Luke Vercollone
{{Short description|American soccer player (born 1982)}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Luke Vercollone
| image = Luke, photo.jpg
| full_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1982|4|4}}
| birth_place = Norwalk, Connecticut, United States
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}
| position = Midfielder
| currentclub =
| collegeyears1 = 2000–2003
| college1 = Seton Hall Pirates
| years1 = 2002–2003
| clubs1 = Cape Cod Crusaders
| caps1 = 23
| goals1 = 9
| years2 = 2004–2005
| clubs2 = New England Revolution
| caps2 = 5
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2006–2007
| clubs3 = Charleston Battery
| caps3 = 66
| goals3 = 3
| years4 = 2008–2014
| clubs4 = Richmond Kickers
| caps4 = 157
| goals4 = 14
| years5 = 2015–2018
| clubs5 = Colorado Springs Switchbacks
| caps5 = 104
| goals5 = 28
| medaltemplates =
}}
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.
Career
=Youth and College=
Born 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=
Vercollone 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,{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/08/05/soccer_gave_his_life_a_kick_start/|title=Soccer gave his life a kick start – The Boston Globe|publisher=}} 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.[http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/transactions/128279.html Charleston signs four] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613121418/http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/transactions/128279.html |date=2007-06-13 }} 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.{{cite web|url=http://usl2.uslsoccer.com/home/393280.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120715081040/http://usl2.uslsoccer.com/home/393280.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-15 |title=Richmond re-signs four |accessdate=2010-02-05 |work=USLsoccer.com }}
Vercollone re-signed for a fourth season with Richmond on November 10, 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4113910|title=Kickers Welcome Back Vercollone – OurSports Central|date=10 November 2010|publisher=}} The club signed him for the 2012 season on September 22, 2011.{{cite web |url=http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/565676.html |title=United Soccer Leagues (USL) |accessdate=2013-04-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527224929/http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/565676.html |archivedate=2012-05-27 }}
=Colorado Springs Switchbacks=
On October 19, 2014, it was announced that Vercollone was the first ever signing for new United Soccer League club Colorado Springs Switchbacks.{{cite web |url=http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/842929.html |title=United Soccer Leagues (USL) |accessdate=2014-10-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022003226/http://uslpro.uslsoccer.com/home/842929.html |archivedate=2014-10-22 }} 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210560096&SPID=157017&SPSID=917152 |title=Switchbacks Captain Vercollone Returns for 2016 - United Soccer League |accessdate=2016-02-24 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302092227/http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210560096&SPID=157017&SPSID=917152 |archivedate=2016-03-02 }}
On October 26, 2015, it was announced that Vercollone was in the United Soccer League All-League Team.
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.
On March 6, 2016, Vercollone scored 2 goals in a 3–1 victory against Colorado State-Pueblo University in a preseason game.{{cite web |url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210777187 |title=Early Goals Power Switchbacks to Victory - United Soccer League |accessdate=2016-03-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308070505/http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210777187 |archivedate=2016-03-08 }} On March 12, 2016, Vercollone scored in a 3–2 preseason victory against UCCS.{{Cite web|url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210797528 |title=Gonzalez Leads Switchbacks to Preseason Win |website=USLSoccer.com |access-date=2016-03-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313124417/http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32800&ATCLID=210797528 |archivedate=2016-03-13 }} On March 15, 2016, Vercollone scored in a 4–0 preseason win against Ventura County Fusion.{{Cite web|url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=917152&SPID=157017&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210808188&DB_OEM_ID=32800|title=Switchbacks Take Impressive Win against Fusion|website=USLSoccer.com|access-date=2016-03-23}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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 [https://soundcloud.com/user-852311858/luke-vercollone-talks-to-last-word-on-soccer-colorado-springs exclusive interview with Last Word on Soccer's Mark Turner.] {{Citation|title=Luke Vercollone talks to Last Word on Soccer - Colorado Springs|url=https://soundcloud.com/user-852311858/luke-vercollone-talks-to-last-word-on-soccer-colorado-springs|language=en|access-date=2018-10-16}} 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).{{Cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/luke-vercollone/77626/|title=USA - L. Vercollone - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway|website=us.soccerway.com|language=en|access-date=2018-10-16}}
Honors
Cape Cod Crusaders
Richmond Kickers
Colorado Springs Switchbacks
- United Soccer League First Team All-League: 2015
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110610204227/http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/13380711/22375-13380778/115210.html Richmond Kickers bio]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927201706/http://charlestonbattery.com/stats_player.asp?pid=1650 Charleston Battery bio]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vercollone, Luke}}
Category:People from Pembroke, Massachusetts
Category:Sportspeople from Norwalk, Connecticut
Category:Soccer players from Fairfield County, Connecticut
Category:Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts
Category:American men's soccer players
Category:Soccer players from Massachusetts
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Major League Soccer players
Category:USL First Division players
Category:USL Second Division players
Category:USL League Two players
Category:USL Championship players
Category:New England Revolution players
Category:Cape Cod Crusaders players
Category:Charleston Battery players
Category:Richmond Kickers players
Category:Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players