Brian Ashton (soccer)

Brian Ashton (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian former soccer player who played notably with the Toronto Lynx, and is currently the Ontario Soccer Association Region 6 Head Coach.

Brian Ashton

Personal information
Full name	Brian Ashton
Date of birth	(1974-09-05) September 5, 1974
Place of birth	Sudbury, Ontario
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position(s)	Defensive Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2004	Toronto Lynx	159	(13)
2002	→ Mississauga Olympians (loan)	3	(0)
National team^‡
1991	Canada U17	2	(0)
1992	Canada U20	5	(1)
1994	Canada U23	4	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of January 02, 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of n/a

Professional career

Ashton began playing professional soccer with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League in 1998 the second year of the franchise`s inception.[1] He made his debut for the club on April 9, 1998 in an exhibition match against the Rochester Rhinos.[2] During his tenure with the Lynx he was awarded the Toronto Lynx Fan Favorite award a record five times including a Public Relations award.[3] He held the record for most club appearances for the Lynx, until he was surpassed by David Diplacido in 2006.[4] In the 2000 USL A-League season he assisted Toronto by reaching the post season for the second time in the franchise`s history. In the playoffs Ashton scored a goal in the conference quarterfinals against the Long Island Rough Riders, which resulted in a 2-1 victory.[5] The Lynx playoff run came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final against the Rochester Rhinos in a 2-1 loss on aggregate.

Once the 2002 A-league season came to a conclusion he was loaned to the Mississauga Olympians of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[6] He made his debut on September 11, 2002 in an Open Canada Cup match against the Toronto Croatia.[7] He helped the Olympians secure a playoff berth by finishing second in the Western Conference, but unfortunately were defeated by the North York Astros in a wild card match.[8] On February 12, 2004, Ashton announced his retirement from professional soccer after he was offered a regional coach of youth development position with the Ontario Soccer Association.[9]

International career

Ashton made his national team debut on March 25, 1991 with the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team at the 1991 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament. He later featured with the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team in the 1992 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament. He also played with the Canada men's national under-23 soccer team at the 1994 Jeux de la Francophonie.[10]

References

1. "The Team". 2000-08-19. Archived from the original on 2000-08-19. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
2. Glover, Robin (April 9, 1998). "A-League pre season game of Thursday April 9, 1998". Rocket Robin`s Home Page.
3. Nutt, Dave (April 10, 2003). "LYNX SIGN FORMER ALL-STAR". Rocket Robin`s Home Page. TORONTO LYNX MEDIA RELEASE.
4. "Brian Ashton | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
5. Winnipeg Fury (September 9, 2000). "CP article: Lynx Advance to Semi's". Rocket Robin`s Home Page.
6. RUMLESKI, Kathy. "CPSL playoff picture still unclear". www.rocketrobinsoccerintoronto.com. London Free Press. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
7. Glover, Robin (September 11, 2002). "Result of the Wednesday September 11th, 2002 CPSL game between Toronto Croatia and Mississauga Olympians played at Memorial Park in Streetsville at 8:00pm. This was the first game of the two leg quarterfinal of the League Cup". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
8. Glover, Robin (October 18, 2002). "Result of the Friday October 18th, 2002 CPSL Wild Card game to determine semi-finalists for the Rogers Cup between North York Astros and Mississauga Olympians". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
9. Lynch, Rob (February 12, 2004). "There's Only One Number 8". USLFans.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015.
10. "Canada Soccer". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved 2017-04-14.