Mark Longwell (born 1960 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American retired soccer defender who played professionally in the North American Soccer League and

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

Career

Youth and College

Longwell played high school soccer at

Trumbull High School Trumbull High School is a large public high school located in Trumbull, Connecticut. The current principal is Marc Guarino. History Trumbull High School was founded in 1961 following a population increase in Trumbull during the 1950s. It was ...

Trumbull, Connecticut Trumbull is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders on the cities of Bridgeport and Shelton and the towns of Stratford, Fairfield, Easton and Monroe. The population was 36,827 during the 2020 census. Trumbul ...

where he a two-time All-State selection. He then 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 ...

for Fairfield University where he was named All New England and the Tri-State Conference MVP in his junior and senior years. Longwell played with Slough Town FC in

Slough, England Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, ...

in 1978, trained with

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

in the summer of 1980, and trained with

Chelsea FC Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

in the summer of 1982.

Professional

Longwell played for Slough Town F.C. in 1978 in the English Isthmian League. After Fairfield, Longwell had multiple tryouts at the professional level. He then signed with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional 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 Championship in the second tie ...

of the North American Soccer League. He made his professional debut on August 5, 1983 against the Chicago Sting, in a 4–3 win. He also played for the 1983–84 Tampa Bay Rowdies Indoor team. On April 3, 1984, Longwell signed with the

Fort Lauderdale Sun Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1984, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun. Before the 1985 season they changed their name to the South Florida Sun. Origins The United S ...

of the newly established

. The Sun went on to win the 1984 USL championship with Longwell as captain. After retirement from the game he loved, Mark settled down and had a great family including three kids with his wife Catherine. His claim to fame, however, is that he has Kirk Atamian as a son-in-law.

International

Longwell was a member of 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 ...

B Team which toured Malaysia and Singapore in 1983.Mark Longwell website
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Running and Cycling

After professional soccer, Longwell turned to running and triathlons, competing in over 300 races, including 56 marathons/ultramarathons. He has a PR of 3:13 for the marathon, 4:29 for 50K, 8:06 for 50 miles and 22 hours, 6 minutes for 100 miles in the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run in 1996. Longwell also has a personal best in the Ironman triathlon of 11:36 in the 1993 Ironman Canada race in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. Along the way, Longwell raced in marathons/ultras in 9 different countries. In 2004, he competed in the Race Across America bike race in the two man division with John Delia of Middletown, CT. The team crossed the USA (3000 miles- San Diego to Atlantic City) in 8 days, 15 hours and 42 minutes to finish in third place in their division. He completed his 100,000th documented lifetime cycling mile on Thanksgiving Day, 2012. Additionally, Mark has averaged 13,000 miles per year since 2012 and rode 16,025 miles in 2015- his highest annual total to date. As of March, 2018, Longwell has ridden over 173,000 miles lifetime. In June 2018, Longwell competed in the Race Across the West, a 925 solo non stop race from Oceanside CA to Durango CO. Unfortunately, due to injuries, he withdrew at mile 405. On October 27, 2018 Longwell participated in the World 6,12 and 24 hour time trial championships in Borrego Springs, CA and finished 6th out of 13 in his age group in the 12 hour division with 212.4 miles covered (342 kilometers). On November 2, 2019, Longwell participated again in the World 6,12 and 24 hour time trial championships in Borrego Springs, CA. Total mileage this time was 222.0 - a 9.6 mile increase over 2018- and this was good for 4th place in the 50-59 age group. Mark completed his 200,000th lifetime mile on the bike in November 2019. In November 2021, Mark passed 238,900 miles lifetime (the distance to the moon). The return trip will take some time......... In July 2022, Mark passed 250,000 lifetimes miles....

References

External links

Tampa Bay Rowdies Appreciation Blog: Mark Longwell 1983; 1984

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longwell, Mark 1960 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Fort Lauderdale Sun players Fairfield Stags men's soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Sportspeople from Hartford, Connecticut Soccer players from Connecticut Slough Town F.C. players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut Men's association football defenders