Cris Vaccaro

Last updated
Cris Vaccaro
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-10-03) October 3, 1958 (age 65)
Place of birth Camden, New Jersey, United States
Position(s) Goalkeeper
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
MCCC Vikings
Baltimore Bees
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980 Seattle Sounders 0 (0)
1980–1981 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 7 (0)
1981–1982 New Jersey Rockets (indoor) 19 (0)
1982–1987 Cleveland Force (indoor) 149 (2)
1987–1988 Chicago Sting (indoor) 49 (0)
1988–1989 Wichita Wings (indoor) 40 (0)
1989–1991 Tacoma Stars (indoor) 118 (0)
1991 Penn-Jersey Spirit 11 (0)
1991–1992 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 36 (1)
1992–1997 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 132 (0)
International career
1988–1995 Puerto Rico
Managerial career
1994–1997 Baltimore Spirit (assistant)
1995–2000 Puerto Rico
1999–2000 Gloucester College
2000–2016 Stockton Osprey (assistant)
2019 Philadelphia Fury
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Cris Vaccaro (born October 3, 1958) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League, as well as internationally for the Puerto Rico national team. He was the head coach and technical director of National Independent Soccer Association club Philadelphia Fury.

Contents

Player

Youth

Vaccaro's father was born in Argentina and his mother in Puerto Rico. [1] He was born and grew up in New Jersey where he graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 1976. He then attended Mercer County Community College from 1976 to 1978 and the University of Baltimore from 1978 to 1980.

Professional

In 1980, the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League signed Vaccaro, but he saw no first team games. In 1981, he signed with the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League and played seven games. The Blast released him at the end of the season. In October 1981, he had a trial with the Philadelphia Fever, but was not offered a contract. He then attended a trial with the New Jersey Rockets, but again failed to gain a contract. However, the team told him that they would call him if any of the Rocket's goalkeepers were hurt. Two weeks later, Alan Mayer was injured and Vaccaro signed with the Rockets. [2] At the end of the season, the Rockets traded Vaccaro to the Cleveland Force where he spent the next five seasons. On June 5, 1987, the Force sent Vaccaro to the Chicago Sting in exchange for Victor Nogueira. [3] He was the Sting's starting goalkeeper for most of the season, but Vaccaro became a free agent and signed with the Wichita Wings during the summer of 1988. In September 1989, Vaccaro signed with the Tacoma Stars. The Wings filed a grievance, but the Stars won the appeal and kept Vaccaro's contract. [4] He spent two seasons in Tacoma, but was released in July 1990 as part of cost reduction effort. [5] Vaccaro rejoined the Stars in October and played the 1990–1991 season with them. [6] [7] In 1991, he returned to outdoor soccer with the Penn-Jersey Spirit of the American Professional Soccer League. [8] In the fall of 1991, he signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Blast. In December 1991, he scored his league record seventh career goal. [9] However, both the Blast and MISL collapsed in 1992. Vaccaro then joined the Baltimore Spirit of the National Professional Soccer League. He played five seasons with the Spirit before retiring in 1997.

National team

Vaccaro's mother and father retired to Puerto Rico. When Vaccaro visited them in 1987, he discovered the island had a national team. After meeting with the team's head coach, Vaccaro was offered a position on the team. [1]

Coach

In 1994, Vaccaro became an assistant coach with the Baltimore Spirit. From 1995 to 2000, he coached the Puerto Rico national football team. He was the head coach of Gloucester College in 1999 and 2000. In 2000, Stockton University hired Vaccaro as an assistant coach with the women's soccer team and goalkeeper coach for both the men's and women's soccer teams. In the years of 2012 and 2013, he coaches teams in Vineland, New Jersey. Currently he coaches two teams, with his U-17 boys team named national champs in Colorado in 2013. [10] In 2019, he became head coach and technical director of Philadelphia Fury in the National Independent Soccer Association. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992)</span> Indoor soccer league in the United States

The Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wichita Wings</span> Soccer club

The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979. They played in the Kansas Coliseum, a venue that featured a 200-by-85-foot field and seating for 9,681 fans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Rigby</span> American soccer player (born 1951)

Bob Rigby is an American retired soccer player who played as a goalkeeper. He played twelve seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Western Soccer Alliance and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. Rigby was the color commentator with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Manning (soccer)</span> American soccer player

Scott Manning is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. He spent four seasons in the American Soccer League where he was the 1980 league leading goalkeeper. He also played thirteen seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League where he was the 1985 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave MacWilliams</span> American soccer player (born 1957)

Dave MacWilliams is a retired American soccer forward and head coach who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. He is also the former head coach of the Temple University men's soccer team.

Alan Mayer is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team.

Zoltán Tóth is a Hungarian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a coach. He played for Újpest FC in Budapest from 1975 to 1979 and once played for the Hungary national team in 1979.

Edward Radwanski is an American former soccer midfielder. He spent the five seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in the Continental Indoor Soccer League and seven in the USISL and its predecessor, the SISL. He also earned five caps with the U.S. national team in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Nogueira</span> Mozambique-born American soccer player

Victor Nogueira is a retired American soccer goalkeeper. Nogueira spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, but gained his greatest recognition in over twenty seasons in three indoor leagues, the Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League and the second Major Indoor Soccer League. He was also a member of the U.S. futsal team which took second place at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship, and he is the father of FC Kansas City and United States forward Casey Loyd. He was elected to the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame in 2011.

Keith Van Eron is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played one season in the American Soccer League and three in the North American Soccer League. He also played the first eleven seasons of Major Indoor Soccer League, winning the 1984 championship with the Baltimore Blast. He was the 1986 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Stankovic</span> Serbian-American soccer player

Mike Stankovic is a retired Serbian-American soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League.

Cliff Brown is a former American soccer goalkeeper who is the former head coach of the Newman University soccer team. Brown played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, National Professional Soccer League, Lone Star Soccer Alliance and USISL. He also coached professionally as well as collegiately.

Joe Papaleo is a retired American soccer goalkeeper who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He was the 1990 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year and the 1993 CISL Goalkeeper of the Year. He currently coaches the Christian Brothers Academy boys' soccer team and is the former coach of the Syracuse Silver Knights Academy team. In 2012, he became the Goalkeeper coach for the MISL team the Syracuse Silver Knights.

The 1991–92 Major Soccer League season was the 14th and final season in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers winning their tenth NASL or MISL title in 11 indoor seasons, and fifth MISL title in a row.

The 1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the eleventh in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers repeating as MISL champions. It was the Sockers' seventh indoor title in eight NASL and MISL seasons. The Sockers would win seventh games in both the semifinals and championship series.

The 1983–84 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the sixth in league history and ended with the Baltimore Blast winning their first MISL championship. The Blast would beat the St. Louis Steamers in the championship series, the third time in five seasons the Steamers would lose in the MISL championship round. This would be the first time the MISL finals would be a best-of-seven series, part of the league's expanded playoff format.

The 1985–86 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the eighth in league history and ended with the San Diego Sockers winning their third MISL title in four seasons over the Minnesota Strikers. It was the Sockers' fifth straight indoor title, as they had also won the North American Soccer League's indoor league in 1982 and 1984.

The 1987–88 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the tenth in league history and ended with the San Diego Sockers winning their sixth indoor title in seven years over the Cleveland Force.

The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the United States that played matches from fall 1978 to spring 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 Sting may not retain Vaccaro Chicago Sun-Times - Wednesday, March 16, 1988
  2. ↑ TWICE-REJECTED GOALIE FRUSTRATES FEVER, 5-3 Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA) - Sunday, November 29, 1981
  3. ↑ FORCE WHEELS, DEALS VACCARO, JAMES AND WARD Akron Beacon Journal (OH) - Friday, June 26, 1987
  4. ↑ ARBITRATOR RULES STARS GET TO KEEP VACCARO DUE TO WICHITA MIX-UP Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Tuesday, September 19, 1989
  5. ↑ Tacoma cuts Preki, 5 more to pare costs San Diego Union, The (CA) - Thursday, July 5, 1990
  6. ↑ STARS OPEN POST-PREKI ERA TONIGHT WITH PRESEASON GAME AGAINST S.D. Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Friday, October 12, 1990
  7. ↑ "The Year in American Soccer - 1991". Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  8. ↑ 1991 Penn-Jersey Spirit
  9. ↑ EX-WING VACCARO PUTS HIS ARM TO GOOD USE Wichita Eagle, The (KS) - Sunday, December 1, 1991
  10. ↑ Stockton State College coaches profiles
  11. ↑ "Philadelphia Fury Aim To Bring Blue Collar Soccer to the City of Brotherly Love". Midfield Press. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.