Brian Ashton (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian former soccer player who played notably with the Toronto Lynx, and is currently the Ontario Soccer Association Region 6 Head Coach.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Ashton | ||
| Date of birth | September 5, 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Sudbury, Ontario | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992 | London Lasers | 3 | (0) |
| 1998–2004 | Toronto Lynx | 159 | (13) |
| 2002 | → Mississauga Olympians (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 1991 | Canada U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 1992 | Canada U20 | 5 | (1) |
| 1994 | Canada U23 | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 2, 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of n/a | |||
Professional career
editAshton attended St. Charles College, where he played soccer. Ashton was a key part of the 1990 and 1993 NOSSA title for St. Charles.[1][2]
Ashton began playing professional soccer with the London Lasers in 1992.[3] Although receiving a tryout offer from Premier League club Sheffield United in 1993, he never officially made the squad.[4]
He later played with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League in 1998 the second year of the franchise's inception.[5] He made his debut for the club on April 9, 1998, in an exhibition match against the Rochester Rhinos.[6] During his tenure with the Lynx he was awarded the Toronto Lynx Fan Favorite award a record five times including a Public Relations award.[7] He held the record for most club appearances for the Lynx, until he was surpassed by David Diplacido in 2006.[8] In the 2000 USL A-League season he assisted Toronto by reaching the post season for the second time in the franchise's history. In the playoffs Ashton scored a goal in the conference quarterfinals against the Long Island Rough Riders, which resulted in a 2–1 victory.[9] The Lynx playoff run came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final against the Rochester Rhinos in a 2–1 loss on aggregate.
Once the 2002 A-League season came to a conclusion he was loaned to the Mississauga Olympians of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[10] He made his debut on September 11, 2002, in an Open Canada Cup match against the Toronto Croatia.[11] He helped the Olympians secure a playoff berth by finishing second in the Western Conference, but unfortunately were defeated by the North York Astros in a wild card match.[12] On February 12, 2004, Ashton announced his retirement from professional soccer after he was offered a regional coach of youth development position with the Ontario Soccer Association.[13]
International career
editAshton made his national team debut on March 25, 1991, with the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team at the 1991 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament. He later featured with the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team in the 1992 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament. He also played with the Canada men's national under-23 soccer team at the 1994 Jeux de la Francophonie.[14]
References
edit- ^ Hutchison, Jim (May 28, 1990). "St. Charles wins NOSSA". North Bay Nugget. p. 16. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ Macfarlane, Bruce (May 31, 1993). "St. Charles gains revenge in NOSSA soccer finals". North Bay Nugget. p. 11. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "Brian Ashton soccer statistics on StatsCrew.com".
- ^ Pascal, Randy (September 12, 2023). "Laurentian soccer celebrates and Ashton heads overseas - in Sept of 1993". Sudbury Sports. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "The Team". August 19, 2000. Archived from the original on August 19, 2000. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
- ^ Glover, Robin (April 9, 1998). "A-League pre season game of Thursday April 9, 1998". Rocket Robin`s Home Page.
- ^ Nutt, Dave (April 10, 2003). "LYNX SIGN FORMER ALL-STAR". Rocket Robin`s Home Page. TORONTO LYNX MEDIA RELEASE.
- ^ "Brian Ashton | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Winnipeg Fury (September 9, 2000). "CP article: Lynx Advance to Semi's". Rocket Robin`s Home Page.
- ^ RUMLESKI, Kathy. "CPSL playoff picture still unclear". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. London Free Press. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Glover, Robin (September 11, 2002). "Result of the Wednesday September 11th, 2002 CPSL game between Toronto Croatia and Mississauga Olympians played at Memorial Park in Streetsville at 8:00pm. This was the first game of the two leg quarterfinal of the League Cup". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
- ^ Glover, Robin (October 18, 2002). "Result of the Friday October 18th, 2002 CPSL Wild Card game to determine semi-finalists for the Rogers Cup between North York Astros and Mississauga Olympians". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
- ^ Lynch, Rob (February 12, 2004). "There's Only One Number 8". USLFans.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015.
- ^ "Canada Soccer". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
