Richard Scott Kotschau (born November 22, 1975) is an American former

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 last played as a defender for the

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

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 ...

Club career

Kotschau was born in

Levittown, New York Levittown is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Hempstead (town), New York, Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York. It is a suburb of New York C ...

. After playing

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

, where he helped his team to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, Kotschau was drafted by the Chicago Fire second overall in the

1998 MLS College Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. Format On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer hel ...

. Although he helped the Fire to the

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 ...

and

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 ...

double in his rookie year he was traded to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

midway through the 1999 season. Midway through 2001, Kotschau was part of the deal that sent

Carlos Valderrama Carlos Alberto Valderrama Palacio (Colombian Spanish: ; born 2 September 1961), also known as ''"El Pibe"'' ("The Kid"), is a Colombian former professional footballer and sports commentator for Fútbol de Primera, who played as an attacking m ...

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 ...

. With Colorado, Ritchie was a first-choice player, played a number of defensive roles, and scored his first MLS goal. After the 2005 season, he was dealt to the Crew for

Cornell Glen Cornell Glen CM (born 21 October 1981) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Glen began his professional career in 1999 with Trinidadian club FUTGOF. After two years with FUTGOF, Glen moved to P ...

. While with the Columbus Crew defender Ritchie Kotschau was named the Huntington man of the year by the Columbus Crew. The award is presented to the player who embodies an exceptional sense of leadership, civic pride,

family values Family values, sometimes referred to as familial values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs, attitudes, and ideals. Additionally, the concept of family values may be understood ...

and community service. Kotschau, 30, in his first season with the Crew, appeared in 26 games, starting 23. The nine-year MLS veteran wore the captain's armband 17 times this season and recorded one goal and two assists. That goal was a game-winner. In ten years in MLS, Kotschau scored nine regular season goals and added 15 assists.

International career

Kotschau earned his first cap for the

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 ...

on March 9, 2005, against

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 ...

and was a former member of the U-23, U-20, B and U-18 teams.

Personal life

Kotschau now lives in

Broomfield, Colorado Broomfield is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county located in the United States, U.S. Colorado, state of Colorado. It has a consolidated government which operates under Article XX, Sect ...

where he is employed by

Life Time Fitness Life Time, Inc. is a chain of health clubs in the United States and Canada. History The company was founded by chairman and chief executive officer, Bahram Akradi. The company was incorporated in 1990 as FCA, Ltd., a Minnesota corporation, and ...

as the Member Engagement Manager. Kotschau is married with two children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kotschau, Ritchie 1975 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders United States men's international soccer players Major League Soccer players George Mason Patriots men's soccer players Chicago Fire FC players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Colorado Rapids players Columbus Crew players Real Salt Lake players People from Broomfield, Colorado People from Levittown, New York Sportspeople from Hempstead, New York Soccer players from Nassau County, New York Chicago Fire FC draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen