Kamehameha grad Ching ready to kick it up a notch
By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer
Brian Ching is a marked man in professional soccer.
He has been marked closely by defenders all year — but mostly to no avail — in the highly respected A-League and he is marked by his coach as a can't-miss prospect for Major League Soccer.
"He is a very, very good soccer player who is poised to become a great soccer player," says Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer.
Ching, 24, is a 1996 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools from Hale'iwa. He overcame serious injuries to set school records at Washington's Gonzaga University and was the 15th player drafted by Major League Soccer in 2001.
The Los Angeles Galaxy "reluctantly" cut him earlier this year and he signed with the Seattle Sounders of the United Soccer Leagues' A-League, which is one step below the Major League.
Tomorrow, Ching will lead the Sounders into the second round of the A-League playoffs at Vancouver, B.C.
"He has been a very vital part of our success," Schmetzer said. "He is our target guy."
On Tuesday, Ching, a 6-foot forward, was named first team all-star in the A League, which has 18 teams from North Carolina to British Columbia.
He scored 40 points this season in 25 games, finishing second in the league by two points. He was also second in goals scored with 16, third in shots with 74 and fourth in assists with eight.
"My goal is to get back in the MLS," said Ching, who is a free agent. "I need to play as well I can and hopefully have enough stats and publicity to have a few MLS teams take notice, so I can get a few tryouts in preseason."
The difference between the A League and the Major League, Ching says, is that "MLS has bigger, stronger and faster defenders, and their midfielders are quicker on average."
"He'll be up there (in the MLS)," coach Schmetzer predicts. "He has good size, good speed, unbelievable work ethic — and he has the drive as well, which sometimes is more important than physical skills."
Ching's self-evaluation is that, "I'm hot and cold sometimes. I need to be more consistent holding on to the ball."
CORNER KICKS: Zach Scott, a 1998 Maui High graduate who graduated from Gonzaga in February, is a back-up defender for Seattle. "His vertical leap (to win headers) is outstanding," coach Brian Schmetzer says. "Zach's got speed and the ability to tackle. Every team needs to have that enforcer type." ... Scott and Brian Ching were part of history when they played in the first event in new Seahawks Stadium July 28, drawing an A-League record crowd of 25,515. ... Ching was the first player from Hawai'i drafted by a major league soccer team in 21 years, since Ric Miller.
