Hall of Fame
Defender
All-American, 1986
First Team All-WCC, 1988
Recipient of Stephen Negoesco Award, 1985
USF Career Years: 1985-1988
Birthdate: April 16, 1966
Hometown: Fremont, CA
High School: Washington High School
John Joseph Doyle was born on April 16, 1966 in Fremont, CA and attended his local Washington High School in Fremont. Prior to attending USF, he played for the Fremont Celtic Youth Team, and his senior year, his school team won the League Championship. He held the school’s scoring record and was named All-League each year he played. He was also named All-Decade Athlete in the 1980s, and a former member of the California State Select team.
At USF, Coach Negoesco said, “John has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the nation. He has unlimited potential.” Proving coach Negoesco right, Doyle went on to be named to the Second Team All-American in 1986, and to play in the 1988 Olympic Games, the 1990 World Cup Games, the Pan-American Games, and the President’s Cup. He played for the Dons from 1985 to 1988.
Playing in all 21 games his first year, Doyle was a solid, central defender. With his height at 6’ 3”, and jumping ability, he dominated both penalty areas. In his first USF home game, he scored the winning goal – a blistering 25-yard shot – against SMU in the Met Life Classic. For his impressive play and contribution to the team, Doyle won the Stephen Negoesco Award his freshman year.
As a sophomore, he played in 22 games. The following year, however, he missed seven games due to Olympic qualification rounds, and missed the final four games of the season due to injury. Despite having played in only 11 games, he was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, which is given to the finest collegiate soccer player in the nation. For the second consecutive year, he scored a game-winning goal, beating New Mexico in the Met Life Classic. In 1987 he played for the San Jose Earthquakes in the off-season.
His last year, his game participation for USF was again curtailed as he continued to play for the 1988 United States Olympic and World Cup Teams. He played in 11 games, and posted game-winning goals against Loyola Marymount and U.S. International. In 1989 and 1990, he played for the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks. In 1989, he was named to the WSL All-Star team.
After USF, Doyle continued to play on the United States National Team. He was named to Soccer America’s 1992 All-Star team as well as its All-Gold Cup team. In 1990, he moved to Europe and signed with the Swedish Club Örgryte IS, and returned in 1992 to the Blackhawks for six games. He played for the German First Division Blub VfBLeipsig from 1993-1994, but was downgraded to Second Division. Following the demotion, he returned to the United States and signed with the Atlanta Ruckus of the A-League, and was named Defender of the Year, and to the All-Star team. Major League Soccer assigned him to the San Jose Clash as First-Player and First-Team Captain, and he was named Defender of the Year, with 11 goals and 15 assists. He played with the Earthquakes from 1995 to 2000.
After his retirement as a player, he worked as a TV and radio commentator for the Earthquakes, and in 2004, worked as Assistant Coach. In 2005, he became their General Manager until 2016. Afterwards, he became the Director of Coaching for the Mustang Soccer League, in Danville, CA.
