Art Napolitano (born January 7, 1956) is a retired American
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player who played professionally in the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
,
American Soccer League and
Major Indoor Soccer League.
Raised in
Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Hamilton Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, the state's capital, which is located to the township's west. The township is within the New York metropolitan area as defined ...
, Napolitano graduated in 1974 from
Steinert High School
Steinert High School (also formally known as Hamilton High School East) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of three secondary high schools that are part of the Hamilton Towns ...
, where he was part of two state champion soccer teams.
Napolitano attended
Hartwick College
Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the Seminary moved to expand into a ...
where he played on the men's soccer team from 1974 to 1977. His senior season, the Hawks won the
NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship
The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate College soccer, soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the NCAA Division I, ...
with Napolitano scoring one of the goals of the game.Steve long scored the winning goal. He turned professional in 1978 with the
Houston Hurricane
The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red.
History
The team was the last of six expansion t ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to:
*North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league
*North American Soccer League (2011–2017)
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...
. That fall, he moved to the
Pittsburgh Spirit of the
Major Indoor Soccer League. He spent two seasons in Pittsburgh. In the summer of 1980, he played for the
Pennsylvania Stoners
The Pennsylvania Stoners were an American soccer team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007, the team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, ...
of the
American Soccer League.
He then returned to the indoor game, this time with the
Hartford Hellions
The Hartford Hellions were a soccer team based out of Hartford, Connecticut that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played from 1979 to 1981. The Hellions played their first season in the New Haven Coliseum before moving to the remo ...
before finishing his career with the
Philadelphia Fever.
References
External links
NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napolitano, Art
1956 births
American men's soccer players
American Soccer League (1933–1983) players
Hartford Hellions players
Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players
Houston Hurricane players
Living people
Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Pennsylvania Stoners players
People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey
Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players
Pittsburgh Spirit players
Soccer players from Mercer County, New Jersey
Steinert High School alumni
Men's association football forwards
Men's association football defenders