USL News Release
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced the 2007 inductees for the USL Hall of Fame to be honored at the Annual General Meeting during the Hall of Fame and League Awards Dinner November 18 at the Hyatt Regency Tampa. Charlotte’s Mark Steffens, Long Island’s Giovanni Savarese and Richmond’s Rob Ukrop will be inducted along with six 10+ Clubs.
Charlotte Eagles Head Coach Mark Steffens will be the first person inducted as a Coach into the USL Hall of Fame since Bret Hall in 2004. He is the seventh in the six-year history of the Hall to receive the honor.
One of the most successful coaches in USL Second Division history, Steffens has guided the Eagles to five championship games, including their last four seasons in USL-2. He has captured two championships and posted an 11-year overall regular season record of 124-80-30 that includes three seasons in the USL First Division and a playoff mark of 18-9-2. He was honored as the USL Second Division Coach of the Year in 2004 after leading his club to a 14-4-2 season.
Steffens began his tenure with the club in 1997, helping guide the team back to the championship game for a second straight year in his debut season. They would return to the championship game in 2000, finally raising the cup for the first time. The Eagles then played three seasons in USL-1 before returning to prominence in USL-2. They came up short in penalties in 2004, but claimed their second championship in 2005.
“Mark Steffens is the epitome of a classy and effective coach,” said Director of Pro League Operations Steven Thompson. “In addition to being one of the most successful coaches in the league, he continually puts a team on the field that plays in the spirit of the game, making him one of the most respected coaches throughout USL-2, if not the entire USL system.”
The 1995 season was a special one in United Soccer Leagues history, and it is perhaps fitting that stars Giovanni Savarese and Rob Ukrop are inducted into the USL Hall of Fame in the same class. Like Steffens, Savarese received the 70 percent of votes needed for induction from previous Hall of Fame inductees. Ukrop was chosen as the President’s Selection, established last year, by USL founder Francisco Marcos.
“These two men are true representatives of what USL is and why we established the Hall of Fame,” said Marcos. “Not only was 1995 a special year because of their accomplishments as individuals and with their teams, but they went on to have successful careers and have continued to give back to their soccer communities beyond their playing days. We take great pride in having built a family at USL where players like these two gentlemen feel compelled to give back to the next generation of potential stars.”
Arguably the only iconic player in the history of the MetroStars (now New York Red Bulls), Savarese initially became a star in the metropolis while leading the Long Island Rough Riders to the 1995 USL Second Division championship with a last-second goal. He guided the club to a 19-1 record in his second season with the team, scoring 23 goals and 11 assists after a four goal, two assist campaign in 1994. His efforts in 1995 helped him earn the first-ever Most Valuable Player honor in USL professional soccer history.
He went on to play three seasons with the MetroStars, registering at least 13 goals a season for a total of 41 goals and 12 assists in 85 regular season games. In 1999 he played for the New England Revolution (10 goals, 2 assists in 27 games) and finished his MLS career with San Jose in 2000, playing just four games.
Savarese returned to the Rough Riders in 2004, registering five goals and an assist in 10 games before retiring as a player.
He also played a key role in the development of the successful Red Bulls youth program which plays in the USL Super Y-League and has been a consultant with the Brooklyn Knights of the Premier Development League.
Mr. Richmond Kicker, Rob Ukrop was an original with the team, and is the Kickers' current youth club president. Ukrop, whose father is a part-owner of the club, still ranks as the all-time leader in club history in goals and points and is third in assists.
In 1995, Ukrop helped lead the team to the double, winning the US Open Cup and Premier League (now PDL) titles. He scored an amazing 17 goals and six assists in all competitions and was honored as the league’s MVP in 1995.
He went on to lead the team to the 1996 USL-2 Final and the 2002 USL-1 Final. He played 11 seasons with the club, missing only the 1994 campaign. Ukrop finished his career in 2004, the club’s last in USL-1, with 35 goals and 18 assists in 164 regular season games in his eight years of play in USL-1. Ukrop also spent part of the 1996 season with the New England Revolution, playing in nine games. He began his USL career with the Raleigh Flyers in 1994.
Actively involved in the club’s youth program, Ukrop will also be at the USL SoccerFest coaching the U13 Girls Kickers team after leading them to the South Atlantic Group B Championship with a mark of 9-2-2.
Being honored as 10+ Clubs in the USL Hall of Fame will be the Bradenton Academics, Indiana Invaders, Kansas City Brass, Northern Virginia Royals, Vermont Voltage and Western Mass Pioneers. The six clubs were all founded in 1998. In the first year of voting for the Builder category, no individuals reached the 70 percent threshold for induction.
Bradenton Academics
Founded by the famed Bollettieri Academy now operated by IMG, the Academics have been a consistently successful club in the Premier Development League with only one sub-.500 campaign in 10 years in the league, reaching the playoffs four times. Playing at IMG Academy, the home of the US Soccer U-17 Residency Program, the Academics players are exposed to some of the best talent in the country and players such as Michael Parkhurst and Heath Pearce. The club also founded a W-League team, the Athletics, in 2004.
Indiana Invaders
Despite only two playoff appearances in the 10-year history of the team, the Invaders have seemingly been on the cusp of glory every year only to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the US Open Cup or the postseason in what is arguably one of the most competitive conferences in the Premier Development League. The Invaders posted three straight 11-5-0 campaigns from 2003-05 during their most successful stretch. The club founded a youth program several years ago and have been members in the Super Y-League since the 2004 season.
Kansas City Brass
The Brass are coming off what was arguably their best campaign in team history this season at 8-3-5, but unfortunately found themselves one point shy of their first postseason berth since the team’s inception in 1998.
Northern Virginia Royals
The Royals were founded as a member of the USL Second Division and played eight professional seasons, working closely with nearby DC United in player development. Focused on player development, the club has worked closely with the independent Northern Virginia Majestics W-League team in developing the sport in the community and moved the Royals to the PDL in 2006. The Royals were also one of the original 16 members of the Super Y-League in 1999, making them one of the earliest USL clubs to make a commitment to player development at the youth level.
Vermont Voltage
Originally founded as a USL Second Division club, the inaugural 3-15 record prompted a move to the Premier Development League, where the team became a huge success on and off the field in 2000 with their first of three trips to the playoffs over a four-year span. The rise of the club was due, in part, to the new ownership of player Bo Vuckovic, who has also gone on to expand the Voltage to include a W-League team, founded in 2005, and a youth program.
Western Mass Pioneers
Well-rooted in the Portuguese community of Ludlow, the Pioneers have called the historic Lusitano Stadium home for the USL Second Division since their inception in 1998. The team was a success from the start, making the playoffs in the first year and capturing the USL-2 title a year later with an 18-4 record through the season and playoffs. The club returned to the championship game in 2005, their fifth trip to the postseason, and fell short of a second title in penalty kicks. The club launched a W-League team in 2004.
