Dustin Swinehart (born July 1, 1974, in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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. He spent virtually his entire professional career playing with the

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles is an American amateur soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at the ...

. Swinehart was named the Director of Community Relations for

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

in January 2020.

Career

College

Swinehart grew up in

Worthington, Ohio Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, and is a northern suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 14,786. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by ...

and played

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 ...

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

from 1992 to 1995. He finished his college career with 32 career goals, a school record.

Professional

Swinehart professional career began in 1996 when he signed with the Hampton Road Mariners in the USISL. 1997 he played with the Indiana Blast. In 1998, Swinehart signed with the

in the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

, where he remained, with the exception of two brief loan periods with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

in 2004 and 2005. Swinehart was named the MVP of the 2000

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

championship game, and in 2001, after the Eagles moved up to the

USL First Division 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 ...

, he was named to the USL-1 All League First Team. In 2004, after the Eagles returned to the USL Second Division, Swinehart considered retiring, but decided to continue with the team. He was named to the USL-2 All League first team in 2005, 2006 and 2008, while in 2008 he was also named as the USL-2 MVP. On March 10, 2010, Swineheart announced his retirement from professional soccer. At his retirement, he was the Eagles' all-time leading goal scorer and was with the team longer than any other player. He was six time First Team All-League, and was part of two National Championship squads with the Eagles. He finished his professional career with 135 goals. Swinehart played the amateur team CASL Elite in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

; his team won their regional qualification group (which also featured NPSL teams

FC Tulsa FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, br ...

and Atlanta FC) before falling 4–2 to

pro side

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 ...

in the first round of tournament proper. Swinehart current work for Charlotte Football Club of Major League Soccer as the Director of Community Engagement.

References

External links

Charlotte Eagles bioSeptember 2004 Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinehart, Dustin Living people American men's soccer players Charlotte Eagles players Richmond Kickers players USISL players USL First Division players USL Second Division players 1974 births Sportspeople from Worthington, Ohio Miami RedHawks men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Soccer players from Columbus, Ohio Charlotte FC non-playing staff 20th-century American sportsmen