Rob Johnson (born February 10, 1973) is an American former professional soccer player who is now an assistant coach with the

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

's men's soccer team. He attended

Jackson Memorial High School Jackson Memorial High School was a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Jackson Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, opened in 1963 as part of the Jackson Schoo ...

Jackson Township, New Jersey Jackson Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A portion of the township is located within the Pinelands National Reserve. As of the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

, graduating from the school in 1991. At Jackson, he also competed in

track and field athletics Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

, with his best efforts in high school including running the 40 yard dash in 4.4 seconds, a

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

of 21 feet 6 inches and a

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

of 6 feet eight inches. Johnson was a two-time state champion in wrestling and was recognized with all-state honors during his senior year in both wrestling and track and field. In 1999, he was named by ''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...

'' as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1990s. Johnson was one of four of the ''Star-Ledgers top 10 players of the 1990s who played for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars/Red Bulls, joining

Claudio Reyna Claudio Alejandro Reyna (born July 20, 1973) is an American former professional soccer player and former executive. He most recently served as sporting director of Austin FC. A former midfielder, he spent most of his professional career in Eur ...

Petter Villegas Petter Villegas (born November 15, 1975, in Esmeraldas) is an Ecuadorian-born Puerto Rican footballer who played for Puerto Rico Islanders in the North American Soccer League. Career Youth and college Villegas came to the United States with h ...

and Billy Walsh. Johnson played college soccer at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

.Yannis, Alex
"SOCCER; Rutgers Is No. 1, With a Bullet"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', October 24, 1991. Accessed August 26, 2008. Johnson scored 35 goals and 20 assists in his four seasons at Rutgers, with his 90 points ranking him 6th all-time at Rutgers. He scored 13 goals and nine assists as a freshman, and followed that with 13 goals and seven assists in his sophomore year, leading the team to the NCAA tournament semifinals in 1994. He played for the

New York/New Jersey MetroStars New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

in the 1996 season after being recalled from the North Jersey Imperials. In his three seasons with the MetroStars (mostly in 1996, plus two games in 1997 and a single game in 1999), he scored four goals and had three assists. He played his first game with the team on June 19, 1996, a scoreless tie against the Dallas Burn (now known as

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

). His first goal came on July 24, 1996, the game winner for the MetroStars in a 1–0 victory over the San Jose Clash (now 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 ...

). He played in three playoff games with the MetroStars in 1996. On October 2, 1996, a last-minute foul by Johnson on

DC United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppor ...

Marco Etcheverry Marco Antonio Etcheverry Vargas (born 26 September 1970) is a Bolivian former professional association football, footballer who played as a forward (association football), forward or midfielder. A creative playmaker, he is considered one of the ...

led to a penalty kick that effectively ended the Metros' season. Johnson came back to the MetroStars in 1999 on a one-game loan from the

Staten Island Vipers The Staten Island Vipers were a soccer club that competed in the USL A-League in 1998 and 1999. The club was based on Staten Island, New York City. The team played its games at Tottenville High School and Wagner College. The team dissolved foll ...

.#23 Rob Johnson
MetroFanatic.com. Accessed December 25, 2018. Johnson had been a head coach at

Gloucester County College Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) is a public university, public community college with two campuses in the South Jersey region of New Jersey. The first, Gloucester Main Campus, is in Sewell, New Jersey, Sewell. The second, Cumberland Branc ...

and is now an assistant coach at

.Rob Johnson

CSTV CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

. Accessed August 26, 2008.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Rob 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Jackson Township, New Jersey American men's soccer players Soccer players from Ocean County, New Jersey Men's association football forwards American soccer coaches Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls players North Jersey Imperials players Staten Island Vipers players Hershey Wildcats players Richmond Kickers players Philadelphia KiXX players Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's soccer players Rutgers University alumni Temple Owls men's soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen