Jan Goossens
Quick Facts
Biography
Jan Goossens (born December 18, 1958 in Velp, Gelderland) is a former star American indoor soccer player. He was the original Major Soccer League's sixth all-time leading scorer with 682 points during his seven years in the league.
Goossens began playing club football for N.E.C. Nijmegen in the Dutch Eredivisie.
In 1980, Goosens moved to Canada and signed with the Edmonton Drillers of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He played three seasons with the Drillers before moving to the Golden Bay Earthquakes in time for the 1982–1983 indoor season. That year, the Earthquakes, normally an NASL team, spent the indoor season playing in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Earthquakes returned to the NASL for the 1983 summer season and Goosens remained with the team into the 1984 season. He was hindered by a knee injury in 1984 and was sent to the Minnesota Strikers late in the season. When the NASL collapsed at the end of the season, the Strikers moved to the MISL. He finished as the NASL's 31st-leading scorer with 48 goals in 148 games played over six seasons. He was the league's tenth-leading scorer in 1984–85. In 1986, the Strikers sent Goosens to the Kansas City Comets, where he would play until that team folded in 1991. He then played one season with the Dallas Sidekicks. In July 1992 with the league on verge of collapsing, Goosens announced his retirement.