Geoff Aunger

Geoffrey "Geoff" Edward Ramer Aunger (born 4 February 1968 in Red Deer, Alberta) is a former Major League Soccer player and Canadian national soccer team member.[1]

Geoff Aunger
Personal information
Full name Geoffrey Edward Ramer Aunger
Date of birth (1968-02-04) 4 February 1968
Place of birth Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Midfielder, Defender, Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987 Vancouver 86ers
1988 Winnipeg Fury ? (11)
1989 Victoria Vistas
1990 Hamilton Steelers
1991 London Lasers
1992–1993 Vancouver 86ers 11 (3)
1993–1994 Luton Town 6 (1)
1994 Chester City 5 (0)
1995–1996 Milwaukee Wave (indoor) 22 (10)
1995 Vancouver 86ers 18 (7)
1996 New England Revolution 29 (3)
1996–1997 Stockport County 1 (0)
1997 Seattle Sounders 24 (8)
1998–2000 D.C. United 74 (4)
2001 Colorado Rapids 1 (0)
National team‡
1992–1997 Canada 44 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 May 2008
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 May 2008

Club career

A striker/midfielder later converted into a defender as well, Aunger played youth soccer with the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club.[2] He began his professional career in 1987 in the Canadian Soccer League and played all six years of the league's existence and with five different teams. He started with the Vancouver 86ers and went on to play with the Winnipeg Fury, Victoria Vistas, Hamilton Steelers, London Lasers, and once more with the 86ers. He was the league's 7th leading scorer in 1988 with the Fury, 4th in 1991 with the Steelers and named a league All-Star in 1992, the final year of the league. He continued with the 86ers as they joined the APSL for the 1993 season, scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances. He was also a 1990 and 1991 All Canada soccer player with the British Columbia Institute of Technology.[3]

Europe

Aunger tried his luck in England and successfully tried out for and signed with Luton Town for the 1993–94 season. Aunger had the best imagineable start, scoring two minutes into his debut match. He played but 6 times however for the Hatters first-team, having been dropped to the reserves after playing only 3 games. He was not re-signed at the end of the season. A brief stint with Third Division Chester City did not meet with any success either for Aunger.

United States

He rejoined the 86ers of the A-League and also played for the Milwaukee Wave of the indoor National Professional Soccer League.[4] Aunger had 7 goals in 18 games with the 86ers in 1995.

Aunger played in the MLS for the New England Revolution in 1996, when he led the team in games and minutes played, while scoring 3 goals, all on penalties. He tried his luck once more in England, this time with Stockport County but made but one appearance, as a substitute the day after signing. He then joined the A-League's Seattle Sounders.[5]

A second chance in MLS in 1998 with D.C. United, as Aunger won in training camp the right-back position. After 6 matches he lost his starting position and spent rest the season in and out of the line-up. 1999 saw him however start 24 games for the team however as a midfielder, and won the 1999 MLS Championship with United. He was also the first Canadian to play in the MLS Cup final. In 2000, Geoff made 26 appearances for United. He was traded to the Colorado Rapids in 2001, and appeared in one game. In total, Aunger played 104 regular season MLS games and 9 Cup play-off contests.

He became eligible for induction into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

International career

He made his debut for Canada in a March 1991 North American Championship match against Mexico, but since this game was not regarded official he won his first senior cap coming on as a sub in an April 1992 friendly match against China. He earned a total of 44 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented Canada in 13 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[6]

His final international was a November 1997 World Cup qualification match against Costa Rica, a game after which Alex Bunbury, Frank Yallop and Colin Miller also said farewell to the national team.

International goals
Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
115 November 1992Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, Canada Bermuda4–24–21994 FIFA World Cup qualification
215 July 1993Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico Martinique1–02–21993 CONCACAF Gold Cup
31 August 1995Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada Jamaica3–13–1Caribana Cup
430 August 1996Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, Canada Panama1–03–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

D.C. United

References
  1. "Canada Soccer". canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  2. Tri-City News: Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer motors into 25th year Archived 6 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine 3 September 2009
  3. "All Canada" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  4. NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE FINAL OFFICIAL STATISTICS – 1995–1996 Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1997 Sounders' Stats
  6. Record at FIFA Tournaments – FIFA
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