Houston Dynamo legend Stuart Holden enters his first year of eligibility for the National Soccer Hall of Fame along with 31 other former players, U.S. Soccer announced today. Fellow Dynamo legends Brian Ching and Pat Onstad are also among the nominated players in their second and fourth years of eligibility, respectively.
Voting will begin Monday, March 12 and run through Monday, March 26 for the Player, Veteran Player and Builder categories. The results of the voting will be announced at a later date. The weekend of Oct. 20-21 marks the grand opening of the National Soccer Hall of Fame at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Saturday, Oct. 20 will feature the 2018 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony followed by a performance by the Grammy Award-winning band, Imagine Dragons, presented by Budweiser.
Holden retired from professional soccer in 2013. A native of Aberdeen, Scotland, Holden moved to Sugar Land, Texas at age 10 and played high school soccer at Awty International School. After two years at Clemson University and a brief stint with Sunderland in England, Holden joined the Dynamo in 2006 and was a member of the back-to-back MLS Cup champion squads in 2006 and 2007. He appeared 99 times for the Dynamo in the MLS regular season and playoffs, scoring 16 goals and assisting on 14 others. He went on to join Bolton Wanderers in England in 2010, where he finished his playing career.
For the United States, Holden earned 25 caps at the senior level. As a member of the youth national teams, he represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He made his senior team debut at the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, compiling two goals and two assists to make the tournament's Best XI. Holden was a member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup team and made one substitute appearance, just three months after suffering a broken leg. He was also a member of the 2013 Gold Cup-winning team.
Ching is the all-time leading scorer for the Houston Dynamo, with 56 goals in MLS regular-season play and 69 across all competitions, and led the Dynamo to two MLS Cup championships and two additional Eastern Conference titles. Ching won a third MLS Cup with San Jose in 2003. Ching was Man of the Match in the 2006 MLS Cup after scoring the game-tying goal in overtime and converting the winning penalty kick in the decisive penalty shootout.
A native of Haleiwa, Hawaii, Ching was capped 45 times by the U.S. Men’s National Team and scored 11 goals. He was the first Hawaiian to play for the USMNT, and the second Chinese-American to represent his country at the international level. Ching was a member of the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad, and helped lead the United States to victory in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, drawing a penalty in the final against Mexico that led to the game-tying goal in a 2-1 USA victory over Mexico.
Onstad was a fixture in goal for the Dynamo during their back-to-back MLS Cup title runs; and it was his save of Jay Heaps’ penalty that sealed the win for the Dynamo. Onstad holds club records for shutouts (37), wins (53), saves (384) and Goals-Against Average (1.15); and his 136 regular-season appearances are the most by a goalkeeper in club history. All told, Onstad made 223 appearances from 2003-2011 for the San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo and D.C. United.
A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Onstad was capped 57 times by the Canadian Men’s National Team during a 22-year international career. He made his senior national team debut on February 18, 1988 against Bermuda and was between the posts for 15 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches. Following his retirement as a player Onstad has moved to the sideline as a goalkeeper coach for D.C. United, Toronto FC and now Columbus Crew SC.
2018 National Soccer Hall of Fame Player Ballot
Juan Pablo Angel
David Beckham
Gregg Berhalter
Carlos Bocanegra
Steve Cherundolo
Brian Ching
Bobby Convey
Jeff Cunningham
Jay DeMerit
Brad Friedel
Kevin Hartman
Frankie Hejduk
Thierry Henry
Stuart Holden
Eddie Johnson
Chris Klein
Eddie Lewis
Lori Lindsey
Kate Sobrero Markgraf
Pablo Mastroeni
Clint Mathis
Tiffeny Milbrett
Heather Mitts
Jaime Moreno
Ben Olsen
Pat Onstad
Steve Ralston
Ante Razov
Tony Sanneh
Taylor Twellman
Aly Wagner
Josh Wolff
First year of eligibility
Final year of eligibility; moves to Veteran ballot in 2019
2018 National Soccer Hall of Fame Veteran Ballot
Mike Burns
Kevin Crow
John Doyle
Marco Etcheverry
Linda Hamilton
Shep Messing
Cindy Parlow
Tiffany Roberts
Tisha Venturini-Hoch
2018 National Soccer Hall of Fame Builder Ballot
Esse Baharmast
Dr. Robert Contiguglia
Joe Cummings
Tim Leiweke
Francisco Marcos
Kevin Payne
Steve Sampson
Complete information on National Soccer Hall of Fame eligibility, categories, and procedures can be found at ussoccer.com.
