Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-10 (1.78 m)
Weight: 165 (75 kg)
Born: May 14, 1971, in St. Louis, Missouri
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
College: St. Louis University
Club: NY/NJ MetroStars (MLS)
National Team: A reliable midfielder known for his distribution and defensive skills...A 1994 World Cup veteran, he played a vital role in the USA's success in 1995...Cracked the top 20 all-time appearance list after playing in nine of the 14 games in 1995 ... Helped the USA win U.S. Cup '95 and advance to the semifinals of Copa America ... Played every minute of every game as a central midfielder during the '94 World Cup except for 15 minutes against Romania, where he was replaced by Roy Wegerle ... He scored his first goal for the USA Oct. 3, 1992 against Canada ...
Professional...Signed with UNAM of the Mexican first division in January 1995, and won every game with his club except his first and last, helping the team reach the playoffs in 1995 ... Even boasting WC'94 stars Jorge Campos and Claudio Suarez, the Pumas waited for 18 years and the arrival of Sorber before making it back into the playoff for the Mexican title...Mike was the only American player ever to be voted by the Mexican fans to the International players all star team.(while Marcello Balboa and Tab Ramos were playing there)...Sorber was the Marquee Player allotted to Kansas City and traded at the request of the new coach Carlos Alberto Perriera to New York/New Jersey MetroStars in the biggest MLS trade to date at the start of the 1997 season.
College: Finished his senior season at St. Louis University in 1992 where he was a candidate for various collegiate player of the year awards and received several post-season All-American and All-Conference accolades ... Finished his junior year in 1991 as a member of the second team All-Midwest squad ... Tied school record at St. Louis for assists in a season with 17 and is SLU's second leading scorer, finishing with 25 points ... Scored four goals in 1991 for SLU, three of them game winners ...
High School: Attended Aquinas Mercy High School where he was named Suburban Journal Player of the Year in '88 and lettered four years ...
Personal: An only child, Mike has always been involved in helping youth soccer. Although never having the opportunity to play for his dad, Pete Sorber (the winningest coach in Jr. College in America, 10 national championships) Mike, Pete and (mom) Marlene talk and evaluate every game and team Mike plays with and against. He's engaged to his high school sweetheart, soccer star Mindy Menks, who is a Civil Eingeneer in St. Louis. Mike is also a great lover of every kind of water sport, golf and tennis and admittedly addicted to cherry pies and Mexican food.
Mike's shot has been clocked at 85 mph and is considered one of the strongest in US Soccer history, which earned him the nickname 'laser' during the WC. He is called "Sorbs" by his close friends and "Skooter" by his dad's friends. The press refers to him as Mr. Invisible or the Ghost -- he is so smooth he all but disappears when he is running the game from his center midfield position. His father, Pete, is coach of the perennial junior college soccer power Florissant Valley Community College.
First Appearance: Jan. 25, 1992, vs. C.I.S.
First Goal: Sept. 3, 1992, vs. Canada
