Steve MacDonald (soccer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 13, 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–2000 | Vancouver 86ers | 321 | (18) |
| National team | |||
| 1987 | Canada U-17 | 3 | (0) |
| 1988 | Canada U-20 | 3 | (1) |
| 1991–1992 | Canada U-23 | 5 | (0) |
| 1989–1995 | Canada | 7 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Steve MacDonald is a Canadian soccer defender who spent his entire professional career with the Vancouver 86ers. He played extensively for the Canadian national teams between 1987 and 1995.
Club
MacDonald began playing for the Douglas Park Spartans when he was seven. In 1987, he began his professional career with the Vancouver 86ers of the Canadian Soccer League. From 1988 to 1991, MacDonald and his team mates won four consecutive CSL championships. From June 5, 1988 to August 8, 1989, the team remained undefeated in 46 games (37 wins and nine ties). This set the North American professional record. This team was later inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame.[1] In 1992, Vancouver moved to the American Professional Soccer League. MacDonald was a 1993 and 1998 Second Team All League defender.[2] MacDonald also earned 1st team All Star recognition in the CSL (1989, 1990, 1991). He retired at the age of 30 following the 2000 season and holds the Whitecap's records for games played, games started,321+ x 90 min minutes played is a Vancouver professional athlete record for min actually played. He was also the hard man with an all time team record of yellow and red cards.
On August 31, in the game against the Milwaukee Rampage, the Whitecaps held a ceremony celebrating MacDonald's career. At the ceremony, the Whitecaps retired MacDonald's number 5 jersey.
International
In 1987, MacDonald made his international debut with the Canadian U-17 team at the 1987 FIFA U-16 World Championship.[3] A year later, he played three games for the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team which failed to advance beyond group play at the 1988 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament. On April 14, 1989, MacDonald earned the first of his seven caps with the senior Canada men's national soccer team in a 1-0 loss to the Faroe Islands. In 1991 and 1992, he played for the Canadian U-23 team during its unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 1992 Summer Olympics. MacDonald's last national team appearance came in a 2-0 loss to Chile in Concepción on October 11, 1995.