Billy Gazonas is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who won the 1977 Hermann Trophy as the top collegiate soccer player of the year. He played four seasons in the North American Soccer League and several in Major Indoor Soccer League.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | June 8, 1956 | ||
| Place of birth | Trenton, New Jersey, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1977 | Hartwick College | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1978–1980 | Tulsa Roughnecks | 57 | (4) |
| 1979–1980 | Tulsa Roughnecks (indoor) | 12 | (8) |
| 1981 | Calgary Boomers | 11 | (0) |
| 1981–1982 | New York Arrows (indoor) | 37 | (16) |
| 1982–1984 | Kansas City Comets (indoor) | 54 | (9) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1984– | Kansas City Comets (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Player
editYouth
editGazonas played soccer on the boys' team at St. Anthony High School in Trenton, New Jersey, and graduated from the school in 1973. In 1999, he was named by The Star-Ledger as one of the top ten New Jersey high school soccer players of the 1970s.[1]
He entered Hartwick College that fall where he played on the men's soccer team. Hartwick had a dominant team during Gazonas four years at the school. His freshman year, Hartwick lost to Howard in the NCAA post-season tournament semifinals. In 1976, Hartwick made it to the semifinals before losing to Indiana. However, his senior year, Hartwick made it to the championship game where it defeated the University of San Francisco 2–1 to take the NCAA title. Gazones was team captain. That year, Gazonas was named as a first team All American and won the Hermann Trophy as the best collegiate player of the year. This gave Hartwick its second consecutive Hermann Trophy winner as Glenn Myernick had won it the year prior. Hartwick University inducted Gazonas into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.[2]
Professional
editThe Tulsa Roughnecks of the North American Soccer League selected Gazonas with the first pick in the 1977 NASL college draft. He played three seasons as a creative midfielder for the Roughnecks. After the 1980 season, Gazonas moved to the Calgary Boomers for its one season in the NASL. By the end of the 1981 season, the NASL was beginning to contract and Gazonas, who had played in the NASL indoor seasons, jumped to the New York Arrows of Major Indoor Soccer League. That year the Arrows won the MISL championship. Later played with the Kansas City Comets.
Coach
editIn December 1985, Gazonas became an assistant coach with the Kansas City Comets of [3]
References
edit- ^ Jandoli, Ron (November 7, 1999). "The Century's Best -- Boys Soccer: Top 10 Players of each decade". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on January 10, 2003.
- ^ "1995 Inductees". Hartwick. June 13, 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010.
- ^ "Assistant Coach Signed by MISL's K.C." The Seattle Times. September 29, 1985.
External links
edit- NASL stats
- "Sport: Here Come the Americans". Time. May 1, 1978.