Brian Ching

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Brian Ching
Personal information
Full name	Brian Ching
Date of birth	May 24, 1978 (1978-05-24) (age 30)
Place of birth	Hale'iwa, HI, United States
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Houston Dynamo
Number	25
Youth clubs
1996-2000	Honolulu Bulls Gonzaga University
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998-1999 2001 2001-2002 2003-2006 2006-	Spokane Shadow Los Angeles Galaxy Seattle Sounders San Jose Earthquakes Houston Dynamo	70 (34) 08 0(1) 31 (19) 56 (25) 53 (24)
National team2
2003-	United States	26 0(5)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 April 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 25 June 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Brian Ching (Chinese: 程拜仁, pinyin: Chéng Bàirén born May 24, 1978 in Haleiwa, Hawaii) is a U.S. soccer striker, who currently plays for Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer.

[edit] Biography

Ching played college soccer at Gonzaga University, where he scored 34 goals and had 23 assists. Between 1998 and 1999, he played for the Spokane Shadow of the USL Premier Development League where he was rookie of the year in 1998. In 2001, Ching was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy as the 16th pick in the MLS SuperDraft. That year for the Galaxy, he appeared in 8 games and scored one goal. In 2002, Brian was released by the Galaxy and signed by the Seattle Sounders of the A-League for whom he had played several games with in 2001, on loan from Los Angeles. Playing for the Sounders, he was ranked second in the A-League in scoring and was selected as a member of the A-League All-League team.

In February 2003, Brian was acquired by the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2003 MLS Supplemental Draft. When Dwayne DeRosario suffered a devastating knee injury in the 2003 pre-season, Brian was thrust into the starting forward role. Ching played solidly until August 2003 when he ruptured his right Achilles' tendon causing him to miss the rest of the Earthquake's 2003 Championship season. In 2004, he re-gained a starting job and co-lead the league (with Eddie Johnson) in goals with 12. Brian was named MLS Comeback Player of the Year and to the league MLS Best XI for his efforts. In four years in MLS, Ching has scored 26 goals and added 12 assists in league play.

Along with the rest of his Earthquakes teammates, Ching moved to Houston for the 2006 season. He scored four goals in Houston's first-ever game 2 April against Colorado, the seventh player in MLS history to score four goals in a single game. At MLS Cup 2006, Ching scored the tying goal in the 114th minute and scored what turned out to the be winning goal in the penalty kick shootout against New England Revolution. He was also named the Cup most valuable player. Ching's impressive September 30, 2006 bicycle kick versus DC United was voted MLS Goal of the year.

Ching earned his first cap with the US national team on May 26, 2003 against Wales. After that, he was used by Bruce Arena regularly. Ching scored the equalizing goal in the 89th minute against Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier in Kingston on August 18, 2004, and followed that performance with another goal in the team's next match. On May 2, 2006, Ching was named to the U.S. men's squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

He scored a goal in a 2-0 US CONCACAF Gold Cup victory over Trinidad and Tobago on June 9, 2007. He drew a penalty in the box of the second half of the Gold Cup Final against Mexico. Landon Donovan converted the penalty, tying the game at one. The USA won 2-1 after Benny Feilhaber's game winner.

Aside from soccer, Ching is also an avid surfer.

[edit] Titles

• Los Angeles Galaxy: US Open Cup - 2001
• San José Earthquakes: MLS Cup - 2003; MLS Supporters' Shield - 2005
• Houston Dynamo: MLS Cup: 2006, 2007

[edit] Career stats

[edit] See also

• List of current MLS players

[edit] External links

v • d • e United States squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Howard • 2 Albright • 3 Bocanegra • 4 Mastroeni • 5 O'Brien • 6 Cherundolo • 7 Lewis • 8 Dempsey • 9 Johnson • 10 Reyna • 11 Ching • 12 Berhalter • 13 Conrad • 14 Olsen • 15 Convey • 16 Wolff • 17 Beasley • 18 Keller • 19 Hahnemann • 20 McBride • 21 Donovan • 22 Onyewu • 23 Pope • Coach: Arena