Locals Inducted into USL Hall of Fame

Two New England Teams, One Former Rev Highlight 2007 Class

Novemeber 1, 2007

TAMPA, FL – Two New England clubs and one former Revolution player were among the 2007 inductees into the USL Hall of Fame.

The Vermont Voltage and Western Mass. Pioneers were two of the six 10+ clubs, honored for 10 years in the United Soccer Leagues, that will be inducted along with Richmond Kicker and former Rev Rob Ukrop and two other players at the Hall of Fame and League Awards Dinner Nov. 18.

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.

Ukrop, who appeared in nine games with the Revolution in 1996, is joined by Charlotte’s Mark Steffens and Long Island’s Giovanni Savarese, both of whom received the 70 percent of votes needed for induction from previous inductees. Ukrop, however, was chosen as the President’s Selection, established last year, by USL founder Francisco Marcos.

Known as Mr. Richmond Kicker, Rob Ukrop was an original with the team, and is currently part-owner of the club. Ukrop 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.

In addition to serving as part-owner of the team, Ukrop is actively involved in the club’s youth program and will also be at the USL SoccerFest coaching the U13 Girls Kickers.

As for the teams, the Vermont Voltage, originally founded as a USL Second Division club, went 3-15 in their inaugural season, prompting 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.

The Western Mass. Pioneers, well-rooted in the Portuguese community of Ludlow, 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.