Brent Goulet

Brent Goulet may have been born in Cavalier, but his approach to soccer was hardly that. Goulet, one of the finest soccer players to come out of Pierce County, was born June 19, 1964 in Cavalier, N.D. He grew up in Tacoma where his skill development was shaped by club coaches Bill Allison and Frank Hall. A graduate of Foss High School, Goulet was named by the Seattle Times to its all-time, all-state boy’s high school soccer team.

Goulet went on to a prolific career at little Warner Pacific College in Portland. A four-time NAIA All- American, he shattered several NAIA scoring records with 108 goals in four years while helping his team to a remarkable of 70-0-2 regular season record over a three-year period. During the late 1980s, Goulet was the top goal-scoring striker in the country, and as a result was named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year in 1987. As an amateur playing for professional team FC Portland in 1986, he led the league with nine goals. The next season he was the league’s MVP. After that followed a period with FC Seattle and English clubs AFC Bournemouth and Crewe Alexandra FC. He led the U.S. into the 1988 Seoul Olympics, scoring six goals in six qualifiers, and he tallied one of the Americans’ three goals in the final. Goulet returned the Pacific Northwest to play for the Seattle Storm and for a brief time with the indoor soccer Tacoma Stars, but after being passed over for a spot on the 1990 U.S. World Cup team, Goulet became one of the first Americans invited to play in Europe.

After a short stint in England, Goulet settled in Germany where he scored 31 goals for Bonner SC one season, the most by a player at any level in Germany that year. He played 10 seasons for Third Division teams in Bonn, Berlin, Oberhausen, Wuppertal, and Elversberg. His playing career ended after he suffered a broken leg on Nov. 11, 2000. After three years as an assistant coach, he was promoted to head coach of SV Elversberg in April 2004, becoming the first American-born player to coach a top-level club in Germany.