Mark Pulisic (born September 20, 1968) is 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 ...

former footballer and coach who is currently the assistant manager of

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

in the USL Championship.

College

Pulisic attended George Mason University, where he played soccer from 1986 to 1989. He finished with thirty-five career goals in 73 appearances. In 2012, he was voted into the George Mason Men's Soccer Hall of Fame.

Harrisburg Heat

In 1991, Pulisic turned professional with the Harrisburg Heat of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). He remained with the Heat throughout his career, retiring from playing professionally in 1999. When he retired, the Heat honored him with a Mark Pulisic Night at the Farm Show Arena in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. He was then inducted into the team's Hall of Fame, joining Bob Lilley,

Richard Chinapoo Richard Chinapoo (born January 18, 1957) was a Trinidad soccer defender who had an extensive career, primarily in the United States. Chinapoo spent two seasons in the North American Soccer League, eight in the National Professional Soccer League ...

, and Todd Smith.

Coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

In 1993,

Lebanon Valley College Lebanon Valley College (LVC, Lebanon Valley, or The Valley) is a private college in Annville, Pennsylvania. History Lebanon Valley was founded on February 23, 1866, with classes beginning May 7 of that year and its first class graduating in 1870 ...

hired Pulisic to begin a new chapter of the men's soccer program, where he coached until 2005. In 1996, Pulisic began coaching a new women's team program at the school as well. While with Lebanon Valley College, Pulisic also served as an assistant coach for the

Harrisburg City Islanders Penn FC (formerly the Harrisburg City Islanders) was an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the United States soccer ...

of the

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

in 2003 and 2004. On April 19, 2006, the expansion

Detroit Ignition The Detroit Ignition were an American indoor soccer team that has played three seasons, most recently 2008–09. In April 2006, Greg Bibb, president of Hantz Group Sports and Entertainment, introduced the teams as a new Major Indoor Soccer Leag ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) hired Pulisic as the team's first coach. In April 2007, he was named the MISL Coach of the Year. On November 6, 2007, former Heat teammate Bob Lilley replaced Pulisic as head coach of the Ignition, moving Pulisic to the front office as director of soccer operations. Pulisic relocated to Germany in 2015 after his son Christian was signed by

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

club

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional footb ...

, and was hired as a coach for Dortmund's U10 academy team. In early 2017, Pulisic returned to the United States, joining second division club

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 ...

as an assistant coach under his former teammate and colleague Bob Lilley.

Personal life

Mark Pulisic's father is originally from the island of

Olib Olib (; ) is a Croatian island in northern Dalmatia, located northwest of Zadar, southwest of Pag, southeast of Lošinj and just east of Silba with an area of 26.14 km2. History Greek geographer Strabo mentions a settlement named Aloip, whi ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Mark Pulisic is the father of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and U.S. men's national team player

Christian Pulisic Christian Mate Pulisic (; hr, Pulišić, ; born September 18, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Chelsea and the United States national team. Pulisic is renowned for his d ...

. His nephew

Will Pulisic William Pulisic (born April 16, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Minnesota United 2 in the MLS Next Pro. Youth career Pulisic had played for Richmond United in his youth career. He, like his cousin ...

plays for

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 ...

club

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...

Honors

Individual *

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

Coach of the Year: 2007

References

External links

"Mark Pulisic Named Assistant Coach"
(Pittsburgh Riverhounds, January 5, 2018) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pulisic, Mark 1968 births Living people American soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Harrisburg Heat players American people of Croatian descent American soccer coaches George Mason Patriots men's soccer players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) coaches Association football forwards Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC coaches Association football coaches