Michael Fucito (born March 29, 1986) is a retired 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.
Career
High School and College
Fucito played for the
Brooks School in
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is an affluent town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 30,915.
History
Native Americans inhabited what is now northeastern Massachusetts for thousands of years prior to European c ...
for three years where he was senior Captain. He played forward/striker alongside
Charlie Davies
Charles Desmond Davies (born June 25, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward.
Davies set several soccer records at his high school, the Brooks School, before appearing for the Boston College Eagles an ...
, making the striking duo one of (if not) the most lethal HS scoring combination(s) in the country. He also wrestled and played hockey. In 2003, he led Brooks to the first undefeated/untied season in (ISL) league history, and to winning the New England Prep 'A' Championship. He was also voted All-New England, All-State, and All-League. He was the league leader in assists, third overall in points scoring, and was the ISL coaches' runner-up to Davies for MVP. From 2002–2004, he also played for FC Greater Boston Bolts, who were the U-18 Region 1 Champions in 2004. Fucito was MVP of the 2003 MA State Finals. The Bolts also won: the Region 1 Premier League Championship (2003), Disney Showcase Championship (2002, 2003), and MA State Championship (2000–04).
Fucito attended the
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
university
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
where he played varsity soccer for four years. In 2004, he was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, scoring three goals and tallying three assists, and was named to the All-Ivy second team as a freshman. Fucito did not play in 2005, instead playing the eventual
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Places Antarctica
* Mount Acton
Australia
* Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra
* Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie
* Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton
Canada ...
Indoor Soccer Champion, Mean Machine. He had tremendous success at Harvard from 2006 to 2008 playing both left wing and forward. He was named
NSCAA
The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than 30 ...
All-America second team in 2007 and 2008 (both as a forward); All-Northeast Region first team and All-Ivy League first team in 2006–2008, as well as the team MVP in 2006. That year he scored nine goals and ranked among the nation’s leaders with a total of nine assists, playing left wing. Fucito was also honored as SoccerTimes’ National Player of the Week as a result of scoring the game-winning goal against
Fairfield in double overtime, and two goals and three assists against Brown. He led Harvard to the
NCAA
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 an ...
-tournament three consecutive years. In 2007 and 2008, he was named Academic All-Ivy League. He was also named to the ESPN Academic All-District team in 2007. He completed his Harvard career ranked 4th All-time in scoring with 32 career goals, and 24 assists, despite playing injured his final two seasons, and undergoing hip surgery in the off-season. He was named Captain as a senior, and was a Finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. He ranked 21st in the nation averaging 1.57 points per game.
Professional
Fucito was drafted in the fourth round (46th overall) of the
2009 MLS SuperDraft
The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft wa ...
by
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...
. He attended part of the Sounders preseason, including traveling with the team to Argentina in March 2009. He returned to Harvard to finish his degree, before rejoining the Sounders on July 3, 2009, when he signed a developmental contract.
Despite returning quickly to full health, Fucito was not activated for the remainder of the 2009 MLS season after being diagnosed with
sesamoiditis
Sesamoiditis is inflammation of the sesamoid bones.
Humans
Sesamoiditis occurs on the bottom of the foot, just behind the big toe. There are normally two sesamoid bones on each foot; sometimes sesamoids can be bipartite, which means they each c ...
in his right foot. He was briefly waived on November 25, 2009, before he could make his professional debut. Nonetheless, Fucito was invited back to camp and was then re-signed prior to the 2010 season. He accompanied the team to Spain, and scored three goals in preseason, including two in the first half against the Sounders starters in the final contest. As a result, he was finally rewarded by being designated to the "dress-18", and subsequently made his professional debut on March 25, 2010, in the opening game of the 2010 MLS season against
Philadelphia Union
The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...
.
On April 17, 2010, Fucito scored his first MLS goal, a game-winning strike in stoppage time off a throw-in by Brad Evans during a match between Sounders FC and the then Kansas City Wizards. Fucito finished strong with his right foot over the left shoulder of
Jimmy Nielsen
Jimmy Nielsen (born 6 August 1977) is a Danish-American retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Until June 2007, he played 398 games for Danish team AaB Fodbold. Playing every league match for AaB since 1997, Nielsen won the 1999 Danish ...
.
Fucito earned his first professional start on September 22, 2010 versus
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
in the
CONCACAF Champions League
The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...
group stage. He scored a goal and forced an own-goal in that match. His first start in league play came on May 25, 2011 versus
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
. Fucito became a particular fan favorite for his intensity and "never-say-die" attitude.
![Fucito_Johnson_2011_USOC_Final](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Fucito_Johnson_2011_USOC_Final.jpg)
Fucito was traded to
Montreal Impact on February 18, 2012 along with teammate
Lamar Neagle
Lamar Neagle (born May 7, 1987) is an American professional soccer player who plays for the Tacoma Stars in the Major Arena Soccer League. He has spent most of his career with the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer over the course of se ...
, in exchange for
Eddie Johnson.
Fucito failed to settle in Montreal, and was traded to
Portland Timbers
The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...
on April 20, 2012 in exchange for an
international roster spot.
On January 17, 2013, Fucito was traded to
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 ...
for a second-round
2013 MLS SuperDraft
The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center.
The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draft, ...
pick.
Statistics
Honors
;Seattle Sounders FC
* Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...
: 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
References
External links
MLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fucito, Mike
1986 births
Living people
People from Concord, Massachusetts
Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
American soccer players
American expatriate soccer players
Harvard Crimson men's soccer players
Harvard University alumni
Seattle Sounders FC players
CF Montréal players
Portland Timbers players
San Jose Earthquakes players
Sacramento Republic FC players
Soccer players from Massachusetts
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Seattle Sounders FC draft picks
Major League Soccer players
USL Championship players
Brooks School alumni
Association football forwards