Patrick Stewart Onstad (born January 13, 1968) is a Canadian former professional

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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who serves as the General Manager of the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. During his career, Onstad played with a variety of clubs in Canada and the United States and was a three-time winner of

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

. He was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in November 2015.

Youth and college

Onstad began playing organized soccer with the West Point Grey, Marpole United, and Coquitlam Metro-Ford youth soccer clubs. He then went on to tend goal at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, who he led to three CIAU National Championships. He was also a two-time Academic All-Canadian, and holds degrees in Human Kinetics and

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

Club career

After graduating, Onstad joined the Vancouver 86ers of the Canadian Soccer League in 1987. From 1988 to 1989, he played for the Winnipeg Fury, also of the CSL. He moved to a third CSL team, the Toronto Blizzard, for 1990 and 1991. Onstad returned to the Fury in 1992, winning both the CSL Championship and the CSL Goalkeeper of the Year Award. Onstad moved to the APSL in 1994, playing for the Toronto Rockets. After a season with the Rockets, he moved to the Montreal Impact for 1995. In 1996, he played

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

for the Edmonton Drillers of the NPSL. He returned to outdoor soccer in 1997, playing for the Toronto Lynx, again of the A-League.

United States and Scotland

In 1998, Onstad moved to his first American team, the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American association football, soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-Major League Soccer ...

, with whom he won the A-League title, and was also named the league's Goalkeeper of the Year, after allowing only 13 goals in 26 regular season games. Onstad remained with Rochester for 1999, was named All-League second team, and helped the Rhinos become the only lower league team to win the U.S. Open Cup since the foundation of Major League Soccer. In 1999, Onstad was signed by

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

of Scotland for the 1999–2000 and 2000–2001 seasons, but as third-string goal keeper behind Alan Combe and Paul Gallacher, he did not see any playing time with the first team. He returned to Rochester in 2001, and although a wrist injury kept him out of action for most of the year, he finished second in the league in goals against the following year.

Major League Soccer

On March 13, 2003, Onstad was signed as a discovery player by the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

as a replacement for Joe Cannon. Onstad filled in quite well, helping lead the Earthquakes to their second

in three years, and winning the

MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award, known as the Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award for sponsorship purposes, is an annual Major League Soccer award established in 1996. It is voted on by media, MLS players and club management based on regul ...

. He had another excellent year in 2005, supporting the Earthquakes as they went undefeated at home (the first time any team did that in MLS history) and winning the

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

, and winning the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award for a second time. He was named to the

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

in both 2003 and 2005. Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, he moved to Houston for the 2006 season. Onstad played every minute of the regular season for the Dynamo. After the 2010 MLS season Houston declined Onstad's contract option. He elected to participate in the 2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft, but was not selected in the Re-Entry draft. Shortly thereafter, Onstad announced his retirement on December 21, 2010.

International career

Onstad played for Canada at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship and the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

. Onstad made his senior debut for the Canadian national team on February 18, 1988, against

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, and played a total of 60 games over a 22-year period for the squad. He represented Canada in 15

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches in three unsuccessful

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

qualifying campaigns. His final official international game was an August 2008 World Cup qualification match against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. He played his last match for Canada in a friendly against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on 24 May 2010, thus becoming the oldest player in Canada's history at the age of 42 years and 131 days, breaking the previous record set by David Norman in 1994.

Coaching career

Onstad joined D.C. United as an assistant coach alongside Chad Ashton. It was announced on February 17, 2011, that Onstad would come out of retirement to play for D.C. due to the injuries to Steve Cronin and Bill Hamid. His contract with D.C. United expired on May 31, 2011, and Onstad returned solely to his duties as an assistant coach. Onstad left D.C. in January 2013. He joined

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

as Chief Scout and Manager of Football Partnerships. Shortly after the firings of general manager Kevin Payne, and director of team and player operations Earl Cochrane, Onstad left the organization. On January 10, 2014, he joined

Columbus Crew SC 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. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. ...

as an assistant coach, with head coach Gregg Berhalter stating that "Pat is very professional in how he approaches the game, and he brings versatility to his new role. He has great league experience and a winning pedigree, and those are attributes that attracted us to bringing him onboard." When Gregg Berhalter left Columbus to coach the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

, Onstad was promoted to technical director by Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbachenko. On November 1, 2021, Onstad was hired as general manager of the

Honours

Rochester Rhinos *

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

Championship: 1998, 2001 * A-League Commissioner's Cup: 1998, 1999 * Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup:

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

* Eastern Conference Championship: 1998, 1999 * Northeast Division Champs: 1998, 1999, 2002 San Jose Earthquakes *

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 ...

MLS Cup:

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

* Major League Soccer Supporters Shield:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship:

* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship: (Regular Season)

Houston Dynamo *

MLS Cup:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* Major League Soccer Western Conference Championship:

Canada *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

North American Nations Cup The North American Nations Cup was an association football competition organized by NAFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from North America. The tournament was held in 1990 and 1991. Canada, United States and Mexi ...

: 3rd place,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Canada U20 * CONCACAF U-20 Championship: 1986 Individual * MLS Goalkeeper of the Year: 2003, 2005 *

: 2003, 2005 * Canadian Player of the Year: 2003 *

Goalkeeper of the Year: 1998 * A-League: First Team: 1998, Second Team 1999 * MLS Save of the Year:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* Rochester Rhinos Hall of Fame: 2012 * Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame: 2015

References

External links

* / Canada Soccer Hall of Fame * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onstad, Pat 1968 births Living people 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup players American Professional Soccer League players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian men's soccer players Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Canadian people of Norwegian descent D.C. United players Dundee United F.C. players Edmonton Drillers (1996–2000) players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football goalkeepers Houston Dynamo FC players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Montreal Impact (1992–2011) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Soccer players from Vancouver Men's association football player-managers Rochester New York FC players San Jose Earthquakes players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players Toronto Lynx players Toronto Rockets (soccer) players UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players Winnipeg Fury players D.C. United non-playing staff Columbus Crew non-playing staff Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Footballers at the 1987 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen