Francisco Sanfilippo (born September 8, 1981) is an American former

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 is currently an assistant coach for the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

Career

College

Sanfilippo was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. After graduating from University High School in 1999, he attended San José State University where he was a member of the men's soccer team from 1999 to 2003. In February 2003, the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

selected Sanfilippo in the 6th round (56th overall) of the

2003 MLS SuperDraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 program ...

. He did not sign with the Earthquakes, but remained in school to finish his degree in sociology.

Professional

Sanfilippo signed with

Syracuse Salty Dogs The Syracuse Salty Dogs (formally Syracuse Football Club) were a professional men's soccer team based in Syracuse, New York. The name of the club originates from "Salty Dog" which is nautical slang for an experienced sailor who has spent much o ...

in the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

in 2004. The Dogs folded at the end of the 2004 season, and he moved to the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

in 2005. When Rhinos defender Scott Schweitzer retired at the beginning of the 2006 season, it was Sanfilippo that Rhinos' coach

Laurie Calloway Laurence John Calloway (born 17 June 1945) is an English retired footballer who played as defender, spending thirteen years in the English leagues and five years in the North American Soccer League. Since retiring from playing professionally, ...

called upon to be a steadying force in the Rhinos defense and mentor a young Rhinos backline, which had been devastated from the previous years' retirements, transfers, and injuries. He was equal to the task and helped lead the Rhinos to the USL Championship match. Sanfilippo was named to the 2006 USL-1 All-Star team. In 2007, he moved to the expansion Carolina RailHawks where he played two seasons, both as team captain. On 20 January 2009, he signed with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

. Sanfilippo rejoined

in February 2010. After one season with the Rhinos, he signed with

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

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 ...

on February 8, 2011, on a one-year contract with a club option for 2012. After a successful 2011 season with Tampa Bay, the club exercised its 2012 option on Sanfilippo's contract on October 4, 2011. Two months later, the club signed Sanfilippo to a new contract through the 2014 season. Sanfilippo spent the 2015 season in South Florida with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

before returning to Tampa Bay on December 21, 2015.

Personal

Frank Sanfilippo is married to Malissa Rosa Sanfilippo. They were married on November 15, 2008, in San Diego, CA. They have two sons. Francesco Paul Sanfilippo born August 1, 2010, and Dominic Cru Sanfilippo born March 8, 2013. Frank’s favorite band is Duran Duran and he loves dancing to their music while doing his famous move the jackrabbit

Honors

Tampa Bay Rowdies

: ** Champion 2012

Rochester Rhinos

* USSF Division 2 Pro League Regular Season Champions:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

References

External links

Tampa Bay Rowdies profile

USD profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanfilippo, Frank 1981 births Living people American men's soccer players North Carolina FC players Charleston Battery players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Rochester New York FC players San Jose State Spartans men's soccer players Syracuse Salty Dogs players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Soccer players from San Diego Fort Lauderdale Strikers players Men's association football defenders San Diego Toreros men's soccer coaches