Carl Christensen (born July 5, 1956, in

Jackson, Michigan Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 31,309 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along Interstate 94 in Michigan, Interstate 94 and U.S. Route 127 in Michigan, U.S ...

) is a retired American

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 ...

defender who played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Player

Christensen graduated from Essex High School in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. He then attended the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, where he was a 1976 First Team All American soccer player. He was inducted into the University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1978, he signed with the

Dallas Tornado The Dallas Tornado was a soccer team based in Dallas, Texas that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1967 to 1981. Of the twelve teams that comprised the U.S. in 1967, the Tornado franchise played the longest–15 seasons. T ...

of the

. He played no games for them before being traded to 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 ...

where he finished the season, then played the 1979 season. In the fall of 1979, Christensen signed with the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Coach

Christensen served as an assistant coach to the

soccer team in 1981 and 1982. In 1983, he became the head coach of the

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy p ...

soccer team. He coached the team for seven seasons and compiled a 97–28–5 record.

Awards and honors

In December 1999,

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

named Christensen number twenty-eight on its list of the top 50 athletes from Vermont. Christensen was inducted into the

Vermont Sports Hall of Fame The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame is an athletics hall of fame in the U.S. state of Vermont. Above all, induction "is for accomplishments in sports and recreation that generate a great source of pride to the state." Launched as a project in 2011, ...

in 2015.

Family

Christensen now lives in New Hampshire with his wife, Lori. He has a daughter Jenna, whom he loves dearly, and 5 other children.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Carl 1956 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Dallas Tornado players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Vermont Catamounts men's soccer players Soccer players from Vermont Wichita Wings (MISL) players Soccer players from Michigan People from Jackson, Michigan Soccer in Michigan Sports coaches from Michigan Soccer in Vermont Sports coaches from Vermont All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football defenders 20th-century American sportsmen