Scott Cannon (born July 22, 1968 in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

) is an American former soccer player who played three seasons in Major League Soccer, two in the American Professional Soccer League, three in the National Professional Soccer League and at least four in 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 ...

and USL. He was the 1999 USL Defender of the Year and a two time USL All Star.

High school and college

Cannon grew up in

, attending

Reitz Memorial High School Reitz Memorial High School or simply Memorial High School (MHS) is an inter-parochial Catholic high school on the east side of Evansville, Indiana. It sits on land bought with money donated by Francis Joseph Reitz in 1922 in memory of his parents ...

where he won 3 State Championships and was a 1985 and 1986 NSCAA High School All-American soccer player. He then went on to attend

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England. UE offers more than 80 differ ...

, playing on the men’s soccer team from 1986 to 1990. In 1990, he anchored a defense with 20 shutouts and allowed only 5 goals in 25 games (NCAA records) during their undefeated season. Cannon was named a first team All-American and was inducted into the Evansville Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003

Professional

In the spring of 1991, during his final semester of college, Cannon started his professional career with the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club played in Albany, New York. Afte ...

of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). The Capitals made it to the finals of the APSL but lost in penalty kicks. In the summer of 1991, he also played for the U.S. at the World University Games. That fall, he signed with the Harrisburg Heat of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) for the 1991-1992 season, despite being selected first (third overall) by the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

in the first round of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) draft. He later signed with the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports A ...

at some point during the 1994-1995 NPSL season, playing only ten games with them. In the summer of 1995, Cannon spent one season with the expansion Albany Alleycats of

. That fall, he signed with the

Cincinnati Silverbacks The Cincinnati Silverbacks was an indoor soccer club based in Cincinnati, Ohio that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. History They performed under the leadership of All-Star goalkeeper Carlos Pena. Other star players include ...

of NPSL. In February 1996, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

of Major League Soccer selected Cannon in the sixth round (52nd overall) of the Inaugural Player Draft. Cannon delayed reporting to the Rapids as the Silverbacks went to the NPSL championship series. When he arrived in the Colorado training camp, he reported injured with a bone spur in his ankle. Despite that, he played twenty-one games, starting sixteen, with the Rapids. The Rapids released Cannon at the end of the season and he played for the Richmond Kickers (USISL) in 1997. In March 1998, the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

picked Cannon in the second round (21st overall) of the

1998 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held on February 1, 1998, at the Airport Hilton in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Format Major League Soccer held a professional player combine in Fort Lauderdale the last week of January 1998. On Sa ...

. He spent the 1998 season in Columbus, where the team made it to the finals of the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

and the semi-finals of the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

. He was waived by the Crew on November 2, 1998. In May 2000, Cannon rejoined the Kickers for the 2000 USL season. He was the USL Defender of the Year and a first team All Star. In 2001, he moved to 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 ...

, playing five games before being called back to MLS by the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

on May 5. Two days later, the Mutiny signed Cannon for the remainder of the season. Cannon played nine games with the Mutiny. The Mutiny waived Cannon in November 2001. Even though he received several offers to continue playing, Cannon decided to retire from professional soccer.

Coaching

Since retiring from playing, Cannon has served in a variety of youth soccer positions. He is currently the Director of Soccer for Rhode Island Surf Soccer Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Scott 1968 births Living people Albany Alleycats players Albany Capitals players All-American college men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Charleston Battery players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Colorado Rapids players Columbus Crew players Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Harrisburg Heat (NPSL) players Major League Soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana Richmond Kickers players Soccer players from Indiana Tampa Bay Mutiny players A-League (1995–2004) players USL Second Division players Columbus Crew draft picks