Don Ebert
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| Don Ebert | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Don Ebert | |
| Date of birth | ||
| Place of birth | United States | |
| Playing position | Forward | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1977-1979 | Southern Illinois-Edwardsville | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1980 1980-1986 1986 |
New York Cosmos St. Louis Steamers Los Angeles Lazers |
0 (0) |
| Teams managed | ||
| Concordia University, Irvine | ||
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Don Ebert is a retired U.S. soccer forward who spent most of his career with two indoor clubs, the St. Louis Steamers and the Los Angeles Lazers.
Contents |
[edit] Youth
Ebert attended Rosary High School Missouri. In 1976, Ebert and his team mates went to the state high school championship game where they lost to Oakville High School.[1] Following high school, Ebert attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIU-E) where he played on the men’s soccer team from 1977 to 1979. Ebert quickly became a mainstay of the Cougers offense, leading the team in goals all three seasons. In 1977, he scored fourteen goals and was tied for the team lead in assists with six. In 1978, he scored sixteen and in 1979 he upped his total once more, to twenty-two. That season he also led the team in assists, with ten.[2] SIU-E also won the NCAA championship, defeating Clemson 3-2. Ebert chose to leave college after only three years in order to pursue a professional career.
[edit] Professional
The New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League selected Ebert with the first pick in the 1980 College Draft. Ebert, unhappy with his lack of playing time, asked for his release in June in order to go back to his home town and play for the St. Louis Steamers of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), who he signed with in August 1980. That season, he led the team with 46 goals and 64 points. This extraordinary output by a rookie led to his selection as the 1980-1981 MISL Rookie of the Year.[3] He remained with the Steamers into the 1986-1987 season. That year, the Steamers began poorly and head coach Pat McBride was fired to be replaced by Tony Glavin. Glavin promptly traded Ebert to the Los Angeles Lazers where Ebert finished his career.
[edit] Youth international
While Ebert never earned a cap with the national team, he was selected for both the 1979 Pan American Games and was the captain of the U.S. team which qualified for the 1980 Summer Olympics. In 1979. Ebert made an immediate splash in the Pan American Games when he scored four goals in a 6-0 victory over the Dominican Republic. In 1980, qualifications for the Olympic games, to be held in Moscow, entered the final round. The U.S. easily qualified as Ebert scored three goals in four games. Unfortunately for the Americans, President Carter chose to boycott the games after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
[edit] Coaching
After retiring from soccer, Ebert became a youth soccer coach. He coaches with the Irvine Strikers and Concordia University, Irvine.
[edit] Other ventures
Ebert has been the Director of Marketing and Operations for Forum Boxing, Inc. He was also the President and general manager of the defunct indoor club Anaheim Splash of the Continental Indoor Soccer League during the 1997-1998 season.
In 2006, SIU-E inducted the entire 1979 men’s soccer team into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.[4]
