Chris Houser (born March 9, 1973) 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 professionally in

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 ...

. Since retiring from soccer, he has built a career in sales and marketing.

Youth

Born in Pierre, Houser grew up in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

. When he turned eight, his stepfather was assigned to Germany, where Houser began playing soccer. He later returned to Sioux Falls, where he graduated from high school. He spent a year working and playing with a local amateur team. His father then paid for him to attend the Vogelsinger Academy where he played well enough to gain an invitation to play for the Vogelsinger team as it toured Belgium. He gained a trial with a local club but his finances did not allow him to stay in Belgium. He returned to South Dakota, where he earned enough to return to Belgium but did not gain a contract. However, the coach of the

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

had seen him play at with the Vogelsinger team and offered him a scholarship. He played soccer for the Owls from 1994 to 1997. In 1995, Houser and his teammates won the

NCAA Men's Division II Soccer Championship The NCAA Division II men's soccer tournament (formerly the NCAA College Division soccer tournament) is an annual event organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the national champions of men's collegiate socc ...

. In 1997, he played for the Bridgeport Italians who went to the second round of the 1997 U.S. Open Cup. That year, he also played for the U.S. team which placed third at the

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

. Houser was inducted into the South Dakota Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007.

Professional

On February 1, 1998, the

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

selected Houser in the second round (nineteenth overall) of the

1998 MLS College Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. Format On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer hel ...

. He became a regular on the Mutiny's back line and tied for the league lead in blocks but was sidelined in 1999 with an attack of

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and ...

. He returned in 2000, but played only a handful of games due to a series of injuries. The Mutiny sent him on loan to

MLS Pro 40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

for three games in 2000. Houser remained with the Mutiny until he and the team agreed to terminate his contract in September 2001 after having his colon removed. In April 2002, he signed with the Connecticut Wolves of the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. He scored in the opening game for the Wolves, but by June 2002, he was with the

Western Mass Pioneers Western Mass Pioneers is an American soccer team based in Ludlow, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games at Lusitano Stadium ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Houser, Chris 1973 births Living people American men's soccer players Connecticut Wolves players Major League Soccer players Southern Connecticut Owls men's soccer players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Western Mass Pioneers players A-League (1995–2004) players USL Second Division players MLS Pro-40 players Tampa Bay Mutiny draft picks Soccer players from South Dakota Men's association football defenders People from Pierre, South Dakota Sportspeople from Sioux Falls, South Dakota 20th-century American sportsmen