Mark Dougherty

Mark Dougherty (born November 7, 1967) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper who played in the Western Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League, USISL and Major League Soccer. He served as a goalkeeper coach with the U.S. women national team.

High School and College Dougherty grew up in San Jose, California After playing recreational-level soccer, he was recruited to play for his local club by coach Ken Campbell, South Valley United, where he remained from age 9–19, traveling around the nation and Canada for tournaments. Dougherty was competing year-round by the time he reached high school.

After starting four years in high school and repeatedly reaching the state playoffs, Dougherty was team captain his junior and senior seasons, in 1988 and 1989, and led the team to win back to back Big West Conference Championships. He ended his college career, in 1989, with 0.76 goals against average. Dougherty continued to attend classes, after being signed to play professionally, finally graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in finance from Fresno State. Even so, he finished second in voting for league MVP. The last of those championships, the 1991 APSL title, qualified the Blackhawks for a place in the 1992 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. As the Blackhawks were the United States' top professional club, in 1992 they traveled to Mexico City to face Club América in a home-and-away series at the most fearsome venue in North American soccer: Estadio Azteca. With questionable refereeing that caused the Blackhawks to believe that there was a conspiracy to keep them out of the final, they were narrowly defeated.

In 1994, Dougherty joined the North Bay Breakers as a player-coach.

In 1995, Dougherty was with the Hawaii Tsunami (USISL) as both a player and assistant coach.

Major League Soccer In February 1996, Dougherty expected to be selected in the first round of the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft by coach Laurie Calloway of the San Jose Clash, eighth overall. He went 17–11 with a 1.68 goals against average, the fourth best in the league, and had three shutouts. He led the Crew in minutes played, playing 90 minutes in all but one of 31 appearances, and still had the lowest goals against average in the Eastern Conference, along with a career high of 18 wins. The team set a record for fewest goals allowed in a season with just 39 goals allowed, and five shutouts. He was recognized for his play during the 1999 season as the Crew's Most Valuable Player, and BIC Defender of the Year, He was second in wins (18), second in minutes (2745), fourth in saves (106), fourth in the infamous catches/punches (104), fifth in shutouts (6) and sixth in saves-to-goals ratio (3.03). In 2000, he started 25 matches, posting a 10-12-3 record with three shutouts against New York/ New Jersey, Kansas City, and Miami. His season high was 11 saves in a 4–2 win against Miami on May 27, 2000, including 7 saves in the second half.

By 2001, Dougherty had 121 career appearances, 119 starts, and was still leading the league with 64 career victories. He was second in the league with 500 career saves, and had 16 career shutouts. He played only two games in 2001 after suffering a knee injury. He retired from playing at the end of the season.

Coaching In 1991, Dougherty coached the Fresno State University's Women's Soccer Team. In 1992, he coached the Mission College's Men's Soccer Team.

Dougherty took a hiatus from coaching while he played professionally until 2002, when Bowling Green State University hired Dougherty as an assistant soccer coach. He then moved to the Colorado Rapids where he was an assistant coach and goalkeeper coach until 2005. He was also the director of the Colorado Rush's youth academy during that time, The Colorado Rush club won state championships in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 seasons. Dougherty then became the goalkeeper coach with the U.S. women's national team.

After taking a few years off from coaching, Dougherty coached his son and 9 other boys during the fall 2008 soccer season. The Colorado Rush "Crush" U-10 recorded 9 wins and lost only once, eventually winning the Gold A1 bracket.

Dougherty is the director of the soccer program at the Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center in Coral Gables, Florida.

Honors F.I.U. Homecoming Soccer Classic Outstanding Defensive Player: 1987 Fresno State University Chris Johnson Memorial Award for Most Inspirational Player: 1988 Adidas-Ethel M Soccer Classic MVP: 1989 Fresno State University Captains Award: 1989 Fresno State University Coaches Award: 1989 Soccer Magic Player of the Year: 1991 APSL All Star First Team: 1991 MVP of APSL Championship Series: 1991 Columbus Crew Most Valuable Player: 1999 Huntington Bank "Man of the Year": 1999 BIC Defender of the Year: 1999