| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Counce | ||
| Date of birth | (1951-10-22)October 22, 1951 (age 73) | ||
| Place of birth | St. Louis, Missouri | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1970–1973 | Saint Louis University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1974 | Boston Minutemen | 11 | (1) |
| 1975 | San Jose Earthquakes | 6 | (0) |
| 1975–1976 | San Antonio Thunder | 30 | (8) |
| 1977 | Team Hawaii | 22 | (2) |
| 1978 | California Surf | 23 | (4) |
| 1978–1979 | Philadelphia Fever (indoor) | 14 | (6) |
| 1979 | Toronto Blizzard | 8 | (0) |
| 1979–1980 | St. Louis Steamers (indoor) | 30 | (21) |
| 1980–1984 | Baltimore Blast (indoor) | 117 | (43) |
| Total | 261 | (85) | |
| International career | |||
| 1974–1976 | United States | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dan Counce (born October 22, 1951, inSt. Louis, Missouri) is a retired Americansoccer player and current professional soccer executive. He played six seasons in theNorth American Soccer League and six more in theMajor Indoor Soccer League. He also earned fivecaps with theUnited States national team between 1974 and 1976.
After playing at Rosary High School in St. Louis, Counce attendedSaint Louis University where he played on the men's soccer team. He was a member of the 1970, 1972 and 1973NCAA soccer championship teams. In 1973, he won theHermann Trophy as the outstanding collegiate soccer player in North America. Counce also was selected the MVP of the 1973ISAA Senior Soccer Bowl and the NCAA National Championship soccer Tournament.
He earned his first cap with the U.S. national team in a September 8, 1974, loss toMexico. In 1975, he played only one of the five national team games, a 7–0 loss toPoland in March. It was over a year and a half later before he was called up again, this time for a November 12, 1976, tie withHaiti. His last game with the national team came a month later when he came on for fellow Saint Louis University alumnusAl Trost in a 3–0 loss toCanada.[1]
Through the years, Counce established himself as ajourneyman player in the NASL. After finishing his career at St. Louis, he joined theBoston Minutemen of theNorth American Soccer League (NASL). He bounced from team to team, six total, over the next six years, finishing his NASL career with eight games for theToronto Blizzard in 1979. By this time, however, he had already begun to move towards indoor soccer. In 1978, he signed with thePhiladelphia Fever ofMajor Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The 1978–1979 MISL season was the first for both the team and the league. That year, the Fever went to the MISL championship series, losing to theNew York Arrows, despite goals from Counce. Counce continued to play in the MISL, but moved to the St. Louis Steamers for the 1979–1980 season. That year, Counce was named the team's MVP. However, he moved again in the off season to theBaltimore Blast. He was the Blast's team MVP in the 1980–1981 season. Counce remained with the Blast through the end of the 1983–1984 season when he retired from playing professionally.
Counce has been active in managing professional soccer teams even before retiring from playing. He was either aGeneral Manager or Assistant General Manager for theSt. Louis Steamers in 1979–1980, theBaltimore Blast from 1986 to 1990 and theSt. Louis Storm, also of MISL, from 1990 to 1991.
From 1987 to 1991, Counce served on theUnited States Soccer Federation Executive Committee and the MISL Board of Directors from 1986 to 1991.
On January 15, 1997, the Rapids hired Counce as the team'sGeneral Manager after its first season inMajor League Soccer. In 2002, MLS named Counce the league's Executive of the Year. However, just two years later, AEG sold the Rapids to Kroenke Sports and he resigned at the conclusion of his contract in January 2005.[2]