Luke Vercollone (born April 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder for Colorado Springs Switchbacks in the United Soccer League.
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | April 4, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Norwalk, Connecticut, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2003 | Seton Hall Pirates | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2002–2003 | Cape Cod Crusaders | 23 | (9) |
| 2004–2005 | New England Revolution | 5 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Charleston Battery | 66 | (3) |
| 2008–2014 | Richmond Kickers | 157 | (14) |
| 2015–2018 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 104 | (28) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editYouth and College
editBorn in Norwalk, Connecticut, Vercollone grew up in Pembroke, Massachusetts and attended Silver Lake Regional High School where he was a letterman in soccer and wrestling, and won All-Conference honors and All-State honors. He played college soccer for Seton Hall, where he was named to the All-Big East first team his senior season, finishing his career at with 11 goals and 24 assists.
Vercollone also played for the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USL Premier Development League, helping the team to consecutive PDL Championship titles in 2002 and 2003.
Professional
editVercollone was drafted 42nd overall in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft by the Columbus Crew, but was not offered a contract by the team. Instead, he was picked up by New England Revolution and signed to a developmental contract,[1] but saw practically no time on the field his rookie season, playing a total of 2 minutes in two games. The Revolution released him to waivers following the 2005 season in which he played a total of 35 minutes in 3 games.
On April 10, 2006, Vercollone joined the Charleston Battery for the 2006 USL First Division season.[2] In two seasons with the Battery, he made 66 appearances, scoring three goals and six assists for 12 points overall. In January 2008 Vercollone signed for the Richmond Kickers of the USL Second Division, and was part of the Kickers team which won the 2009 USL Second Division championship. On January 14, 2010, Richmond announced the re-signing of Vercollone for the 2010 season.[3]
Vercollone re-signed for a fourth season with Richmond on November 10, 2010.[4] The club signed him for the 2012 season on September 22, 2011.[5]
Colorado Springs Switchbacks
editOn October 19, 2014, it was announced that Vercollone was the first ever signing for new United Soccer League club Colorado Springs Switchbacks.[6] Vercollone was also announced as the team's first captain.
Vercollone ended his first season with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks with 14 goals and 9 assists.[7]
On October 26, 2015, it was announced that Vercollone was in the United Soccer League All-League Team. [8]
On December 4, 2015, it was announced that Vercollone would return to United Soccer League club Colorado Springs Switchbacks for the 2016 United Soccer League season.[7] On March 6, 2016, Vercollone scored 2 goals in a 3–1 victory against Colorado State-Pueblo University in a preseason game.[9] On March 12, 2016, Vercollone scored in a 3–2 preseason victory against UCCS.[10] On March 15, 2016, Vercollone scored in a 4–0 preseason win against Ventura County Fusion.[11]
On October 15, 2018, following the conclusion of his fourth season with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, Vercollone announced his retirement from professional soccer in an exclusive interview with Last Word on Soccer's Mark Turner. [12] Vercollone concluded his career in Colorado Springs being the first player to represent the club more than 100 times, and leading all-time assists and goal scoring (28 goals, all competitions).[13]
Honors
editCape Cod Crusaders
Richmond Kickers
Colorado Springs Switchbacks
- United Soccer League First Team All-League: 2015
References
edit- ^ "Soccer gave his life a kick start – The Boston Globe".
- ^ Charleston signs four Archived 2007-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Richmond re-signs four". USLsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "Kickers Welcome Back Vercollone – OurSports Central". 10 November 2010.
- ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
- ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2014-10-22. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
- ^ a b "Switchbacks Captain Vercollone Returns for 2016 - United Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
- ^ "USL All-League Teams Announced - United Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
- ^ "Early Goals Power Switchbacks to Victory - United Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
- ^ "Gonzalez Leads Switchbacks to Preseason Win". USLSoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- ^ "Switchbacks Take Impressive Win against Fusion". USLSoccer.com. Retrieved 2016-03-23.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Luke Vercollone talks to Last Word on Soccer - Colorado Springs, retrieved 2018-10-16
- ^ "USA - L. Vercollone - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2018-10-16.