Tom Poltl Explained

Tom Poltl
Fullname:Thomas Poltl
Birth Date:21 September 1977
Birth Place:San Marcos, California, United States
Position:Midfielder
Youthyears1:1995–1998
Youthclubs1:UCLA Bruins
Years1:1999–2000
Clubs1:Boston Bulldogs
Caps1:53
Goals1:4
Years2:2000
Clubs2:Cape Cod Crusaders
Caps2:1
Goals2:1
Years3:2002–2004
Clubs3:Orange County Blue Star
Years4:2005–2009
Clubs4:Portland Timbers
Caps4:98
Goals4:2
Manageryears1:2002–2004
Managerclubs1:Orange County Blue Star
Nationalyears1:1995–1997
Nationalteam1:United States U-20
Nationalcaps1:11
Nationalgoals1:0

Tom Poltl (born September 21, 1977) is a retired American soccer midfielder who was a member of the United States U-20 men's national soccer team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Career

Youth

Poltl attended San Marcos High School, and played college soccer at UCLA from 1995 to 1998. In 1997, Poltl was part of the Bruins team which won the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship over the Virginia Cavaliers.

Professional

In February 1999, the Colorado Rapids selected Poltl in the second round (20th overall) of the MLS College Draft. Soon after, the San Francisco Bay Seals of the USL A-League selected Poltl in the second round (forty-ninth overall) in the A-League draft.[1] The Rapids did not sign him, and the Seals traded his rights to the Boston Bulldogs of the A-League, with whom he spent the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

In 2002 Poltl signed as a player-coach with the Orange County Blue Star of the fourth division USL Premier Development League. On April 20, 2005, he moved to the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division.[2] He played over 100 games for Portland in his five years with club, leading his team to the 2009 USL First Division championship, before being released on December 7, 2009.[3]

International

Between 1995 and 1997, Poltl earned eleven caps with the U.S. U-20 national team.[4] In 1997, he was a member of the U.S. team at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship. He played one game, a 3–0 loss to Uruguay in the Round of 16.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://aleague.uslsoccer.com/draft/54201.html 1999 Draft List
  2. http://www.uslfans.com/news/2005/news,2005,0042.shtml Timbers Add Two To Roster As Season Opener Nears
  3. http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/387008.html Timbers sign Quavas Kirk; Nine players not returning for 2010
  4. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/ucla/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/05-mg-natlteam-mls.pdf UCLA’S NATIONAL TEAM CONNECTION
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20121019022902/http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=194029/index.html FIFA