Gary Etherington (born April 22, 1958, in England) is a retired

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 began his professional career 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 ...

before moving to the Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned seven

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with the U.S. national team. Since retiring, Etherington has coached youth soccer and is a soccer equipment salesman.

Youth

Etherington was born in England but migrated to the U.S. with his family when he was fifteen. His family settled in Virginia where he attended Mount Vernon High School in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

, playing both soccer and as a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

on his high school

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. Etherington was also a member of the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' be ...

in 1976 as it attempted to qualify for the

1977 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1977 FIFA World Youth Championship was the inaugural staging of the FIFA World Youth Championship, hosted by Tunisia from 27 June to 10 July 1977, in three venues — Tunis, Sousse and Sfax. The 28 matches played were the smallest number in t ...

. Etherington scored six goals to go with striker partner

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. national team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

who scored eight. Despite their outstanding production, the U.S. finished third in the CONCACAF and did not qualify for the tournament. In 1976, The New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League sign 18-year-old Gary Etherington. The previous spring he was on the Annandale, Virginia team that beat Westport in overtime, in Westport, in the Eastern U.S. finals, then went on to capture what is now the U-19 McGuire Cup national championship. The Annandale Cavaliers defeated Fountain Valley, California 4–0 in the semi-finals and Sparta of Chicago (3–0) in the finals. Future Cosmos teammate Ricky Davis played for Fountain Valley.

NASL

After graduating from high school, Etherington chose to bypass college and turn professional. He signed 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

in 1977 as an amateur player and saw time in ten games that year. However, 1978 was considered his first professional season with the Cosmos. As such, he earned NASL Rookie of the Year honors that season. Etherington remained with the Cosmos for only one more season before being traded to the

Los Angeles Aztecs The Los Angeles Aztecs were an American professional soccer team based in Los Angeles, California, that existed from 1974 to 1981. The Aztecs competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1974 North American Soccer League season, 1974 ...

before the 1980 season. While Etherington had begun as a forward with the Cosmos, his lack of production had led to his move to the midfield. When the Aztecs traded Etherington to the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

at the end of the 1980 season, Etherington found himself at right back for the 1981 season. However, in 1982, he was back in the midfield. Etherington moved once more, this time to the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul metrop ...

for the 1984 NASL season, the last for the league as it folded at the end of the season.

MISL

The Earthquakes entered Major Indoor Soccer League for the 1982–1983 indoor season. Etherington began the season with San Jose, but on January 20, 1983, the Earthquakes traded Etherington and Gordon Hill 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 ...

for

Steve Zungul Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation), se ...

.
/sup> At the time the Earthquakes played in both the NASL and MISL while the Arrows played exclusively in the MISL. With this move, Etherington got his first taste of indoor soccer. The Arrows folded at the end of the 1983–1984 season and Etherington moved to the

for the 1984 NASL outdoor season. When the NASL collapsed in 1984, the Strikers moved to MISL. Etherington remained with the Strikers and spent the next four seasons with them playing indoor soccer. In 1987, he played in the MISL All Star game. In 1988, Etherington moved to the San Diego Sockers (1974–96), San Diego Sockers for one last season before retiring from playing professionally. He had knee surgery during the pre-season, came back to play ten games then retired in January 1989.

National team

Etherington earned seven

with the U.S. national team between 1977 and 1979. His first match came in a 2–1 win over

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 ...

. He played sporadically throughout 1977, then started all three U.S. games in 1978. His last match came in the first U.S. game of 1979, a February 3 loss to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

.USA – Details of International Matches 1970–1979

Post–playing career

Since retiring from playing professionally, Etherington has been involved in numerous ventures related to soccer. He co-founded the Murrieta Soccer Club in 1992, coaching the club's youth teams for five years. He has also spent several years in adult leagues in northern California. Etherington has been a regional sales manager for soccer equipment and clothing companies, including

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...

. In 2007, Etherington was inducted into the Virginia Soccer Hall of Fame.
/sup>

References

External links

TVSA Hawks bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etherington, Gary 1958 births Living people American men's soccer players English emigrants to the United States Golden Bay Earthquakes (MISL) players Los Angeles Aztecs players Minnesota Strikers (NASL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New York Arrows players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Footballers from London United States men's international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Minnesota Strikers (MISL) players Men's association football defenders Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States English expatriate men's footballers 20th-century American sportsmen