Houston Sports - Brian Ching

Brian Ching

Born: May 24, 1978

Sport: Soccer (82 MLS career goals, 6-time All-Star, 2004 MLS Golden Boot, 3-time MLS Cup Champion, 2006 World Cup participant, 2007 Gold Cup champion)

The world's most popular sport took a long time to reach Houston at the professional level.  Once it arrived, however, the city that boasted a massive international population (including a plurality of the residents descended from Latin American nations that love "the beautiful game") could proudly boast one of the most talented and recognizable names in the MLS.  From the day the Houston Dynamo relocated from their previous home in San Diego, Brian Ching was the face of the franchise.  He achieved success on the field, but made himself beloved to the city due to his work off the field.  This week we'll dig into the story behind the first professional soccer star in Houston history.

The Houston Dynamo moved to their new permanent home near downtown in 2012

Brian Ching was born in Hawaii, along the north shore of the island of Oahu.  He started playing soccer at the age of seven after only agreeing to do so if his mother, Stephanie, coached him.  She agreed and became the coach for young Brian as well as his two brothers.  At the age of 14, Brian's father Francis died of cancer on Christmas Day, 1992, leaving his mother to raise the three boys as a single mom.  One year later he started high school but did not play on the soccer team until his junior year in 1995.  He was named to the interscholastic league's second team that year, and as a senior he not only earned MVP honors but also played with the local Honolulu Bulls club.  Traveling to the mainland for a tournament, Ching's play caught the eye of the Gonzaga University coaching staff and he was quickly given a soccer scholarship to attend the school.  In addition to playing for the Bulldogs, he followed his collegiate coach Einar Thorarinsson to the Spokane Shadow of the Premier Development Soccer League, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 1998.  Gonzaga's soccer team were conference co-champions for two consecutive years during Ching's time at the school, and he was named to the All-WCC team during three of his four full seasons.  Despite missing some time to injury, his 91 points (34 goals and 23 assists) still rank second in school history.  Upon graduating, Ching was selected early in the second round of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by the Los Angeles Galaxy - the first Hawaiian to ever be selected.

The team that Brian Ching joined in LA was full of soccer celebrities, including three future US Soccer Hall of Fame players in Cobi Jones, Alexi Lalas, and Paul Caligiuri.  Ching made his debut in the starting lineup on April 7, 2001, in the US Open Cup but despite helping the team win their first ever Cup, the rest of his appearances during that rookie campaign were all made as a substitution off the bench.  Unable to find regular playing time, he became a roster casualty when he was eventually cut early in 2002 by the Galaxy and signed with the Seattle Sounders, a second-tier club where he had previously played while on loan from LA.  In just 25 games with Seattle, Ching scored 16 goals and was named to the All-League first team.  Perhaps his most important game was an appearance with the Sounders in the 2002 US Open Cup, a tournament in which all US professional clubs can compete irrespective of which tier they play.  Ching's second-tier Sounders defeated the top-tier San Jose Earthquakes, 4-3, in sudden death, and his play made such an impact on the coaching staff that they invited him to train at their facility and then used their top overall pick in the 2003 MLS supplemental draft to bring him back to the major leagues.

The 2003 season started well for Brian Ching, as he notched six goals and two assists in 15 matches, including appearances in the Champions Cup and Open Cup as well as his first multi-goal game during an MLS regular season matchup against the New York/New Jersey MetroStars.  Unfortunately, Ching ruptured an Achilles tendon and missed the remainder of the season and was forced to watch from the sidelines as his Earthquakes went on to claim the 2003 MLS Cup.  With a taste of success, he roared back in 2004 to claim a share of the MLS Golden Boot, inclusion in the MLS Best XI (the best lineup in the league), and Comeback Player of the Year honors.  Although San Jose was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, Ching continued showing star power in 2005 with seven goals and a league-best five assists in 16 matches, but was sidelined for 15 games with a hamstring injury.  The Earthquakes eventually went 18-4-10 for the best record in the MLS, but once again fell in the first round of the playoffs in what would be their final game in San Diego.  Heading into the 2006 season, Ching and the rest of the team moved to Houston as the team was rebranded as the Dynamo.  On April 2, 2006, Ching introduced himself to a new fan base by scoring an amazing four goals against the Colorado Rapids in Houston's first-ever home game.  One month later, Ching learned that he had been named to the USMNT roster for the 2006 World Cup.  Although he travelled with the team, he did not make it onto the field during the tournament and the US went home without advancing beyond the group stage.  Undeterred, Ching returned to Houston and continued to perform, including a dazzling bicycle kick (which was later named MLS Goal of the Year) on September 30 that secured a 1-0 victory over DC United that clinched the Dynamo's first playoff spot.  After losing the first leg of the first round playoff matchup against Chivas USA, Houston won a thrilling second leg to advance, capped off by Ching's header to clinch the aggregate victory.  Once the Dynamo dispatched the Colorado Rapids, they faced the New England Revolution for the league title.  Ching scored the only goal for Houston, an equalizer in the second session of extra time to draw even after New England had scored just 66 seconds earlier.  In a matchup that saw the championship decided by penalty kicks for the first time ever, Ching scored the final goal before Houston's goalkeeper stopped the Revolution's shot to secure the victory.

With the Dynamo victory in the 2006 MLS Cup, Brian Ching finally got to participate in a championship and was awarded the Cup MVP for his heroics.  During the 2007 season he was called up on to compete with the national team, including a win in that year's Gold Cup to account for Ching's only career international title, but he still managed to tie for the team lead in goals.  Although he performed well in the playoffs, Ching was unable to play in the championship game due to a strained calf sustained in the conference final.  The Dynamo won the MLS Cup anyway, accounting for the third and final championship of Ching's career, although his team would make it to the final in 2011 only to be denied 1-0 by the LA Galaxy.  Despite leading Houston in scoring for four straight years, maintaining his role as team captain, and being a regular in international play, he very nearly ended his career here with that game.  Less than a week after the 2011 MLS Cup, Ching was left unprotected by the Dynamo during the expansion draft and was the first player taken by the new Montreal Impact club.  He trained with his new club for a month and even played a preseason game against Houston before the Dynamo made a trade to bring their star back in mid-February.  During the 2012 season the club moved to their new home, known as BBVA Compass Stadium, and Ching's first goal there was also his 20th career game-winning goal.  For the 2013 season, the Dynamo signed Ching to a contract as a player/coach after he announced that it would be his final year as a professional player.  The franchise also assisted his charity, a partnership with Habitat for Humanity known as "The House That Ching Built", by setting up a testimonial match of current and former players to celebrate his legacy and donate all proceeds to new home construction.  As soon as Ching hung up his cleats as the Dynamo's all-time leading scorer, however, he immediately stepped into a leadership role to continue developing the sport in Houston, acting as the managing director of the new women's team, the Houston Dash, from 2013-2019.  Ching has been named to the Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame and the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor, and was nominated for the US Soccer Hall of Fame, although he fell short of receiving enough votes to be inducted.  Brian Ching continues to call Houston home, and in addition to his charity work he also runs a local soccer-themed bar and restaurant, while also occasionally making media appearances to promote the growth and popularity of his favorite game.

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