Glenn "Mooch" Myernick (December 29, 1954 in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Thornton, Colorado The City of Thornton is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 141,867, all in Adams County, at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of +19.44% since the 2010 United ...

) was an 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 and coach. He won the 1976

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

as that year’s outstanding collegiate player. He then spent eight 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 ba ...

and one in Major Indoor Soccer League. Myernick also earned 10

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with the U.S. national team. After retiring from playing professionally, Myernick spent over twenty years as a professional and national team coach.

Playing career

High School and college

Myernick played soccer at Lawrence High School in

Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Lawrence Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the south and the Raritan Valley region to the north, the township is an outer-ring suburb of New Yo ...

, from which he graduated in 1972. He was All-State as a forward in 1971 and as a defender in 1972. Beginning his freshman year, he led Lawrence to three straight Group 2 state titles. In 1999, he was named by ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'' as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1970s. Following high school, he attended

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Established in 1966, MCCC has an open-door admission policy. The West ...

in 1973 before transferring to

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...

his sophomore season. He is a member of the Mercer County Community College Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a second team All American in 1974 at Hartwick, but lost much of the 1975 season with the U.S. Olympic team as it attempted to qualify for the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. Returning to Hartwick for the 1976 season, Myernick was named team captain and led the Warriors (Hartwick has since adopted the name Hawks) to the NCAA Final Four and First Team All American recognition. He was also the 1976

winner as the top college player of the year. In 1995, Hartwick College inducted Myernick into its Athletic Hall of Fame.

NASL

In 1976, Al Miller, a former Hartwick soccer coach who was now head coach of the

’s

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. T ...

, selected Myernick with the top pick of the NASL College Draft. The Tornado traded Myernick to the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

in 1980 and he was named the Timbers captain that season. When Portland folded following the 1982 season, the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

selected Myernick in the dispersal draft. While the NASL folded following the 1984 season, the Rowdies continued to play as an independent team. Myernick remained with the Rowdies before retiring in 1985.

MISL

Myernick spent one season, 1979–1980, 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.

of Major Indoor Soccer League.

National Team

Myernick earned 10

for the U.S. from 1977 to 1979, serving as team captain in 1978. He also started 4 games for the U.S. Olympic soccer team during Olympic qualifying in 1976. Myernick was on the American team at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in se ...

Coaching

College

Myernick retired from playing professionally in 1985, becoming an assistant coach at the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

. In 1986, he moved back north to

to become an assistant coach.

National team

After serving as an assistant coach on the 1996 U.S. Men's Olympic soccer team, Myernick was hired in 2002 to serve as an assistant coach on the Men's National Team for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. After the highly successful Quarterfinal run made by the United States, Myernick coached the U.S. Men's U-23 Soccer team as they attempted (unsuccessfully) to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Tournament. He continued serving the U.S. Men's National Team through the 2005 Gold Cup (notably - managing the team during the championship game, when head coach Bruce Arena had been suspended for the final) and the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...

. Myernick was also the organizer of the Colorado Rapids youth soccer clinic from 1997 through 2000 at the Rapids training facility in

Westminster, Colorado The City of Westminster is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 116,317 at the 2020 United States Census with 71,240 residing in Adams County and 45,077 residing in ...

Colorado Rapids

Myernick served as the head coach of the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

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 Cana ...

from 1997 to 2000, leading them into the playoffs in each of the four seasons. The Rapids made it all the way to the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

final in his first year at the helm, coming up short 2-1 to D.C. United at

RFK Stadium Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...

. The team also advanced to the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

final in 1999, losing 2-0 to the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. He also served in the same capacity with the U.S. under-23 Men's National Team in 2003. Myernick was the US Men's Senior National Team assistant coach at the time of his death.

Death

Myernick died in

Thornton, Colorado The City of Thornton is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 141,867, all in Adams County, at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of +19.44% since the 2010 United ...

on October 9, 2006, four days after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

during his morning jog on Thursday, October 5, 2006, never having regained consciousness.

U.S. Soccer The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

officials, including President

Sunil Gulati Sunil Gulati ( ; born July 30, 1959) is an American sports administrator who presided over the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) from 2006 to 2018. On April 19, 2013, he was elected to a four-year term on the FIFA Council. In March 2014, h ...

and former Men's National Team manager

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who is the head coach and sporting director of the New England Revolution. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Arena has had ...

, paid homage to Myernick and praised his invaluable contributions to soccer in the United States. Myernick was acclaimed as an enthusiastic coach, player, father, and friend.

Hall of Fame

On April 8, 2015, Myernick was elected to the US

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium (Texas), Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors Association football, soccer ...

along with

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fa ...

and

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, as well as being the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. national team. He is a four-time FIFA World Cup partici ...

References

External links

Colorado Rapids coaching profileMLS News: Former Rapids Coach Myernick Dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myernick, Glenn 1954 births 2006 deaths American soccer coaches American soccer players Colorado Rapids coaches Dallas Tornado players Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players Lawrence High School (New Jersey) alumni Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players United States men's international soccer players Footballers at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for the United States Wichita Wings (MISL) players Soccer players from Trenton, New Jersey Major League Soccer coaches Association football midfielders National Soccer Hall of Fame members All-American men's college soccer players Hermann Trophy men's winners