Victor "Vic" Moreland (born 15 June 1957 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

) is a retired professional footballer from Northern Ireland who began his career in Northern Ireland, spent two seasons in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

before moving to the United States. He then played six 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 ...

, seven in the Major Indoor Soccer League as well as several seasons in several lower division indoor and outdoor leagues.

Club career

Moreland began his career as a midfielder with

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882. History Early history In 1914, Glentoran won the Vienna Cup, becoming the first United Kingdom team to win a European t ...

in 1973. In 1978, Glentoran sent him on loan 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 ...

of the

. He returned to Ireland and began the 1978–1979 season with them before Glentoran sold him and

Billy Caskey Billy Caskey (born 10 December 1954 in Belfast) is a retired professional soccer midfielder from Northern Ireland. He played in the Irish Football League, Football League, North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He also ear ...

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

for £90,000 in September 1978. He played two seasons with Derby before the team sold his contract, along with Caskey's to the

for $100,000 in 1980. The NASL ran an indoor season during the 1980–1981 winter. Up to this time, Moreland had played as a defensive midfielder, but beginning with the 1981 NASL outdoor season, he moved permanently to the backline. In 1984, he was named to the All League Second Team. In the fall of 1984, he moved to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. On 18 September 1985, the Sting sold his contract to the Dallas Sidekicks. On 15 June 1988, the Sidekicks released him to reduce the team's player salaries. He signed 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.

on 1 July 1988. In June 1989, he returned to outdoor soccer with the

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), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

of the American Soccer League. That year, the Strikers won the league title, then defeated the

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 wer ...

of the

Western Soccer League 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 ...

for the first national outdoor championship since the demise of the NASL in 1984. On 18 June 1989, the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 in ...

selected Moreland in the MISL expansion draft. However, he refused to sign with Cleveland and the Crunch allowed him to sign with the Wings in September 1989 in return for an undisclosed amount of cash and the Wing's first round selection in the 1990 MISL Draft. He remained with the Wings until the spring of 1991. In the summer of 1990 and 1991, he played for the Strikers, this time also adding duties as an assistant coach. In August 1991, he was named as a player-coach with the

Tulsa Ambush Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

in the National Professional Soccer League. Moreland retired in 1992. He came out of retirement in November 1994, to play for the

in the 1994–1995

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

indoor season. He continued to play for the Roughnecks during the 1995 USISL outdoor season, then became the head coach of the Roughnecks for the 1995–1996 indoor season. He remained with the team until the start of the 1996 outdoor season, when he stepped down as coach. He continued to play sporadically for the Roughnecks into the 1997–1998 indoor season, filling in whenever injuries caught the team shorthanded. He founded, and continues to run, the Tulsa Nationals Soccer Academy in 1995.Former pro soccer player organizes children's program
/ref>

National team

In March 1978, Moreland played one game with the Northern Ireland U-21 team. On 29 November 1978, he earned his first of six

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 Java ...

with the

Northern Ireland national football team The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. From 1882 to 1920, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland natio ...

against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. He scored his only goal with the national team in a 5–1 loss to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 17 October 1979. His last international game came a month later when Northern Ireland defeated Ireland on 21 November 1979.

References

External links

NASL StatsDallas Sidekicks player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreland, Victor 1957 births Living people Association footballers from Belfast Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Derby County F.C. players Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Glentoran F.C. players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Expatriate men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland men's international footballers Tulsa Ambush players Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players Tulsa Roughnecks (1993–2000) players USISL coaches USISL players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football defenders Association football managers from Northern Ireland St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) coaches