Andy M. Schmetzer (born April 26, 1967) is a former U.S.

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 ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and indoor soccer coach.

Player

Youth

Schmetzer grew up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, where he attended Nathan Hale High School. He learned to play soccer under the tutelage of his father Walter who coached him with the Lake City Hawks youth team. Walter, a native of Germany, had played in the German Third Division before immigrating to the United States. Schmetzer, and his twin brother

Walt Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter (name), Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include: People Given name * Walt Anderson (American football) (born 1952), American football official * Walt ...

led Nathan Hale to the 1985 3A Washington State boys soccer championship. Andy was also a member of the Sporthaus FC youth team which won the Washington State championship.

Professional

After graduating in 1985, both Schmetzers, along with their older brother

Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...

signed with F.C. Seattle of the

Western Soccer Alliance The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

. In 1985, the Cleveland Force of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) selected Schmetzer in the first round of the MISL draft. He played three seasons with the Force before moving to the

Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...

after the Force folded in 1988. However, in 1989, Cleveland received an expansion MISL franchise, the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch is an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the Crunch played a total of 16 seasons in three separate leagues unde ...

. Schmetzer moved back to Cleveland in 1990. In 1992, MISL folded and the Crunch moved to the National Professional Soccer League. Schmetzer and his teammates went on to win three NPSL titles in 1994, 1996 and 1999. He retired from playing professionally in 2001 having spent five seasons as the Crunch's team captain. In 1997, Schmetzer spent a single season with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

National team

In 1992, Schmetzer played with the

United States national futsal team The United States national futsal team represents the United States at international futsal competitions. It is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and the U.S. Soccer, affiliated with CONCACAF. The U.S. Futsal Federation was foun ...

that placed second in the

FIFA Futsal World Championship The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherla ...

held in Hong Kong.FIFA player profile
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Coach

Following his retirement from playing in 2001, Schmetzer returned as an assistant coach with the Force. In 2002, he became the team's head coach until he retired in 2004. Schmetzer continues to coach at the youth level. In 2000, he co-founded the Cleveland Soccer Academy and spent five years coaching the Girls Premier team. He was also a

Super Y-League USL Youth, formerly known as the Super Y League, is a youth soccer league with teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1999, the league is affiliated with U.S. Soccer and used to identify potential professional talent. USL Youth c ...

Boys coach in 2003–2004. He also coaches Crossfire Premier team in Redmond, Washington. He coached his girls team to a National title in 2009. That team also won all their summer tournaments placing 2nd in state falling to the other team in penalty kicks.

References

External links

Cleveland Crunch fan site
2009-10-25)
Schmetzer scores a goal in 1985 with F.C. Seattle

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmetzer, Andy 1967 births Living people American men's futsal players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Charleston Battery players Cleveland Crunch players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Seattle Storm (soccer) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches Tacoma Stars players Western Soccer Alliance players American people of German descent Men's association football midfielders 20th-century American sportsmen