David Joseph Brcic (born January 21, 1958) is an American 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 ...

player who played as a

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 ...

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. He also competed at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

and earned four

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 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 ...

Youth career

In 1976, Brcic graduated from

Bishop DuBourg High School Bishop DuBourg High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in St. Louis, Missouri. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. Notable alumni * Norbert Leo Butz (1985), Tony Award winning American stage, musical th ...

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 ...

where he played on the school's soccer team. He has been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. After high school, Brcic attended

St. Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private 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 Mississippi River and one of the oldest ...

where he played a single season of

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Outdoor soccer

In 1977, he left the university to sign with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

of the

. Brcic remained a back-up with the Cosmos through the 1979 season. Through that year, he had played only eight games in goal. During the 1978–79 off-season, the Cosmos loaned Brcic to

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

of the Scottish First Division, then the top league in Scotland. After injuries hit Greenock Morton's goalkeepers, the team brought Brcic into its first team where he played six league games, including a win at

Aberdeen F.C. Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional Association football, football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the and have List of unrelegated association football clubs, never been relegated from the top division of th ...

on December 20, 1978, during which Brcic stopped a penalty kick. Brcic returned to the Cosmos for the 1980 season and remained with the team until it folded during the 1984–1985 indoor season.

National team

Brcic did not only return to the Cosmos in 1979, he also earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the U.S. national team when he came on for

Arnie Mausser Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954) is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Mausser may be considered one of the fin ...

in a May 2, 1979, loss to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Brcic did not play again for the senior team until 1984. That year he was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. team at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. That year, he also appeared in a May 30 scoreless draw versus

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and a 4–0 World Cup qualifying win against the

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

on October 6. He played one more game with the senior national team, a 2–1 World Cup qualification victory over

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

on May 15, 1985.

Indoor soccer

By this time Brcic was ending his outdoor professional career and had embarked on his indoor years. He gained his first indoor soccer experience during the 1981–1982 NASL indoor season. He played fourteen games for the Cosmos as they finished with the league's second worst record. Brcic and the Cosmos did much better in the second NASL indoor season, which didn't take place until 1983–1984. He started twenty-six games as New York made it to the championship game before falling to the San Diego Sockers. The next year, the Cosmos entered the Major Indoor Soccer League. However, they were a shell of the team they were a few years prior and folded thirty-three games into the forty-eight-game season. Brcic began the season with the Cosmos, but when they collapsed, he moved to 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.

. At the end of the season, he moved again to the

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit was an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit was founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then returned ...

for the 1985–1986 season. Although the Spirit finished in the bottom of the standings, Brcic was selected to the first team All MISL list. For the 1986–1987 season, he was with his fourth team in three seasons, the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

. Once again, he found himself with a struggling team. Brcic also played with the Kansas City Comets and

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 ...

. Since retiring from playing, Brcic graduated from Maryville University in 1996 has run soccer camps and is President of Soccer Master. He resides in St. Louis with his wife Cindy and two children Emily and Alex.

References

External links

MISL stats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brcic, David 1958 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Men's association football goalkeepers Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Greenock Morton F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Scottish Football League players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Pittsburgh Spirit players Los Angeles Lazers players Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players St. Louis Storm players Soccer players from St. Louis North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players American people of Serbian descent North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players Olympic soccer players for the United States United States men's international soccer players Saint Louis Billikens men's soccer players Maryville University alumni 20th-century American sportsmen