Erik John Ustruck (born January 4, 1985, 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 former soccer player for the

Guam national football team The Guam national football team represents Guam, an overseas territory of the United States, in international association football, football and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated with the Asian Football Confeder ...

. He played for Orlando City in the

USL Professional Division The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

before his retirement from club soccer in 2013. Ustruck was Director of Soccer Operations for

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

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 ...

and General Manager for

Orlando Pride The Orlando Pride are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Orlando, Florida, that competes in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). The Pride began play in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League season, 2016 ...

NWSL The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) is a women's professional Association football, soccer league and the highest level of the United States soccer league system#Women's leagues, United States soccer league system (alongside the USL Supe ...

before departing professional soccer in 2021.

Career

College

Ustruck played four years at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

, scoring eight goals during his collegiate career and fighting back from a knee injury during his junior year."Erik Ustruck"
, ''Santaclarabroncos.cstv.com'', retrieved March 13, 2007. Ustruck finished as Freshman of the Year runner-up in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting o ...

while earning All-Conference honors following his Freshman and Senior years. He was noted for his versatility and work ethic.

Professional

Ustruck was drafted by the Dynamo in the third round of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft – a draft that he watched online with his friends – as the 39th supplemental pick overall. Though he played as both a forward and a midfielder in college, Ustruck appears likely to be converted to a right back or right-sided midfielder in MLS. Ustruck made his full professional debut for Dynamo on 10 July 2007, in a

US 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 ...

third-round game against

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 ...

. He was a member of the Houston Dynamo squad that won the

2007 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2007 was the 12th edition of the MLS Cup, the post-season championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the United States. It was played on November 18, 2007, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C., between the ...

. He was sent on loan to

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer p ...

on June 16, 2009. After returning from his short loan spell, Ustruck made his MLS debut, coming on as a sub in Houston's 2–1 loss to

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

on the road in Seattle. Ustruck was waived by Houston on March 24, 2010, and signed a one-year contract with the

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier ...

on April 5, 2010. After his contract was up for

, Ustruck signed a multi-year contract with

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

club Orlando City on March 18, 2011.

International

He played several games with the Under-20

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 ...

in 2004, but never made an official FIFA or confederation appearance for the senior team, so he is not cap tied to any National federation. He was also selected into the Guam National team preliminary squad for the

AFC Challenge Cup The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that were categorised as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme. It was created by former AFC president Mohammed ...

qualifiers in February 2013. He made his debut for the Matao against Laos in November 2013 during the FIFA International friendly between the two nations.

Honours

Houston Dynamo *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

: 2007 Orlando City *

: 2011, 2013

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ustruck, Erik 1985 births Living people American men's soccer players Guamanian men's footballers Houston Dynamo FC players Austin Aztex FC players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players Santa Clara Broncos men's soccer players USL First Division players Major League Soccer players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Guam men's international footballers Houston Dynamo FC draft picks Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Missouri