Brian Ashton (born September 5, 1974) is a Canadian former soccer player who played notably with the Toronto Lynx, and is currently the Ontario Soccer Association Region 6 Head Coach.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Ashton | ||
| Date of birth | (1974-09-05) September 5, 1974 (age 48) | ||
| Place of birth | Sudbury, Ontario | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992 | London Lasers | 3 | (0) |
| 1998–2004 | Toronto Lynx | 159 | (13) |
| 2002 | → Mississauga Olympians (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1991 | Canada U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 1992 | Canada U20 | 5 | (1) |
| 1994 | Canada U23 | 4 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of January 02, 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of n/a | |||
Ashton began playing professional soccer with the London Lasers in 1992.[1] He later played with the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League in 1998 the second year of the franchise`s inception.[2] He made his debut for the club on April 9, 1998 in an exhibition match against the Rochester Rhinos.[3] During his tenure with the Lynx he was awarded the Toronto Lynx Fan Favorite award a record five times including a Public Relations award.[4] He held the record for most club appearances for the Lynx, until he was surpassed by David Diplacido in 2006.[5] In the 2000 USL A-League season he assisted Toronto by reaching the post season for the second time in the franchise`s history. In the playoffs Ashton scored a goal in the conference quarterfinals against the Long Island Rough Riders, which resulted in a 2-1 victory.[6] The Lynx playoff run came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final against the Rochester Rhinos in a 2-1 loss on aggregate.
Once the 2002 A-league season came to a conclusion he was loaned to the Mississauga Olympians of the Canadian Professional Soccer League.[7] He made his debut on September 11, 2002 in an Open Canada Cup match against the Toronto Croatia.[8] He helped the Olympians secure a playoff berth by finishing second in the Western Conference, but unfortunately were defeated by the North York Astros in a wild card match.[9] On February 12, 2004, Ashton announced his retirement from professional soccer after he was offered a regional coach of youth development position with the Ontario Soccer Association.[10]
Ashton made his national team debut on March 25, 1991 with the Canada men's national under-17 soccer team at the 1991 CONCACAF U-17 Tournament. He later featured with the Canada men's national under-20 soccer team in the 1992 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament. He also played with the Canada men's national under-23 soccer team at the 1994 Jeux de la Francophonie.[11]