Erik Bradley Imler (born June 1, 1971, in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

) is an 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 ...

coach and former player. He won national championships while playing at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

before becoming part of the US team that competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He is currently an assistant coach for Stumptown AC in the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is previously in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season for ...

Youth and college

Imler grew up in Maryland, attending Bowie High School in

Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County; i ...

. In 1989, his senior year, he was named a ''

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'' high school

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n soccer player. After high school, he attended the

where he played as a defender and defensive

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

on the men's soccer team from 1989 to 1992. During his four season at Virginia, the Cavaliers took the NCAA title twice (1991 and 1992) and were co-champions once (1989). In 1992, he was the team captain as a senior. Imler was a two-time second-team All-American. While at Virginia, he majored in sports medicine. In 2000, ''SoccerAmerica'' magazine named Imler to its College Team of the Century.

Professional

In 1994, Imler played for the Delaware Wizards of

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 ...

. In 1995, he moved to the Raleigh Flyers. In February 1996,

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

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 ...

(MLS) drafted Imler in the third round (30th overall) in the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marqu ...

. He spent the 1996 season in central defense with United, playing in nineteen games as the team took both the

1996 MLS Cup MLS Cup 1996 was the inaugural edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-level soccer league of the United States. Hosted at Foxboro Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on October 20, 1996, it was c ...

and

1996 U.S. Open Cup The 1996 United States Open Cup was the 83rd edition of the tournament, and the first Open Cup to include Major League Soccer teams. D.C. United defeated the Rochester Raging Rhinos 3–0 in the final at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. Originall ...

titles. United released Imler in 1997 and he signed with the

Worcester Wildfire Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

. At the same time, he pursued a return to MLS and had a two-week try out with the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

. On May 7, 1997, the Revs signed Imler as a Discovery Player after impressing the coaches during his trial. The Revs waived Imler on November 10, 1997. In 1998, he signed with the

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 ...

, but tore his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

during a pre-season game which led to his losing the entire 1998 season. In 1999, Imler played one game, twelve minutes total, for the

. The Battery then released him and he finished the season, and his career, with the Lehigh Valley Steam.

National and Olympic teams

Imler was a member of the U.S. team at the 1987 U-16 World Cup in Canada. He then went on to play with the U.S. U-20 national team, but was not a member of the team at any cups. In 1991, Imler was part of the U.S. gold winning soccer team at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. He then continued to play for the U-23 national team leading up to the

. Imler started all six games as the U.S. qualified for the tournament. He was then named to the U.S. soccer team for the games. At the Olympics, the U.S. went 1-1-1 and did not qualify for the second round. On March 23, 1993, Imler earned his only

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 U.S. national team in a 2–2 tie with

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. However, in the 43d minute, he tore ligaments in his right knee during the game and was replaced by Yari Allnutt who scored a goal. Imler never appeared again for the senior national team.

Coach

Since retiring from playing professionally, Imler has held several positions as a youth soccer coach. He was a Director of Coaching and team coach with Charlotte Soccer Academy in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In May 2008, Imler became the head coach of the

Belmont Abbey College Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic liberal arts college in Belmont, North Carolina. It was founded in 1876 by the Benedictine monks of Belmont Abbey. The college is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the Order of Saint Benedict. ...

women's soccer coach. He took the team to a 17-3-3 record in his only season as head coach. In September 2010, Imler became an assistant coach with the United States men's national under-17 soccer. In March 2021, he joined

side Stumptown AC as an assistant coach.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imler, Erik 1971 births American soccer coaches American men's soccer players D.C. United players Delaware Wizards players Charleston Battery players Footballers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Lehigh Valley Steam players Living people Major League Soccer players New England Revolution players Olympic soccer players for the United States Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) Soccer players from Bowie, Maryland Raleigh Express players United States men's international soccer players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players Worcester Wildfire players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in football Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer coaches The Citadel Bulldogs men's soccer coaches Belmont Abbey Crusaders National Independent Soccer Association coaches College women's soccer coaches in the United States 20th-century American sportsmen