For the first time in his professional career, 29-year-old Brian Ching will get the opportunity to play in front of his hometown friends and family, when the Houston Dynamo plays Sydney FC in the Pan Pacific Championship semifinal in Honolulu tomorrow night. "I'm extremely excited," Ching told the Honolulu Star Bulletin. "It's always been a dream of mine to play back in Hawaii ever since I've become a professional. I have a lot of friends and family who have never seen me play live, and are really excited about the tournament. To come back and play pretty meaningful competition, I think it's going to be exciting."

In fact, the last time Ching played a competitive match in Hawaii was his senior year at the Kamehameha School in Oahu in 1996. After that, Ching moved to the mainland where he played college ball at Gonzaga, before landing a spot on the San Jose Earthquakes in 2003. Two years later, the Earthquakes moved to Houston, where Ching won back-to-back MLS titles in 2006 and 2007.

Because of his native connection, Ching has emerged as a kind of unofficial spokesperson for the Pan-Pacific Championship. "This tournament is a great way for the MLS to spread its awareness to Hawaii, Australia and Japan," the Houston forward tells the Press Enterprise. "The potential of this tournament is huge. If it can evolve into a tournament where the winners from each league around the Pacific compete for the champions it will get even better."

 

 

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