Ben Crawley

Infobox Football biography
playername= Ben Crawley
fullname =
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1971|5|6
cityofbirth = Austin, Texas
countryofbirth = United States
height = height|ft=5|in=11
position = Forward
youthyears = 1989-1992
youthclubs = University of Virginia
years = 1991
1993-1994
1995
1996
1998
clubs = Austin Sockadillos
TuS Celle
Richmond Kickers
D.C. United
Austin Lone Stars
caps(goals) = 11 (10)
05 0(0)
03 0(0)
nationalyears = 1986-1987
1988-1989
nationalteam = U.S. U-16
U.S. U-20
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears =
managerclubs =
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Ben Crawley (born May 6, 1971 in Austin, Texas) is a retired U.S. soccer forward. He was a member of the U.S. teams at both the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship and 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship but spent most of his professional career with lower division teams. However, he played five games with D.C. United in 1996.

Youth

Crawley attended the University of Virginia, playing on the men’s soccer team from 1989 to 1992. He led the Cavaliers in scoring in 1990, 1991 and 1992, finishing his career with 47 goals and 33 assists [ [http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/va/sports/m-soccer/auto_pdf/weekly-release.pdf Virginia Cavaliers Soccer Records] ] In 1992, he was selected as a First Team All American. [ [http://www.nscaa.com/awards-detail.php?it=I&yr=1992 1992 All Americans] ] Crawley and his team mates won the 1989, 1991 and 1992 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

National team

Crawley was a regular on the junior national teams during the late 1980s. In 1986, he joined the U.S. U-16 national team as it prepared for the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship. The U.S. successfully made it through qualification and Crawley played all three U.S. games at the World Championship. On July 12, 1987, he scored the winning goal in the opening game for the U.S., a 1-0 win over Ecuador. But two losses put the team out of contention for a spot in the second round. In 1988, he moved up to the U.S. U-20 national team which qualified for the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. Crawley again played every game as the U.S. took fourth. [ [http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=193373/index.html FIFA Player Record] ]

Professional

In 1991, during the collegiate off season, Crawley played for the Austin Sockadillos in the SISL outdoor league. [ [http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/year/1991.html The Year in American Soccer – 1991] ] Following his graduation from Virginia in 1993, he signed with TuS Celle F.C. in the German Regionalliga Nord. In 1995, he played for the Richmond Kickers in USISL where he was named a 1995 USISL All Star. [ [http://www.charlestonbattery.com/stats_awards.asp?year=1995 1995 USISL Awards] ] In August 1995, the Kickers take the “double” when they win the league and 1995 U.S. Open Cup titles. On February 7, 1996, D.C. United selected Crawley in the 10th round (100th) overall in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/draft?league=usa.1&year=1996&type=reg&cc=5901 1996 Inaugural Player Draft] ] He played five games for United before being waived on June 30, 1996. [ [http://web.mlsnet.com/t103/load.jsp?section=about&content=transactions D.C. United Transactions] ] In 1998, he played three games for the Austin Lone Stars in USISL.

References