis Soccer Club and now the St. Louis Scott Gallagher. He had spent time with the team as a coach and continues to coach the younger girls teams.
References
External links
Interview with Pecher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pecher, Steve
Living people
1956 births
American soccer coaches
American soccer players
Dallas Tornado players
Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players
Los Angeles Lazers players
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players
Soccer players from St. Louis
St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players
United States men's international soccer players
Association football defenders
St. Louis Community College alumni