Justin Detter

Justin Detter (born August 7, 1982, in Holly, Michigan) is a retired American soccer player who played striker for the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer. He retired in 2005 citing poor pay ($18,500/year) as his primary factor in his decision.

Detter went to Holly High School and played club soccer at the Detroit club, Vardar. He moved to playing professional soccer via IMG Academy in Bradenton and with the U.S. U-17 national team. After graduating from Bradenton, Detter moved to college soccer at the University of Notre Dame, where he played from 2000 to 2003. Detter was a starter in all four years at Notre Dame. In his senior season, after moving from midfield to forward, he scored 14 goals with 8 assists and was selected for the All-Big East first team. He finished his college career with 38 goals and 28 assists.

On graduating, Detter was selected 47th overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the Kansas City Wizards. He struggled to be given playing time behind Josh Wolff, Davy Arnaud and Matt Taylor, and he had to undergo two sports hernia surgeries and finished the season with only 162 minutes from six games.^[1] During his short career in the MLS, Detter was a US Open Cup Champion and an MLS CUP 2004 runner-up.

References