View source for Ted Eck

{{Short description|American soccer player and coach}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name     = Ted Eck 
| fullname = 
| image = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|7|14}}
| birth_place = [[Springfield, Illinois]], United States
| height = {{height|ft=6|in=1}}
| position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]], [[midfielder]]
| collegeyears1 =   1984–1987
| college1 =   [[Western Illinois Leathernecks]]
|  years1 =   1988–1991 
| years2 =  1989 
| years3 =  1990-1991 
| years4 =  1991–1992 
| years5 =  1992–1993 
| years6 =  1993–1994 
| years7 =  1992–1996 
| years8 =  1995–1996 
| years9 =  1996–2001 
| years10 =  2000–2001
|  clubs1 =   [[Kansas City Comets (1979–91)|Kansas City Comets]] (''indoor'') 
| clubs2 =  [[Ottawa Intrepid]] 
| clubs3 =  [[Toronto Blizzard (1986–93)|Toronto Blizzard]] 
| clubs4 =  [[St. Louis Storm]] (''indoor'') 
| clubs5 =  [[Denver Thunder]] (''indoor'') 
| clubs6 =  [[St. Louis Ambush (NPSL)|St. Louis Ambush]] (''indoor'') 
| clubs7 =  [[Colorado Foxes]] 
| clubs8 =  [[Wichita Wings]](''indoor'') 
| clubs9 =  [[Dallas Burn]] 
| clubs10 =   → [[Dallas Sidekicks (1984–2004)|Dallas Sidekicks]] ''(loan)''
| caps1 = 101  
| caps2 = 26  
| caps3 = 35  
| caps4 = 37
| caps5 =  9  
| caps6 = 17  
| caps7 = 15+
| caps8 = 39  
| caps9 = 170  
| caps10 =  5
| goals1 =  38  
| goals2 =  21  
| goals3 =  19  
| goals4 =  31
| goals5 =  10  
| goals6 =  18  
| goals7 =  2+
| goals8 =  50  
| goals9 =  12  
| goals10 =  1 
| nationalyears1 = 1989–1996
| nationalteam1  = [[United States men's national soccer team|United States]]
| nationalcaps1  = 13  
| nationalgoals1 = 1 
| manageryears1  = 2009
| managerclubs1  = [[Ogden Outlaws]]
| medaltemplates = 
{{Medal|Country|{{USA}}}}
{{Medal|W|[[CONCACAF Gold Cup]]|[[1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup|1991]]}}
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Association football|Soccer]]}}
}}
'''Ted Eck''' (born July 14, 1966, in [[Springfield, Illinois]]) is an American former [[Association football|soccer]] player who played for numerous clubs in the United States and Canada over a thirteen-year professional career. He is currently an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer. He also earned thirteen [[cap (sports)|caps]] with the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.S. national team]] between 1989 and 1996.

He coached the [[Ogden Outlaws]] in the [[Premier Development League]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/home/309508.html |title=United Soccer Leagues (USL) |accessdate=2009-03-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305234112/http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/home/309508.html |archivedate=2009-03-05 }}</ref>

==Youth and college==
Eck was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, where he attended [[Sacred Heart-Griffin High School]]. After graduating, he then attended [[Western Illinois University]] where he played as a [[Striker (association football)|forward]] on the men's soccer team from 1984 to 1987. He was named the 1987 Mid Continent Conference Player of the Year.

==Early career==
In 1988, Eck began an itinerant career when he signed with the [[Kansas City Comets (1979–91)|Kansas City Comets]] of [[Major Soccer League|Major Indoor Soccer League]] (MISL). He played with the team through the end of the 1990–1991 season when the team folded. In 1989, Eck also played outdoor soccer during the MISL off season with the [[Ottawa Intrepid]] of the [[Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992)|Canadian Soccer League]] (CSL). His twenty-one goals with the Intrepid were best in the CSL and earned Eck a spot on the CSL All-Star team. Eck returned to the CSL, this time with the [[Toronto Blizzard (1986–93)|Toronto Blizzard]] in 1991. That year Eck scored ten goals, tied for fourth on the league's goals list. The Blizzard made it to the CSL championship before losing to the [[Vancouver 86ers]].

With the demise of the Comets, Eck moved to the [[St. Louis Storm]], also of MISL, for the 1991–1992 season. However, the Storm also folded at the end of the season and Eck moved to the [[Denver Thunder]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl93.txt |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2013-12-27 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029060245/http://www.howesportsdata.com/howesportsdata/stats/soccer/misl/misl93.txt |archivedate=2008-10-29 }}</ref> an expansion team which lasted only the 1992–1993 season before folding. Eck found some outdoor stability in 1992 when he signed with the [[Colorado Foxes]] of the [[American Professional Soccer League]] (APSL). He would play each summer with the Foxes until he left to join the [[Dallas Burn]] in 1996. While with the Foxes, Eck won the APSL championship in [[1992 American Professional Soccer League|1992]] and [[1993 American Professional Soccer League|1993]], as well as the 1992 [[Professional Cup]]. Eck scored in the 90th minute of the Foxes 4–1 Pro Cup final victory over [[Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–93)|Tampa Bay]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1992/stats92.htm#Colorado |title=1992 Colorado Foxes |publisher=A-Leaguearchive.tripod.com |date=27 January 2007 |accessdate=4 January 2012}}</ref> The 1993 APSL title game pitted the Foxes against the [[Los Angeles Salsa]]. Scoreless through most of the game, [[Philip Gyau]] of the Salsa scored in the sixty-seventh minute. The Salsa held that lead until Eck tied it with only three minutes left. The Foxes then put two more into the goal in extra time to win 3–1. Eck's goal gave him eight on the season and a spot on the APSL First XI.  Eck again earned a spot on the APSL First XI in 1994 with six goals. However, this year the Foxes fell to the [[Montreal Impact (1992–2011)|Montreal Impact]] in the title game.

While Eck continued to play for the Foxes each summer, he spent the indoor season with the [[St. Louis Ambush (NPSL)|St. Louis Ambush]] of the [[National Professional Soccer League II|National Professional Soccer League]] (NPSL) in the 1993–1994 season. That season the Ambush made it to the championship series before losing to the [[Cleveland Crunch]]. The next season found Eck with the [[Wichita Wings]]. He stayed with this team until joining the Burn in 1996. Eck had his greatest success indoors in his last season with the Wings when he was named the MVP of the NPSL All-Star Game.

==MLS==
On December 13, 1995, [[Major League Soccer]] announced it had signed Eck for the upcoming MLS draft. When the [[1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft|draft]] was held, the [[Dallas Burn]] selected Eck in the first round (third overall). In 1997, he was a member of the Burn team which won the [[Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup|U.S. Open Cup]]. At the end of the 2000 MLS season, the Burn loaned Eck to the [[Dallas Sidekicks (1984–2004)|Dallas Sidekicks]] of the [[World Indoor Soccer League]] (WISL). He played only five games with the Sidekicks, scoring a single playoff goal. He returned to the Burn for the 2001 MLS season and was released in August. In 2001, he retired from playing professionally.

==National team==
Between 1989 and 1996, Eck was a fringe player on the [[United States men's national soccer team|U.S. national team]]. During those seven years, he earned thirteen caps and scored one goal. His first cap came in a scoreless tie with [[Guatemala national football team|Guatemala]] on October 8, 1989, when he came in for [[Bruce Murray (soccer)|Bruce Murray]]. He again came in for Murray a month later in a victory over [[Bermuda national football team|Bermuda]]. He continued to play sporadically in 1990, earning four caps, three as a substitute. However, his greatest contribution to the national team came when he scored in a 2–1 loss to [[East Germany national football team|East Germany]] on July 28, 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |title=East Germany 2, U.S. 1 - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/07/28/East-Germany-2-US-1/3452649137600/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref> His appearances dropped after that and he earned only one cap as a substitute in 1992. It was another four years before he was called up for a national team game. He earned his last cap on October 16, 1996. The national team had gone on strike in a contract dispute with [[United States Soccer Federation|USSF]] and the Federation was forced to field an ad hoc team for that date. Eck and his teammates lost 4–1 to [[Peru national football team|Peru]].

==Futsal==
Eck used his extensive indoor soccer experience to carve out a significant role in the U.S. [[Futsal]] Team. Between 1992 and 1999, he earned fourteen caps with the team, scoring ten goals.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_88-TFAR.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201506/http://www.ussoccer.com/common/stContent.jsp_88-TFAR.html| archive-date = 2007-09-27| title = The Official Site of U.S. Soccer - Futsal}}</ref> He was part of the U.S. team which took second place, losing 4–1 to [[Brazil national futsal team|Brazil]], in the 1992 [[FIFA Futsal World Championship]]. He scored three goals in that tournament.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.kicksfan.com/players/eck/index.htm Sidekicks Bio]
* [http://www.nasljerseys.com/MISL/Players/E/Eck.Ted.htm MISL stats]
* [https://www.statscrew.com/soccer/stats/p-eckted001 Indoor and MLS Stats]
* [https://www.statscrew.com/minorsoccer/stats/p-eckted001 CSL and APSL stats]

{{Summit League Men's Soccer Player of the Year navbox}}
{{United States Squad 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eck, Ted}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American expatriate sportspeople in Canada]]
[[Category:American expatriate men's soccer players]]
[[Category:American men's futsal players]]
[[Category:American Professional Soccer League players]]
[[Category:American soccer coaches]]
[[Category:American men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players]]
[[Category:Colorado Foxes players]]
[[Category:FC Dallas players]]
[[Category:Dallas Sidekicks (WISL) players]]
[[Category:Denver Thunder players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players]]
[[Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players]]
[[Category:Major League Soccer players]]
[[Category:1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup players]]
[[Category:CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players]]
[[Category:National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players]]
[[Category:Ottawa Intrepid players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Springfield, Illinois]]
[[Category:Soccer players from Illinois]]
[[Category:St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) players]]
[[Category:St. Louis Storm players]]
[[Category:Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players]]
[[Category:United States men's international soccer players]]
[[Category:Western Illinois Leathernecks men's soccer players]]
[[Category:Wichita Wings (NPSL) players]]
[[Category:World Indoor Soccer League players]]
[[Category:LA Galaxy non-playing staff]]
[[Category:USL League Two coaches]]
[[Category:Real Salt Lake non-playing staff]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]