Toni Ståhl (born 11 May 1985) is a Finnish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who last played for

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

Career

Early career in Finland

Ståhl attended high school at Pohjois-Haagan Yhteiskoulu, and was part of the youth teams of the most successful Finnish club of all time,

HJK Helsinki Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki (), or simply as HJK (), is a Finnish football club based in Helsinki. The club competes in Veikkausliiga, the top division of the Finnish football league system. Founded in 1907, the ...

. After his time at HJK, he had a short spell with the Second Division team Atlantis Akatemia in late 2002, before joining FC Espoo in 2003.

American college career

Ståhl accepted an invitation from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

to play

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

in the United States, and he joined the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, with its main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big Eas ...

for the 2006 season. He was chosen as the

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Rookie of the Year after his first season with the Huskies, after being the only freshman to start and play in all 19 games that season. In 2009, he was named Big East Midfielder of the Year as he concluded his career with the Huskies tallying two goals and nine assists. He was also a nominee in the semifinal stage for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy.

Professional

In December 2009, Ståhl signed a contract with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, even though clubs from Sweden, Denmark and English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

showed interest in him. Ståhl was subsequently drafted in the second round (17th overall) of the

2010 MLS SuperDraft The 2010 MLS SuperDraft was the eleventh annual MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 14, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America, NSCAA Conv ...

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. He was sent off on his MLS debut on 25 March 2010, in a game against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. In April 2010 he played on loan with the Union's

USL-2 The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

affiliate

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

. On 14 January 2011, the Union announced that they declined the option on Ståhl's contract and he subsequently became a free agent. Ståhl signed with

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

of the

on 1 April 2011. Following an impressive debut season for the Strikers, Ståhl was named to the NASL 2011 Best XI Team as one of four defenders.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stahl, Toni 1985 births Living people Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Finnish men's footballers 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Finnish expatriate men's footballers Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Philadelphia Union players Penn FC players Fort Lauderdale Strikers players North Carolina FC players University of Connecticut alumni Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Finnish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Major League Soccer players USL Second Division players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Philadelphia Union draft picks FC Espoo players Sportspeople from Tuusula Footballers from Uusimaa