James Gorsek (born October 12, 1955, in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

), known as Jim Gorsek or Jimmy Gorsek, is a former 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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He spent seven seasons 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 ...

, seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League and two in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

. He also earned two

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 1985.

Professional

Gorsek signed with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

of the

in 1977 as a striker replacement player. He played three games that season, none in 1978 and only one in 1979. In 1980, he saw time in twelve games, but was traded to the San Diego Sockers. In 1981, he played two games, but is not listed on the team's roster for 1982. In 1983, he played in six games, but during the 1983-1984 NASL Indoor season, Gorsek was the league's leading goalie as the Sockers won the title. He then played fifteen games during the 1984 outdoor season. The NASL folded at the end of the 1984 season and the Sockers jumped to the Major Indoor Soccer League. Gorsek played the next four MISL seasons with the Sockers as the team won three MISL championships. In 1988, he joined the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

for the 1988-1989 MISL season, but the team folded at the end of the season. Gorsek was then selected by the Kansas City Comets in the LA dispersal draft along with Doug Neely. Gorsek played for Kansas City from 1989 until the team folded in July 1991. He was then with the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis ...

for the 1991–1992 season. In 1993, Gorsek returned to Portland to play two seasons with the

Portland Pride The Portland Pride were an American indoor soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1993 to 1997. History In 1993, a new league, the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) began its ...

of the

(CISL).

National team

Gorsek earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

with the U.S. national team as a substitute for

Arnie Mausser Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954) is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Mausser may be considered one of the fin ...

in a 0–2 loss to

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 ...

on April 2, 1985, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. His second cap came two days later as the U.S. tied Canada 1–1 in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

. In this game, Gorsek started and Mausser replaced him at halftime.

Honors

NASL Indoor Goalkeeper of the Year 1983-1984

External links

Timbers profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorsek, Jim 1955 births Living people United States men's international soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Los Angeles Lazers players Kansas City Comets (1979–1991) players St. Louis Storm players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Portland Pride players Soccer players from Portland, Oregon American men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers 20th-century American sportsmen