Ralph Golen

Ralph Golen is a former Polish footballer. He played the majority of his career in Canada particularly in the USL A-League and the Canadian National Soccer League.

Ralph Golen
Personal information
Full name Rafael Golen
Date of birth (1970-07-07) July 7, 1970
Place of birth Stalowa Wola, Poland
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1993 North York Rockets 84 (3)
1994 Toronto Rockets 4 (0)
1995 Toronto Italia 7 (0)
1996 Oakville Western Canadians 5 (0)
1997–1998 Toronto Lynx 40 (0)
1997–1998 Montreal Impact (indoor) 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 February 2015

Playing career

Golen began his professional soccer in 1987 with the North York Rockets of the Canadian Soccer League.[1] His greatest success with North York was in 1991 when they defeated the Nova Scotia Clippers with a 9-1 goal aggregate to advance to the league cup semi-finals. In 1994, North York re-branded itself as the Toronto Rockets and moved from the Canadian National Soccer League to the American Professional Soccer League. After finishing last in the standings, the Rockets folded from the league due to a financial dispute with the league's front office. He returned to the CNSL in 1995 by signing with Toronto Italia. He made his debut for the club on August 7, 1995 in a cup match against London City. In 1996, he signed with Oakville Canadian Westerns.[2] He reached the playoffs with Oakville by finishing fourth in the league standings. He featured in the semi-final match against Toronto Italia, but unfortunately were eliminated by the eventual playoff champions by a score of 5-4 goals on aggregate.[3]

In April, 1997 he signed with newly expansion franchise the Toronto Lynx of the USL A-League, his signing was announced in a press conference which revealed the team roster.[4] Golen made his debut for the club on April 12, 1997 in the Lynx's first official match against Jacksonville Cyclones; the game would eventually result in a 3-1 defeat for the fledgling side.[5] Golen assisted the club in qualifying for the post season for the first time in the franchise's history, by finishing 4th in the Northeastern division. The Lynx were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Impact. He returned to the Lynx the following year where he appeared in 17 matches, but failed to make the post season by finishing second last in their division.

During the winter of 1998 he signed with the Montreal Impact indoor team which operated in the National Professional Soccer League, he appeared in 3 matches.[6]

References
  1. "Rafael Golen soccer statistics on StatsCrew.com".
  2. "CNSL comes to Oakville, home opener Saturday". Oakville Beaver. June 12, 1996. p. 35.
  3. Glover, Robin (October 20, 1996). "CNSL game of Sunday October 20, 1996". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
  4. Bailey, Dave (April 1997). "Toronto Lynx Roster 1997". Rocket Robin's Home Page. Canada Kicks.
  5. Aabo, G. Warren (April 12, 1997). "Jacksonville Cyclones (1) 3:1 (0) Toronto Lynx". Rocket Robin's Home Page.
  6. "Ralph Golen | SoccerStats.us". soccerstats.us. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
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