Paul Dougherty

Paul Dougherty (born 12 May 1966) is an English former professional soccer player and soccer coach who began his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers in England.

He then moved to the United States where he became a journeyman player, bouncing through sixteen teams in multiple indoor and outdoor leagues.

He is currently the head coach of the San Diego WFC SeaLions, who play in the Women's Premier Soccer League.

Dougherty began his career when he signed as an apprentice with English First Division club Wolverhampton Wanderers at age 16.

He made his league debut while still an apprentice during the 1983/84 season that saw the club lose their top flight status.

He made the most appearances of his Wolves career during the following season, which also saw him spend time on loan at Torquay United during February 1985.

He failed to establish himself as a regular choice though, and played only sporadically over the next two years as the club continued to slide down the divisions under a succession of managers.

At the end of the 1986/87 season, he moved to the US to further his career there, where he would remain employed as a player for the next eighteen years.

In the fall of 1986, the San Diego Sockers began working the paperwork to allow Dougherty to try out with the team.

Dougherty arrived in California in January 1987 and began training with the Sockers' reserve team.

On 11 February 1987, the Sockers traded Gary Collier to the Kansas City Comets in exchange for a foreign player visa.

On 25 February 1987, Dougherty moved up to the Sockers' first team.

In addition to playing for the Sockers, he later also enrolled at San Diego State University.

Whereas his lack of height hindered his development as an outdoor player, it served him in good stead in the indoor game which prized quickness and agility oversize and stamina.

Over the next five years, he earned four titles as the Sockers dominated indoor soccer.

In July 1988, while in San Diego with the Sockers, Dougherty signed with the San Diego Nomads as the team prepared for the Western Soccer Alliance playoffs.

He played only one play-off games as the San Jose Earthquakes eliminated the Nomads in penalty kicks.

In 1989, he was named the "Championship Series Unsung Hero" as the Sockers knocked off the Baltimore Blast for the title.

In August 1989, Dougherty became a free agent and when the Baltimore Blast made him an offer, the Sockers decided not to match it.

On 2 September 1989, he signed with the Blast.

He did however make a very brief (1 game) return to English football playing for Cheltenham Town in October 1990.

In 1990, the Blast and Sockers again met in the championship series, this time with Dougherty playing for Baltimore, but the Sockers again defeated the Blast.

He became a free agent and returned to England, where he received interest from only one fourth-division team.

He then returned to the United States where he signed with the San Diego Sockers on 17 October 1990.

Then in 1990, he spent the outdoor season with the Orlando Lions in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) which had been formed that year by the merger of the WSA and east coast American Soccer League.

On 12 June 1991, he signed with the Miami Freedom of the APSL.

On 1 July 1991, the Freedom released Dougherty and seven other players in a bid to maintain financial solvency.

He signed with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers the next day.

When the Sockers moved to the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) in 1992, Dougherty left the team and signed with the Buffalo Blizzard of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL).

During his two stints with the Sockers, Dougherty had played 204 games and scored 104 goals.

At the time, the NPSL was the higher paying of the two indoor leagues.

Dougherty remained with the Blizzard for three seasons, from 1992 to 1996.

At the completion of the 1995–1996 NPSL season, Dougherty jumped both teams and leagues.

On 1 May 1996, he signed with the Houston Hotshots of CISL.

That season he was the CISL third leading scorer while the Hotshots went to the championship series, only to fall to the Monterrey La Raza.

Dougherty was named All-CISL.

The next season, the Hotshots did not go so far in the playoffs, but Dougherty led the league in scoring, garnering both All CISL and CISL MVP honors.

The CISL folded at the end of the 1997, leading Dougherty to move to Major League Soccer (MLS)

By the time Dougherty moved to MLS, he was already a veteran of several outdoor US teams.

While he made his name with the indoor game, he also was a consistent performer outdoors.