Geoffrey "Geoff" Edward Ramer Aunger (born 4 February 1968 in

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and its key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and educati ...

) is a former Canadian

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 played in various Canadian leagues and the lower tiers of the English leagues system before playing in the United States in the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

and

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 ...

. Aunger was also a member of the Canadian national soccer team member.

Club career

A striker/midfielder later converted into a defender as well, Aunger played youth soccer with the Coquitlam Metro-Ford Soccer Club. He began his professional career in 1987 in the Canadian Soccer League and played all six years of the league's existence and with five different teams. He started with the

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

and went on to play with the

Winnipeg Fury The Winnipeg Fury were a professional soccer team in Winnipeg, Canada. The team was part of the Canadian Soccer League from 1987 to 1992. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. In 1993, they played in the Canadia ...

Victoria Vistas The Victoria Vistas were a professional soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. The Vistas joined the CSL for the 1989 season and folded after the 1990 season. Victoria All-star team ...

, Hamilton Steelers,

London Lasers The London Lasers were a professional soccer team in London, Ontario, Canada that played in the original Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992), Canadian Soccer League in 1990 and 1992. History The London Lasers were founded in 1990 as an expans ...

, and once more with the 86ers. He was the league's 7th leading scorer in 1988 with the Fury, 4th in 1991 with the Steelers and named a league All-Star in 1992, the final year of the league. He continued with the 86ers as they joined the APSL for the 1993 season, scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances. He was also a 1990 and 1991 All Canada soccer player with the

British Columbia Institute of Technology The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public polytechnic institute in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The technical institute has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with its main cam ...

Europe

Aunger tried his luck in England and successfully tried out for and signed with

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

for the 1993–94 season. Aunger had the best imagineable start, scoring two minutes into his debut match. He played but 6 times however for the Hatters first-team, having been dropped to the reserves after playing only 3 games. He was not re-signed at the end of the season. A brief stint with Third Division Chester City did not meet with any success either for Aunger. In November 1994 he was given a trial at SK Brann in Norway.

United States

He rejoined the 86ers of the

and also played for the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of the indoor National Professional Soccer League. Aunger had 7 goals in 18 games with the 86ers in 1995. Aunger played in the MLS for 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 ...

in 1996, when he led the team in games and minutes played, while scoring 3 goals, all on penalties. He converted the first penalty kick in Revolution history on April 27, 1996, in the Revolution's home opener against D.C. United. The goal was the first ever scored by the Revolution at

Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium, originally Schaefer Stadium and later Sullivan Stadium, was an outdoor stadium in the New England region of the United States, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. It opened in 1971 and served as the home of the New England ...

. He tried his luck once more in England, this time with Stockport County but made but one appearance, as a substitute the day after signing. He then joined the A-League's Seattle Sounders. A second chance in MLS in 1998 with D.C. United, as Aunger won in training camp the right-back position. After 6 matches he lost his starting position and spent rest the season in and out of the line-up. 1999 saw him however start 24 games for the team however as a midfielder, and won the 1999 MLS Championship with United. He was also the first Canadian to play in the MLS Cup final. In 2000, Geoff made 26 appearances for United. He was traded to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in 2001, and appeared in one game. In total, Aunger played 104 regular season MLS games and 9 Cup play-off contests.

International career

He made his debut for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a March 1991 North American Championship match against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, but since this game was not regarded official he won his first senior cap coming on as a sub in an April 1992 friendly match against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. He earned a total of 44 caps, scoring 4 goals. He has represented Canada in 13

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matches. His final international was a November 1997 World Cup qualification match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, a game after which Alex Bunbury,

Frank Yallop Frank Walter Yallop (born 4 April 1964) is a British-Canadian professional soccer coach and former player. He played 13 years in England for Ipswich Town, including the club's first three seasons in the Premier League. He also played in Major ...

and Colin Miller also said farewell to the national team.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first.''

Honours

Player

D.C. United *

MLS Cup (1):

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

Canada *

North American Nations Cup The North American Nations Cup was an association football competition organized by NAFU as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from North America. The tournament was held in 1990 and 1991. Canada, United States and Mexi ...

: 3rd place,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aunger, Geoff 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Red Deer, Alberta Canadian people of German descent Soccer people from Alberta Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Men's association football utility players Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Vancouver Whitecaps (1986–2010) players Winnipeg Fury players Victoria Vistas players Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players London Lasers players Luton Town F.C. players Chester City F.C. players Major League Soccer players Milwaukee Wave players New England Revolution players Stockport County F.C. players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players D.C. United players Colorado Rapids players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players English Football League players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players A-League (1995–2004) players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer All-Stars D.C. United draft picks Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England 20th-century Canadian sportsmen