Damian Troy Silvera (July 27, 1974 – June 14, 2010) was an 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 was a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic soccer team. He also spent a season and a half in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Youth and college

Silvera grew up in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

and attended

Shenendehowa High School Shenendehowa High School (often shortened to Shen High School) is a public high school in Clifton Park, New York, United States. It is part of the Shenendehowa Central School District. Students are separated between two buildings (East and West) ...

Clifton Park, New York Clifton Park is a suburban town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 2020 population was 38,029. The name is derived from an early land patent.Bits and Pieces of Saratoga County History by ...

where he played on the boys soccer team. In his junior and senior years, he was named as an All-American high school player. He won two NY state championships and a national championship while at Shenendehowa. After graduating from high school, Silvera attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

where he played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

on the men's soccer team from 1992-1995. He was part of three

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

teams as the Cavaliers took the title in 1992, 1993 and 1994. In 1994, he was the NCAA tournament Offensive MVP and a second team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. He graduated as Virginia’s all-time leader in assists.

National team

While in college, he was called up to the U.S. B-Team. In the early 1990s, the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

(USSF) signed players to national team contracts. These players formed the A-Team. Fringe or up and coming players were part of the B-Team, those members of the national team pool not under contract. The B-Team also served as the core for the junior national teams. In 1994, Silvera began playing with the B-Team. This led to selection for the U.S. team at the

1995 Pan American Games File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

Major League Soccer

began preparations for its first season, it signed known players to contracts. From this pool of players, the league allocated four to each team in order to ensure an initial equitable distribution of talent. On February 5, 1996, MLS allocated Silvera to the MetroStars.

Eddie Firmani Edwin Ronald "Eddie" Firmani (; born 7 August 1933) is a former professional football player and manager. A former forward, he spent most of his career in Italy and England. Born in South Africa, he represented the Italy national team internati ...

, coach of the MetroStars had requested Silvera based on his standout performances with the University of Virginia and the U.S. B-Teams. Firmani saw Silvera growing into the role of creative midfielder with the MetroStars. During the middle of the 1996 season, Silvera left the MetroStars to join the U.S. team for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. The U.S. went a disappointing 1-1-1 and failed to make the second round. Silvera then rejoined the MetroStars, where it was becoming apparent that he would not become a creative force on the team. Silvera seemed to have difficulty adapting to the professional game and the burden of pre-season expectations wore on him. By the end of the season, the MetroStars coaching staff had moved him to defensive midfielder, but he never adapted to this role either. On February 3, 1997, the MetroStars traded Silvera to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

for

Mike Sorber Michael Steven Sorber (born May 14, 1971) is an American soccer coach and former player. He currently serves as assistant head coach for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. He played professionally in the United States and Mexico and was a mem ...

and the first round pick in the

1998 MLS College Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. Format On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer held ...

. However, he appeared in only three games, one as a starter and the Wizards released him. His time in MLS finished, he briefly joined the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

of the A-league before retiring from playing. There were later rumors that he had issues with depression.
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Coaching

In 2001-2002, Silvera coached Soccer Alley, a team in the Second Division of the Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League.

Honors

Individual * MLS All-Star Game, MLS All-Star:

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

All-Star Game flashback, 1997
at MLSsoccer.com

References

External links

Story of Silvera at the MetroStars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silvera, Damian 1974 births 2010 deaths People from Flushing, Queens American people of Jamaican descent Soccer players from Queens, New York African-American men's soccer players American men's soccer players University of Virginia alumni Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players Major League Soccer players New York Red Bulls players Sporting Kansas City players Olympic soccer players for the United States Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games competitors for the United States Footballers at the 1995 Pan American Games Major League Soccer All-Stars United States men's under-23 international soccer players Men's association football midfielders Sportspeople from Huntington, New York Soccer players from Suffolk County, New York