Three former Houston Dynamo on final selection ballot for National Soccer HOF

The final selection ballot for the National Soccer Hall of Fame was announced at halftime of the U.S. Open Cup championship match. Three former Houston Dynamo players including Brian Ching, DaMarcus Beasley, and Dwayne Rosario along with Keith Johnson their Director of Adaptive/Special Needs program were named finalists. Below are the soccer bios of each.

Twenty players are on the ballot with 13 of them returnees from last years ballot. Five first time considerees are on the ballot in 2023. Fourteen more combined are on the Veteran's (10) and Builders (4) ballot. The Voting Committee will select a maximum of six new inductees. The inductees will include up to three from the Players, two from the Veterans and one from the Builder ballot. Brian Ching is in his final year on the Player's list before moving to the Veterans if not selected. Former Dynamo center back Bobby Boswell did not receive any votes and were removed from the Players list. Once they have passed the 10 year retirement mark , they will be reinstated to the Veteran's list.

Brian Ching
Eligibility Criteria: 45 appearances for U.S. Men’s National Team; AND 12 MLS Seasons with 1 MLS
Best XI Selection

A forward who scored 90 goals in MLS and 11 for the U.S. national team. Ching played 12 MLS seasons between 2001 and 2013 for Los Angeles, San Jose and Houston, winning an MLS title in 2006 with Houston and being chosen to the MLS Best XI in 2004. His MLS goals included 82 in regular-season play and eight in the playoffs. He played 45 full internationals for the United States between 2003 and 2010, including 17 World Cup qualifiers in 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009, and was a member of the United States team at the 2006 World Cup. His achievements for the United States also included winning a CONCACAF Gold Cup championship in 2007. Ching also played one season in the A-League and was a runner-up for the MLS title in 2011 and 2012 with Houston. He played 229 MLS regular-season games and 26 MLS playoff games

DaMarcus Beasley
Eligibility: 11 seasons in Major League Soccer, with one Best XI selection, and 126 games for the U.S.
Men’s National Team.

A defender and midfielder whose wide-ranging career included becoming the first American man to play in four World Cups. Beasley played 126 full internationals for the United States between 2001 and 2017, after breaking into the national team when he was 18. Those caps included 31 World Cup qualifiers in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2017, and 11 games at the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He was a midfielder early in his national team career, and extended that career by playing left back in later years. In addition to his World Cup play, his national team appearances included four games at the 2003 and 2009 Confederations Cups and 20 games in five different CONCACAF Gold Cups. He was captain of the team that won the 2013 Gold Cup, and also played in victorious Gold Cup finals in 2005 and 2007. He twice scored two goals in a game in the Gold Cup. Perhaps his most memorable moments for the United States were his long lead pass to Clint Dempsey to produce a goal against Ghana at the 2006 World Cup and his crucial goal against Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in 2005. He scored what could have been the winning goal against eventual champion Italy in the first round of the 2006 World Cup had it not been called back for an offside violation by another player. Beasley played 11 seasons in MLS between 2000 and 2019 for Chicago and Houston. He won U.S. Open Cup titles in 2000 and 2003 with Chicago, and reached the MLS final in those same two years. He was named to the MLS Best XI in 2003. In between his two stints in MLS, he played two seasons in the Dutch first division, one season in the English Premier League, three seasons in the Scottish Premier League, one season in the German first division and three seasons in the Mexican first division. He won a Scottish Premier League championship with Rangers in 2009, making him one of the first Americans to win a national title in Europe.

Dwayne DeRosario
Eligibility: 14 seasons in Major League Soccer, with six Best XI selections.
A midfielder who won four MLS championships and was chosen to the MLS Best XI six times.

DeRosario, considered one of Canada’s greatest players ever, played 14 seasons in MLS, between 2001 and 2014, for San Jose, Houston, Toronto, New York and D.C. He won MLS titles in 2001 and 2003 with San Jose, and in 2006 and 2007 with Houston. In two of those four years, he scored the winning goal in the final. He also won a U.S. Open Cup title in 2013 with D.C. United. DeRosario was chosen to the MLS
Best XI in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011. In one of those seasons, 2011, he also was the MLS most valuable player and the MLS scoring leader. During his MLS career, he played 343 regular-season games and 24 playoff games, scoring 109 goals in those games. DeRosario played for the Canadian national team from 1998 to 2015, including games in the qualifying rounds of four different World Cups.

LAST PLAYED IN 2016 (2026 Election is final year of Player Ballot Eligibility)
Keith Johnson
Eligibility: 101 games for the U.S. National 7-a-Side Paralympic Team.
A goalkeeper for the United States at the 2004 and 2012 Paralympics. Born with cerebral palsy, Johnson joined the U.S. team in 2003 and earned 101 caps during his 14-year career. Famous among experienced players for his hard-nosed play in practice and competition, he was a member of the bronze-medal winning team at the 2012 World Cup in Manchester, England.

The two players, one veteran, and one builder who receive the most votes and are named on at least 50% of the ballots are automatic honorees. A third player and one veteran may be added to the list if they are named on 75% of the ballots. The induction of the future Hall of Famers will take place on Saturday, May6, 2023.

For a complete list of everyone under consideration and their bios, visit nationalsoccerhof.com.