Dan Counce (born October 22, 1951, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

) 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 ...

player and current professional soccer executive. He played six seasons 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 six more in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned five

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

with the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

between 1974 and 1976.

Player

College

After playing at Rosary High School in St. Louis, Counce attended

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

where he played on the men's soccer team. He was a member of the 1970, 1972 and 1973 NCAA soccer championship teams. In 1973, he won the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

as the outstanding collegiate soccer player in North America. Counce also was selected the MVP of the 1973 ISAA Senior Soccer Bowl and the NCAA National Championship soccer Tournament.

National team

He earned his first cap with the U.S. national team in a September 8, 1974, loss to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. In 1975, he played only one of the five national team games, a 7–0 loss to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in March. It was over a year and a half later before he was called up again, this time for a November 12, 1976, tie with

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. His last game with the national team came a month later when he came on for fellow Saint Louis University alumnus

Al Trost Alan Trost (born February 7, 1949) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He played collegiate soccer at Saint Louis University where he won the 1969 and 1970 Hermann Trophy as the player of the year. His ...

in a 3–0 loss to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Professional

Through the years, Counce established himself as a

journeyman A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...

player in the NASL. After finishing his career at St. Louis, he joined the

Boston Minutemen The Boston Minutemen were an American professional soccer team based in Boston, Massachusetts that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1974 to 1976. Their home fields included Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, ...

of the

(NASL). He bounced from team to team, six total, over the next six years, finishing his NASL career with eight games for the

Toronto Blizzard Toronto Blizzard may refer to: *Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984), the original soccer club, a franchise of the North American Soccer League *Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993), the later club and franchise of the Canadian Soccer League *Toronto Azzurri B ...

in 1979. By this time, however, he had already begun to move towards indoor soccer. In 1978, he signed with the Philadelphia Fever of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The 1978–1979 MISL season was the first for both the team and the league. That year, the Fever went to the MISL championship series, losing to the

New York Arrows The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They were the MISL's first dynasty, winning the first four championships. H ...

, despite goals from Counce. Counce continued to play in the MISL, but moved to the St. Louis Steamers for the 1979–1980 season. That year, Counce was named the team's MVP. However, he moved again in the off season to the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

. He was the Blast's team MVP in the 1980–1981 season. Counce remained with the Blast through the end of the 1983–1984 season when he retired from playing professionally.

Soccer management

Counce has been active in managing professional soccer teams even before retiring from playing. He was either a

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

or Assistant General Manager for the

St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: *St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League *St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006 ...

in 1979–1980, the

from 1986 to 1990 and the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis ...

, also of MISL, from 1990 to 1991. From 1987 to 1991, Counce served on the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

Executive Committee and the MISL Board of Directors from 1986 to 1991. On January 15, 1997, the Rapids hired Counce as the team's

after its first season 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 ...

. In 2002, MLS named Counce the league's Executive of the Year. However, just two years later, AEG sold the Rapids to Kroenke Sports and he resigned at the conclusion of his contract in January 2005.

References

External links

Philadelphia Fever bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Counce, Dan 1951 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate men's soccer players American men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Boston Minutemen players California Surf players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Men's association football forwards Hermann Trophy men's winners Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players San Antonio Thunder players Soccer players from St. Louis St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Team Hawaii players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players United States men's international soccer players 20th-century American sportsmen