Brian Ching

Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years.

Ching lost his father, Francis, to cancer on December 25, 1992, when he was 14 years old.

Stephanie Whalen, Ching's mother, raised him and his two brothers as a single parent.

Ching did not play soccer until he was seven years old, agreeing to only if his mother would coach.

Ching attended Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School in Honolulu and played in the soccer team in his junior and senior year.

He was named as the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's MVP during his senior year with 14 goals and six assists.

His junior year he was a second team All-ILH selection.

During his last year of high school Ching played with the Honolulu Bulls Soccer Club, a club team, and traveled to tournaments on the mainland where he was noticed by the Gonzaga coaching staff.

He went on to play for the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's soccer program under head coach Einar Thorarinsson, whom Ching credits "for believing in him and providing him the skills to grow and mature to be able to compete at the next level."

Ching joined the Bulldogs for the 1996 season, and as a freshman played in 18 matches with five starts.

He finished second on the team in scoring with 12 points on three goals and six assists.

As a sophomore, he appeared in 16 matches with 14 starts and was second on the team behind West Coast Conference Player of the Year and teammate Jeff McAllister with 10 goals and 23 points, ranking fifth in the WCC in both categories.

The 10 goals were second on the all-time Gonzaga single-season list and his 23 points were third on the all-time GU list.

He earned All-WCC second-team honors.

His junior season was cut short by a knee injury suffered in the season opener, then re-injured in the next match, and received a medical redshirt year.

With Ching, the Bulldogs were back-to-back co-champions of the West Coast Conference in 1997 and 1998.

During his collegiate career, Ching played for the Spokane Shadow of the Premier Development Soccer League (where Gonzaga coach Einar Thorarinsson was also the coach of the Shadow) and set a total of 21 goals during his stint in the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

Ching was named the PDSL rookie of the year in 1998.

Ching missed the entire 1998 season after surgery to repair injured meniscus in right knee.

The injury bug continued to plague Ching in the summer of 1999 when he was kicked in the cheek and eye while playing for the Spokane Shadow of the USL, the injury requiring surgery.

Despite that injury, Ching was ready for the Bulldogs season opener and went on to start 17 of 18 matches.

He scored 13 goals and had 8 assists for 34 points.

The 13 goals were third on the all-time GU single-season list, the 34 points second.

His final season of 2000, Ching missed three matches with an injury but still scored eight goals and recorded 22 points.

He was named All-WCC first team and earned All-Far West Region first-team honors.

Ching finished his Gonzaga career with 34 goals, which still ties him third on the all-time GU list, and his 23 assists are a Gonzaga career record.

Ching's 91 career points are still tied for second on the Gonzaga charts.

Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th pick overall by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, making him the first Gonzaga player and the first player from his native Hawaii selected in the MLS draft.

After winning the U.S. Open Cup with Los Angeles, Ching was released from the team and played with the second division Seattle Sounders.

He returned to first division soccer when the San Jose Earthquakes acquired him in the 2003 MLS Supplemental Draft.

He won an MLS Cup and Supporters' Shield with the Earthquakes, collected the MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award, the MLS Golden Boot, and was named to the MLS Best XI.

Ching made his international debut May 26, 2003, becoming the first Hawaiian-born player to represent the United States.

In 2006, Ching relocated to Houston when the Earthquakes became the Houston Dynamo.

He led the team to back-to-back MLS Cup Championships in 2006 and 2007 and four MLS finals overall.

He became the first Hawaiian to be named to the U.S. roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, although he did not see any playing time.

His only international silverware is the 2007 Gold Cup.

Off the field, Ching is a pillar in the Houston community where he is partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for underprivileged families in the Houston area through fundraising efforts under his program "The House that Ching Built".

He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–2 tie against 11th-ranked Washington Huskies, got the insurance goal in a 3–1 victory over 7th-ranked Stanford and had a pair of goals against 4th-ranked University of San Diego in 4–2 home victory.

He earned All-WCC first-team honors.

A six-time MLS All-Star, Ching retired from professional soccer in 2013 as Houston Dynamo's all-time leading scorer.