Hayden Knight (born March 15, 1957, in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

) is a retired Trinidad-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 ...

defender and current

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

soccer coach. He earned three

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

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

in 1984.

Playing career

Youth

Knight, a native of

, moved to the United States with his family when he was a young boy. He grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. When he was a sophomore, Knight attended high school in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

, as part of a program known as 'A Better Chance'. This program placed inner-city youths in rural high schools. He attended

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

where he played on the men's soccer team. He holds the team's career scoring record with 52 goals. He also holds the NCAA record for career assists per game with 42 in 44 games. Marquette inducted Knight into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. In college, he also played with the

Milwaukee Bavarians Bavarian United SC is an American association football, soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Bavarian Majors of the Bavarian Soccer Club compete in the USL League 2. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at ...

. Knight is one of 22 college players to be part of the 40-40 club, having both 40 goals and 40 assists in their college career.

Professional

In 1980, the Edmonton Drillers drafted Knight. Although he starred in college as a forward, he moved to defense in the pros. He played a single season with the Drillers before moving to the

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (1967), National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League ...

. While with the Drillers, he received his first taste of indoor soccer when the Drillers won the 1980-1981 NASL indoor championship.
/sup> The Chiefs folded after the 1981 season and Knight moved north to the

Montreal Manic The Montreal Manic or the Manic de Montréal were a professional soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, that played in the North American Soccer League. History "Le Manic" as they were called by the locals, were Montreal's first professi ...

for the 1982 season. In 1983, the

U.S. Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer at ...

, in coordination with the NASL, entered the U.S. national team, known as Team America, into the NASL as a league franchise. The team drew on U.S. citizens playing in the NASL, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Soccer League. Knight left the Manic and signed with Team America. When Team America finished the 1983 season with a 10–20 record, the worst in the NASL, USSF withdrew the team from the league. Knight moved to the

Golden Bay Earthquakes Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

for the 1984 season, but was traded to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from ...

with

Manny Rojas Manuel Antonio "Manny" Rojas Zúñiga (born 13 June 1954) is a retired football (soccer), football midfielder from Chile, who represented his Chile national football team, native country at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. His professional caree ...

on July 10, 1984, in exchange for

Ricardo Alonso Ricardo Alonso (born 21 March 1957) is a former soccer player who began as a forward before moving to defender later in his career. Alonso spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in Major Indoor Soccer League, at least thr ...

and Charlie Fajkus.
/sup> He remained with the Sting through the 1984-1985 MISL season and won the 1984 NASL championship with them. On May 10, 1985, the Sting released Knight. In September 1985, Knight signed with the Chicago Shoccers of the

American Indoor Soccer Association 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 ...

.New Chicago Team Has Some Old Faces
/ref> He was an AISA All Star and led the Shoccers in scoring despite playing defense. In March 1986, he rejoined the Sting and finished the 1985-1986 MISL season with them. On August 6, 1986, he signed with the Dallas Sidekicks of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL)as a free agent. On July 4, 1987, the team announced that they would not renew his contract and he again became a free agent. He signed with 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

(AISA) where he played as a forward for the next two seasons. At the end of the 1987-1989 AISA season, Knight retired from playing professionally.

National team

In 1984, Knight earned three

with the U.S. national team. The three games all came within a week as Knight played first on October 11 in a win over

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, followed by a loss three days later to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and another loss three days after that to

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 ...

Coaching

That year

Cedarburg High School Cedarburg High School (CHS) is a Public Education High School in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Curriculum Classes offered at Cedarburg High School are grouped into 13 departments: art, business and information technology, engineering/technology education ...

Cedarburg, Wisconsin Cedarburg ( ) is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburb in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city incorporated in 1885, and at the tim ...

, hired Knight to coach the girls' soccer team as well as teach. Since then, Knight has remained at Cedarburg, teaching history and social studies as well as coaching both the girls' and boys' teams. In 2005, he resigned from the girls' team, after beating

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, but resigned later from the boys' side in 2008 to take a technical directing job at the Mequon Soccer Club. The CHS won the state championships in 1989, 1991 and 1996.
/sup> He is also a staff coach at the Mequon Soccer Club. He is looking for his 300th win, then possibly retiring from soccer.

References

External links

Marquette University bio

Dallas Sidekicks profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Hayden 1957 births Living people American expatriate sportspeople in Canada American expatriate men's soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Atlanta Chiefs players Chicago Shoccers players Chicago Sting (MISL) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Edmonton Drillers (1979–1982) players Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Bavarian United SC players Milwaukee Wave players Montreal Manic players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Soccer players from New York (state) Team America (NASL) players Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States People from Cedarburg, Wisconsin Sportspeople from Ozaukee County, Wisconsin United States men's international soccer players Marquette Golden Eagles men's soccer players Men's association football defenders High school soccer coaches in the United States 20th-century American sportsmen