Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978 in Haleiwa, Hawaii) is an
American soccer player, who currently plays forward for Houston
Dynamo of Major League Soccer.
Ching played his college soccer at Gonzaga University, where he
scored 34 goals and had 23 assists. In 2001, Ching was drafted
by the Los Angeles Galaxy as the 16th pick in the MLS SuperDraft.
That year for the Galaxy, he appeared in 8 games and scored one
goal. In 2002, Brian was released by the Galaxy and signed by
the Seattle Sounders of the A-League for whom he had played
several games with in 2001, on loan from Los Angeles. Playing
for the Sounders, he was ranked second in the A-League in
scoring and was selected as a member of the A-League All-League
team.
In February of 2003, Brian was acquired by the San Jose
Earthquakes in the 2003 MLS Supplemental Draft. When Dwayne
DeRosario suffered a devastating knee injury in the 2003 pre-season,
Brian was thrust into the starting forward role. Ching played
solidly until August of 2003 when he ruptured his right Achilles'
tendon causing him to miss the rest of the Earthquake's 2003
Championship season. In 2004, he re-gained a starting job and co-lead
the league (with Eddie Johnson) in goals with 12. Brian was
named MLS Comeback Player of the Year and to the league MLS Best
XI for his efforts. In four years in MLS, Ching has scored 26
goals and added 12 assists in league play.
Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, Ching moved to
Houston for the 2006 season. He scored four goals in Houston's
first-ever game 2 April against Colorado, the seventh player in
MLS history to score four goals in a single game.
Ching earned his first cap with the US national team on May 26,
2003 against Wales and since he has been used by Bruce Arena in
several US World Cup qualifiers. Ching scored the equalizing
goal in the 89th minute against Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier
in Kingston on August 18, 2004, and followed that performance
with another goal in the team's next match.
Ching is an avid surfer. He is the first (and currently only)
Hawaii native to play in MLS or for the United States national
team. |
