Mike Winter is a retired Austrian-American soccer

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who spent 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 ...

and earned 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 Ja ...

with the United States national team.

NASL

Winter was born in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 1972, the St. Louis Stars of the

(NASL) selected Winter as their goalkeeper. That year, he had the second lowest

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

(GAA) in the league, behind

Kenny Cooper Kenneth Scott Cooper Jr. (born October 21, 1984) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward. He began his soccer career with Manchester United but failed to break through to the first team. He went on to play for clubs in P ...

. That achievement led to his selection as the 1972 NASL Rookie of the Year. Winter was the goalie of record on February 13, 1974, when the visiting

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

team dismantled the Stars, 11–4, in an

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

match before 12,241 fans at the St. Louis Arena. It was the last of three Red Army indoor matches on the tour. Winter spent the 1973 and 1974 seasons with the Stars before 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 ...

selected him in the 1975 NASL Expansion Draft. He played one season with the Sting, then left the NASL.

National team

In 1972, Winter earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

with the U.S. national team. He never became a regular starter for the national team as he had significant competition in the nets from

Mike Ivanow Mike Ivanow (born January 9, 1948 in Shanghai, China) is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper who was born in Shanghai, China. He spent eight seasons in the North American Soccer League and was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the 1972 Summer Olym ...

and

Bob Rigby Bob Rigby (born July 3, 1951, in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania) is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper. Rigby played twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Western Soccer Alliance and ear ...

. However, he did earn six caps, but had no shutouts, and more significantly, no wins.U.S. Men's National Team Player Registry: U - Z

References

External links

U.S.SoccerPlayers.com bio

1952 births American soccer players Association football goalkeepers Austrian emigrants to the United States Chicago Sting (NASL) players Living people North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players St. Louis Stars (soccer) players United States men's international soccer players {{US-footy-goalkeeper-stub