Ruth Harker

Ruth Kay Harker (born June 28, 1963) is an American former soccer player who played as a goalkeeper, making two appearances for the United States women's national team.

Ruth Harker
Personal information
Full name Ruth Kay Harker[1]
Date of birth (1963-06-28) June 28, 1963[1]
Place of birth St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper[3]
Youth career
Pattonville Pirates
0000–1981 Parkway North Vikings
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1982–1985 UMSL Riverwomen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1985 Busch Soccer Dome
National team
1985 United States 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Harker began playing soccer at 14,[4] initially as a midfielder before moving into goal.[2] She was quickly noticed by coaches, earning her overseas training sessions in Sweden in Finland. Harker attended high school at Pattonville and later Parkway North, where she participated in basketball, cross country running, and track and field, in addition to soccer.[5][6] She played for the UMSL Riverwomenh in college from 1982 to 1985, and was selected in the All-Region team in all four seasons, as well as the All-West first team.[7] She was the team captain as a senior in 1985, and won the team's most valuable player award that season. Harker is the school's all-time leader in shutouts (38), and ranks third in career goals-against average (0.75) and fourth in career saves (255). She also holds the top two records for shutouts in a single season at the school, with 12 in 1982 and 11 in 1985.[8]

After reaching the semi-finals of the USASA National Women's Amateur with the Busch Soccer Dome club team in 1984 and 1985,[2][9] Harker was invited to the 1985 U.S. Olympic Festival. She was chosen as one of the most valuable players at the Olympic Festival, and was selected to play in the first matches of the United States women's national team. She made her international debut for the U.S. on August 23, 1985 at the Mundialito against England, coming on as a substitute for Kim Wyant. She earned her second and final cap the following day against Denmark.[3]

In 2014, Harker's 1981 and 1982 women's soccer teams were inducted into the UMSL Sports Hall of Fame.[10] In 2019, she was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame.[11] Harker herself was inducted into the UMSL Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.[8]

Personal life

Harker was raised in St. Louis and has been blind in her left eye since birth.[12] She works as the vice president and director of technical support at Swan Packaging in St. Louis, and has two children.[13]

Career statistics

International
United States[3]
YearAppsGoals
198520
Total20
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References
  1. "U.S. Public Records Index, 1950–1993". Vol. 1. 2010 – via Ancestry.com. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  2. Burnes, Cathie (September 26, 1985). "Stopper: UMSL's Ruth Harker Shuts Door on Goals". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "2019 U.S. Women's National Team Media Guide" (PDF). United States Soccer Federation. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  4. Stevenson, Samantha (October 11, 2019). "Goalkeeper for the first U.S. Women's National Team, Ruth Harker inducted into St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame". St. Louis Magazine. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  5. Noss, Dan (September 5, 1985). "Ruth Harker: UMSL Riverwomen's World Class Soccer Goalkeeper" (PDF). The Current (519). University of Missouri–St. Louis. pp. 7–8. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  6. "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880–2012: Pattonville High School". Pattonville High School. Vol. XLII. 1979 – via Ancestry.com.
  7. "2018 Women's Soccer History & Records Book" (PDF). UMSL Tritons. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  8. "Ruth Harker". UMSL Tritons. 2020. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  9. Irish, Arnold (June 22, 1984). "Former MISL Referee Gives Coaching a Try". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis, Missouri. p. 6D – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "UMSL Sports Hall of Fame: Teams (1981 & 1982 Women's Soccer)". UMSL Tritons. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  11. Dieringer, Amber (February 25, 2019). "Former UMSL soccer player Ruth Harker among those announced for St. Louis Soccer HOF". STLSportsPage.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  12. "Harker, Ruth 2019". St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. 2019. Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  13. "Ruth Harker: Vice President & Director of Technical Support". Swan Packaging, Inc. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
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