Ted Eck (born July 14, 1966, in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

) is a retired 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 ...

player who played for numerous clubs in the United States and Canada over a thirteen-year professional career. He is currently an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. He also earned thirteen caps with the U.S. national team between 1989 and 1996. He coached the

Ogden Outlaws Ogden Outlaws is an American soccer team based in Ogden, Utah, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Con ...

in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

Youth and college

Eck was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, where he attended

Sacred Heart-Griffin High School Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, often abbreviated SHG, is a Catholic high school located in Springfield, Illinois, United States. It is the city's largest private school and is located in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. The school ope ...

. After graduating, he then attended

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

where he played as a

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 ...

on the men's soccer team from 1984 to 1987. He was named the 1987 Mid Continent Conference Player of the Year.

Early career

In 1988, Eck began an itinerant career when he signed with the Kansas City Comets of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He played with the team through the end of the 1990–1991 season when the team folded. In 1989, Eck also played outdoor soccer during the MISL off season with the

Ottawa Intrepid Ottawa Intrepid was a professional soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were founded as the National Capital Pioneers (also spelled National Capitals Pioneers) and played in Aylmer, Que ...

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 ...

(CSL). His twenty-one goals with the Intrepid were best in the CSL and earned Eck a spot on the CSL All-Star team. Eck returned to the CSL, this time with the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

in 1991. That year Eck scored ten goals, tied for fourth on the league's goals list. The Blizzard made it to the CSL championship before losing to the Vancouver 86ers. With the demise of the Comets, Eck moved to the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis Arena. The mascot for the St. Louis Storm was named “Colt Flash” (1990 ...

, also of MISL, for the 1991–1992 season. However, the Storm also folded at the end of the season and Eck moved to the

Denver Thunder Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United S ...

, an expansion team which lasted only the 1992–1993 season before folding. Eck found some outdoor stability in 1992 when he signed with the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 19 ...

of 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 ...

(APSL). He would play each summer with the Foxes until he left to join the Dallas Burn in 1996. While with the Foxes, Eck won the APSL championship in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, as well as the 1992 Professional Cup. Eck scored in the 90th minute of the Foxes 4–1 Pro Cup final victory over Tampa Bay. The 1993 APSL title game pitted the Foxes against the

Los Angeles Salsa The Los Angeles Salsa was an American soccer team based in Los Angeles that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the USISL Pro League. The club played on the campus of California State University, Fullerton at Titan Stad ...

. Scoreless through most of the game,

Philip Gyau Phillinoisip "Phillip" Gyau (born February 7, 1966) is a former U.S. soccer forward who is the current head coach of the Howard Bison men's soccer program. He spent his outdoor career in the American Soccer League and the American Professiona ...

of the Salsa scored in the sixty-seventh minute. The Salsa held that lead until Eck tied it with only three minutes left. The Foxes then put two more into the goal in extra time to win 3-1. Eck's goal gave him eight on the season and a spot on the APSL First XI. Eck again earned a spot on the APSL First XI in 1994 with six goals. However, this year the Foxes fell to the Montreal Impact in the title game. While Eck continued to play for the Foxes each summer, he spent the indoor season with the St. Louis Ambush of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in the 1993–1994 season. That season the Ambush made it to the championship series before losing to the Cleveland Crunch. The next season found Eck with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

. He stayed with this team until joining the Burn in 1996. Eck had his greatest success indoors in his last season with the Wings when he was named the MVP of the NPSL All-Star Game.

MLS

On December 13, 1995,

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

announced it had signed Eck for the upcoming MLS draft. When the draft was held, the Dallas Burn selected Eck in the first round (third overall). In 1997, he was a member of the Burn team which won the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

. At the end of the 2000 MLS season, the Burn loaned Eck to the Dallas Sidekicks of the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States-based indoor soccer league that existed from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to create ...

(WISL). He played only five games with the Sidekicks, scoring a single playoff goal. He returned to the Burn for the 2001 MLS season and was released in August. In 2001, he retired from playing professionally.

National team

Between 1989 and 1996, Eck was a fringe player on the U.S. national team. During those seven years, he earned thirteen caps and scored one goal. His first cap came in a scoreless tie with

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

on October 8, 1989, when he came in for Bruce Murray. He again came in for Murray a month later in a victory over

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. He continued to play sporadically in 1990, earning four caps, three as a substitute. However, his greatest contribution to the national team came when he scored in a 2-1 victory over

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

on July 28, 1990. His appearances dropped after that and he earned only one cap as a substitute in 1992. It was another four years before he was called up for a national team game. He earned his last cap on October 16, 1996. The national team had gone on strike in a contract dispute with USSF and the Federation was forced to field an ad hoc team for that date. Eck and his team mates lost 4-1 to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Futsal

Eck used his extensive indoor soccer experience to carve out a significant role in the U.S.

Futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

Team. Between 1992 and 1999, he earned fourteen caps with the team, scoring ten goals. He was part of the U.S. team which took second place, losing 4-1 to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in the 1992

FIFA Futsal World Championship The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherland ...

. He scored three goals in that tournament.

References

External links

Sidekicks Bio

Indoor and MLS Stats

CSL and APSL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eck, Ted 1966 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate soccer players American men's futsal players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American soccer players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Colorado Foxes players FC Dallas players Dallas Sidekicks (WISL) players Denver Thunder players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Association football forwards Association football midfielders Kansas City Comets (original MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer players 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Ottawa Intrepid players Sportspeople from Springfield, Illinois Soccer players from Illinois St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) players St. Louis Storm players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players United States men's international soccer players Western Illinois Leathernecks men's soccer players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players World Indoor Soccer League players LA Galaxy non-playing staff USL League Two coaches Real Salt Lake non-playing staff