Todd Saldana 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 ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He played four 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 ...

, two in the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

and two 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 Alli ...

. He was a member of the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

at the

1981 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, the third edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Australia from 3 to 18 October 1981. The tournament took place in six venues—where a total of 32 matches were played. Adelaide, Brisban ...

and has coached at the collegiate level including three seasons as the head coach of the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

men's soccer team.

Player

Club career

Saldana graduated from South Torrance High School where he was a 1978 Third Team High School All American soccer player. In 1980, the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs was an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 to 1981 as well as the 1975 NASL Indoor tour ...

of the

drafted Saldana out of high school. He played five games for the Aztecs over two seasons before being sent to the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

for the 1982 season. In May 1982, the Earthquakes traded Saldana, two draft choices and cash to 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 ...

in exchange for

Joe Morrone, Jr. Joseph M. Morrone (sometimes called Joe Jr. in error) (March 19, 1959–) is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who is the son of soccer coach Joe Morrone, Joseph J. Morrone Jr. While playing for the UConn Huskies, he won the 1980 Hermann Trophy as ...

He played two outdoor seasons and one indoor season with Tulsa. In 1984, he signed with the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun. Origins The United S ...

of the

. He played twenty-one games and scored three goals as the Sun won the league championship. In 1985, he returned to the team, now known as the South Florida Sun, but the league collapsed after six games. In 1987, he played for the

Los Angeles Heat Los Angeles Heat joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the WSL merged with the American Soccer League, then folded in 1990. The club played in Torrance, California at West Hi ...

of the

. In 1989, he played for the

California Kickers California Kickers were a soccer club based in Hollywood, California. They joined the Western Soccer Alliance in 1986. They initially played as Hollywood Kickers before changing their name for the following season. In 1990 the team name was changed ...

, also of the WSA.

National team

In 1981, Saldana played two games for

at the

Coach

From 1989 to 1994, Saldana served as an assistant coach with the

. In 1995, he was hired as head coach of

Cal Poly Pomona California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona, CPP, or Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo. See the ''name'' section of this article for more infor ...

before moving to the

Loyola Marymount Lions The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I and the West Coast Conference. Sports sponsored Baseball ...

in 1997 where he had a 6–9–1 season. In 1998, he was hired as the UCLA women's soccer coach and took the team to a 17–4–1 record. In May 1999, he moved over to become the head coach of the men's program.Todd Saldana Named UCLA Head Men's Soccer Coach
/ref> Over three seasons, he compiled a 43–17–4

/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saldana, Todd 1962 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players California Kickers players Fort Lauderdale Sun players Los Angeles Aztecs players Los Angeles Heat players College women's soccer coaches in the United States North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players UCLA Bruins men's soccer coaches United Soccer League (1984–85) players Western Soccer Alliance players Sportspeople from Redondo Beach, California United States men's under-20 international soccer players Soccer players from California UCLA Bruins women's soccer coaches Loyola Marymount Lions men's soccer coaches Men's association football midfielders