Rob Ukrop (born April 5, 1970 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American former soccer player who currently serves as Chairman of

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

club Richmond Kickers. Ukrop, part of the Ukrop's Super Market family,1994 Newspaper article
/ref> grew up in Richmond where he attended Collegiate School where he starred with both the school's golf and soccer teams.ibid
/ref> When Ukrop graduated from high school in 1988, he had roster offers from Wake Forest and the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

. However, he chose to attend Davidson College. He was a member of the Sigma chapter of the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. As of December 2015, the Kappa Alph ...

. At the time, Davidson had no soccer pedigree, but Ukrop brought it into national prominence during his four and a half seasons there. His junior year, Ukrop scored 22 goals and assisted on 12, earning him second team All American honors. However, he broke his leg at the start of the 1991 season. As a result, he was a medical

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that year, but came back strong in 1992. In 1992, his last season at Davidson, Ukrop led the nation in scoring, bagging 31 goals and assisting on 10 others. He also led Davidson to the

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Final Four only to fall to

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3–2 in

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in the semifinals. That year, Ukrop was named a first team All American and the

ISAA Player of the Year The ISAA Player of the Year was an annual U.S. college soccer award presented by the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America (ISAA) between 1984 and 1995. In 1984, the ISAA began recognizing outstanding men's NCAA soccer players with an annua ...

. He finished his four years at Davidson with the school record in career goals (76), points (184) and assists. His points total is almost double the next player on the points list. While still at Davidson, Ukrop played with the U.S. national B Team. After graduating from Davidson in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in classical studies, Ukrop went to the World University Games with the U.S. U-23 national team. He scored two goals and added an assist in the U.S. victory over Italy. That summer he also joined the Richmond Kickers of the

USISL 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 ...

. The USISL had begun as a small indoor league in the Southwest U.S., but gradually expanded outdoor as well. In 1993, the Kickers joined the league, making the playoffs as a wild card team. They defeated the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in th ...

, then lost to the eventual USISL champion

Greensboro Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Th ...

. Ukrop spent the 1993–1994 indoor season with the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). That year, he lost a significant number of games when he took an elbow to his face, resulting in a broken jaw. Ukrop then moved to the Raleigh Flyers (USISL) for the 1994 outdoor season, before moving to the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). He then spent the 1994–95 indoor season with the

Dayton Dynamo The Dayton Dynamo was a professional indoor soccer team from Dayton, Ohio. The team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association (AISA). Founded by former University of Dayton and Central State University coach Jerry Butcher, the Dynamo jo ...

of the NPSL. The Dynamo moved to Cincinnati and renamed itself the Silverbacks in 1995. In 1996, Ukrop rejoined the team for the 1996–1997 season. In 1995, he was with the Richmond Kickers when that team won the USISL title. Ukrop was a USISL Atlantic Division All Star. The Kickers also took the 1995 U.S. Open Cup with Ukrop being named the championship game MVP. In January 1996, 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 ...

drafted Ukrop in the seventh round (65th overall) of the 1996 MLS Draft. However, he never became a regular contributor for the Revs, managing only nine games and two goals, both goals coming in the Revolution's first game of the season. The Revs released Ukrop on June 28, 1996 and he returned to the Richmond Kickers for the remainder of the season. Ukrop continued to play each season with the Kickers until he announced his retirement on December 9, 2004. Ukrop retired holding the club records for career goals (70), career assists (30), career points (170) and matches (231). On January 24, 2004, Davidson retired Ukrop's jersey number (#6) and inducted him into its Hall of Fame.Davidson Hall of Fame
/ref> On April 30th, 2017, Ukrop was inducted into Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

Footnotes

External links

Davidson info

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukrop, Rob 1970 births Living people All-American men's college soccer players American soccer players Indoor soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Major League Soccer players New England Revolution players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Baltimore Spirit players USISL players Raleigh Flyers players Richmond Kickers players USL First Division players Dayton Dynamo players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Davidson Wildcats men's soccer players Association football forwards