Randy Merkel is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

who played professionally in the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

and

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 ...

. Merkel began his collegiate career in 1995 at the

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

. He then transferred to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1996 to 1998. In February 1997, the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

selected Merkel in the third round (thirty-third overall) of the 1999 MLS College Draft. The Crew released Merkel in the pre-season and he signed with the Raleigh Express of the

. In 2001, Merkel moved to the Atlanta Silverbacks. In June 2001, the

Miami Fusion Miami Fusion F.C. was an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team played from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one ...

of the

called up Merkel for one game. The Silverbacks released Merkel in February 2002.Atlanta Silverbacks Ink 2001 A-League Defender Of The Year Gilbert Jean-Baptiste And MLS Defender Alan Woods
/ref>

References

External links

* Living people 1976 births American men's soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players Major League Soccer players Miami Fusion players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Raleigh Express players A-League (1995–2004) players Soccer players from DuPage County, Illinois Columbus Crew draft picks People from Carol Stream, Illinois Men's association football midfielders {{US-footy-midfielder-1970s-stub