Leo Cullen (born February 28, 1976 in Burnsville,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

) is a retired American soccer defender who spent seven seasons in Major League Soccer and earned three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

Player

Cullen played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

from 1994 to 1997. He was the 1997 ACC Player of the Year and a 1997 First-Team All-American.

Professional

On February 2, 1998, the

Miami Fusion The Miami Fusion was a professional soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They played in Major League Soccer (MLS) for four seasons, from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one of the league's first two expansion teams, their best seas ...

made Cullen the first draft pick in team history, taking him first overall in the 1998 MLS College Draft. Cullen spent the next three and a half seasons in Miami (he left the team as the club's all-time leader in games and minutes). On August 15, 2001, the Fusion traded Cullen and a 2002 first-round draft pick to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

in exchange for Johnny Torres, Shaker Asad and a 2003 second-round draft pick. Cullen remained with the Revolution through the 2003 season. After taking 2004 off to pursue his college degree, Cullen came back to MLS in 2005, his rights traded to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

. He retired from soccer after playing one season with the Rapids. Cullen played a few times with DC United reserves in 2006 as a defender in an emergency capacity.

International

Cullen earned three

for the

, his first coming February 21, 1999 against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. He came on for

Richie Williams Richard "Richie" Williams (born June 3, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player and coach. Known for his diminutive height and his dogged tackling, Williams spent the vast majority of his playing career in the United States, pla ...

in the 86th minute of a 2–1 victory. His second game was a 2–2 tie with

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

on September 8, 1999. Cullen played the entire game. His last game was a 2–0 victory over El Salvador on November 17, 2002. In this game, Cullen came on for

Pablo Mastroeni Pablo Mastroeni (born August 29, 1976) is an Argentine born American soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. He was formerly head coach of the Colorado Rapids, and assistant coach of the H ...

at halftime.

Coach

At the MLS Superdraft,

Maurice Edu Maurice Edu (born April 18, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player. A highly touted prospect, Edu was the first overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft and won the MLS Rookie of the Year Award with Toronto. His performances for ...

(the first pick) announced that Cullen was his agent. On March 13, 2006, the University of Maryland hired Cullen as an assistant with the women's soccer team. On January 7, 2010, Cullen was named the men's assistant coach at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, NY.Leo Cullen Named Assistant Men's Soccer Coach
United States Military Academy, January 7, 2010. Cullen and new Army head coach, Russell Payne, were teammates at the University of Maryland.

References

External links

*
Maryland Terrapins coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Leo 1976 births Living people American soccer players Miami Fusion players New England Revolution players Colorado Rapids players United States men's international soccer players Army Black Knights men's soccer coaches Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' soccer) People from Burnsville, Minnesota Major League Soccer first-overall draft picks Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Miami Fusion draft picks Association football defenders All-American men's college soccer players American soccer coaches