Gregg Thompson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gregg Thompson | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gregg Thompson | |
| Date of birth | ||
| Place of birth | , United States | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1978, 1980-1982 | Indiana | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1983-1984 1984-1988 |
Tampa Bay Rowdies Minnesota Strikers |
|
| National team | ||
| 1984-1985 | United States | 12 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Gregg Thompson is a retired U.S. soccer player who coaches youth clubs.
Thompson grew up in Stillwater, Minnesota where he was a star athlete at Stillwater High School. The school did not have a soccer team, so Thompson played football and ran track while playing soccer with local youth clubs. He was an outstanding running back, averaging 8.9 yards per carry over his high school career. He earned All State honors and received football athletic scholarship offers from the University of Colorado, University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin. He was also went to the state finals in track his senior year. While he was an excellent football player, he preferred soccer and chose to attend the University of Indiana when that school offered him an athletic scholarship to play soccer.[1] Thompson was the Minnesota High School Athlete of the Year when he graduated from Stillwater in 1978.
Thompson joined the Hoosiers in 1978. He did not play in 1979, but became a regular through the 1980-1982 seasons. In 1982, he captained Indiana as it ran to the NCAA championship game. In that game, Indiana went up against Duke University and its top defenseman Joe Ulrich. Thompson scored the first goal, but Duke replied and the game ended tied at one all. The game was in its eighth overtime when Ulrich fouled Thompson just outside the box. Thompson replied with a swerving free kick which found the net, giving Indiana its first national title. Thompson would come in second in the balloting for the Hermann Trophy that year, losing to Ulrich.
The Tampa Bay Rowdies of the North American Soccer League selected Thompson with the first pick in the 1983 NASL college draft. He was selected as the 1983 NASL Rookie of the Year.
At the end of the season, Thompson joined the U.S. Olympic team as it prepared for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Thompson played all three games for the U.S. at the Olympics, including scoring the U.S. goal in its 1-1 tie with Egypt. The U.S. finished the first round at 1-1-1 and failed to qualify for the second round. [2]
Even before the Olympic games, Thomspon had earned his first cap with the U.S. national team in a May 20, 1984 scoreless tie with Italy. He would go on to play a total of 12 times for the full national team between 1984 and 1985, including several qualification matches for the 1986 FIFA World Cup. His last national team game came in the May 31, 1985 debacle in Torrance, California when the U.S. lost to Costa Rica. That loss in the last qualification game, cost the U.S. a spot in the finals.
By that time, Thompson had left professional outdoor soccer for indoor soccer. He had played with the Rowdies in the 1984 NASL outdoor season, but the league folded soon after.
The Rowdies then traded Thompson to the Minnesota Strikers of Major Indoor Soccer League. He remained with the Strikers through the 1987-1988 MISL season before retiring.
Thompson now coaches youth soccer and operates a summer soccer camp.
