Cris Vaccaro (born October 3, 1958) is an American retired

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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League,

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

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 The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...

club

Philadelphia Fury The Philadelphia Fury was an American soccer team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that last competed in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). The club formerly competed in the American Soccer League and is currently owned by ...

Player

Youth

Vaccaro's father was born in Argentina and his mother in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

.''Sting may not retain Vaccaro'' Chicago Sun-Times - Wednesday, March 16, 1988 He was born and grew up in New Jersey where he graduated from

Camden Catholic High School Camden Catholic High School (CCHS) is a four-year comprehensive private coeducational Roman Catholic high school, located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area in Cherry Hill, Camden County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school operates ...

in 1976. He then attended

Mercer County Community College Mercer County Community College (MCCC) is a public, community college in Mercer County, New Jersey. More than 7,000 students enroll in one or more credit courses each year. Established in 1966, MCCC has an open-door admission policy. The West ...

from 1976 to 1978 and the

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sc ...

from 1978 to 1980.

Professional

In 1980, the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

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 ...

signed Vaccaro, but he saw no first team games. In 1981, he signed with the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

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 Alan Mayer (born July 3, 1952) 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. In 2019 ...

was injured and Vaccaro signed with the Rockets. 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 The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

in exchange for

Victor Nogueira Victor Nogueira (born July 17, 1959 in Mozambique) 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 Maj ...

. He was the Sting's starting goalkeeper for most of the season, but Vaccaro became a free agent and signed with the

Wichita Wings 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.

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. He spent two seasons in Tacoma, but was released in July 1990 as part of cost reduction effort. Vaccaro rejoined the Stars in October and played the 1990-1991 season with them. In 1991, he returned to outdoor soccer with the

Penn-Jersey Spirit Penn-Jersey Spirit played in the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 and 1991. The team's home stadium was Lions Stadium in Ewing, New Jersey, on the campus of Trenton State College (today known as the College of New Jersey). The team ...

of the

. In the fall of 1991, he signed as a free agent with the

. In December 1991, he scored his league record seventh career goal. However, both the Blast and MISL collapsed in 1992. Vaccaro then joined the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

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.

Coach

In 1994, Vaccaro became an assistant coach with the

. From 1995 to 2000, he coached the

Puerto Rico national football team The Puerto Rico national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international football, and are governed by the Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol (FPF). The team's nickname is ''El Huracá ...

. He was the head coach of

Gloucester College Gloucester College, Oxford, was a Benedictine institution of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England, from the late 13th century until the Dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. It was never a typical college of the Universit ...

in 1999 and 2000. In 2000,

Stockton University Stockton University is a public university in Galloway Township, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. It is named for Richard Stockton, one of the New Jersey signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence ...

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. In 2019, he became head coach and technical director of

in the

References

External links

Vaccaro's Soccer BioBaltimore Blast All Time Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaccaro, Cris 1956 births American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Baltimore Bees men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Baltimore Spirit players Camden Catholic High School alumni Chicago Sting (MISL) players Cleveland Force (original MISL) players Living people Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players MCCC Vikings men's soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) coaches National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players New Jersey Rockets (MISL) players Penn-Jersey Spirit players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Tacoma Stars players Wichita Wings (MISL) players Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey Soccer players from New Jersey Men's association football goalkeepers National Independent Soccer Association coaches