Richard "Rich" Costanzo (born February 17, 1986 in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

) 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 ...

player who formerly played for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the

USL Professional Division 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, pl ...

. Costanzo is currently the head coach of George Mason.

Career

Youth and high school

Costanzo attended Thomas Jefferson High School in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where he was a two-time NSCAA/adidas All-American, a two-time regional All-American, and was twice named the

WPIAL The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. History The Western Pennsylvania Inte ...

(Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) Player of the Year. In 2003, he was also named the

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 ...

Pennsylvania State Player of the Year and chosen as an EA Sports All-American. He helped lead the Jaguars to the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) State Championship three times, winning the state title in 2002. Costanzo was selected to play for the Region I Olympic Development Program team from 2000–2005 and was a member of the U.S. U–18 National team player pool. He started his youth soccer in Pittsburgh for the Beadling Soccer Club, before joining FC Delco on the other side of the state.

College

Costanzo started

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 Kingd ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

where he was named the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was also named Freshman All-America by Soccer America, Top Draw Soccer, and College Soccer News. He transferred to the

University of Maryland, College Park 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 Mary ...

to continue his collegiate career. He became a team captain for the Terps in the 2008 season, and helped lead the team to an ACC Championship and NCAA Division I National Championship.

Professional

Having not been drafted by

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 ...

Costanzo signed with Minnesota Thunder on February 26, 2009. He made his professional debut on April 11, 2009, as a second-half substitute in Minnesota's 2009 season-opening game against the Carolina RailHawks. Costanzo was on the 2010–11 roster of the Baltimore Blast

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

team, but appeared in no games.Baltimore Blast roster
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Honors

;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 ...

* USL Pro 2011 Regular Season Champions ;University of Maryland * NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

References

External links

Rich Costanzo Bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costanzo, Rich 1986 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Baltimore Blast (2008–2014 MISL) players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players Minnesota Thunder players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Rochester New York FC players Soccer players from Pittsburgh USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players George Mason Patriots men's soccer coaches