Scott Thomas Palguta (born August 23, 1982) was named the head men's soccer coach at
Colorado College
Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...
on February 6, 2015. He is a former American
soccer player who most recently played for
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 ...
in
Major League Soccer.
Career
Youth and college
Born in
Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County.[Monsignor Donovan High School
Donovan Catholic High School, (formerly Monsignor Donovan High School) located in Toms River, New Jersey, Toms River, is the only Catholic school, Roman Catholic Secondary education in the United States, high school in Ocean County, New Jersey, ...]
in 2001 where he lettered for four years in
soccer,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
(shooting guard 17ppg) and
track (miler and hurdler). In his senior year, he was named the team MVP in all three sports and was awarded the NJSIAA Scholar-Athlete Award. Palguta graduated ninth in his class and was highly recruited by several
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 ...
soccer programs.
Palguta played with the
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
ODP (Olympic Development Program) from 1994 to 2002 including the Region I Team from 1999 to 2002. The ODP competition took him to
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
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, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Switzerland,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. During the later years, he was moved from the midfield to the backfield due to his size and speed. He was an
Adidas ESP Nominee in 2000 and was named an Adidas All-American in 2001.
Palguta played
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 K ...
at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
from 2001 to 2004 under the tutelage of head coach Bryan Scales. He was named to the All-Ivy Team twice, once as a freshman and again as a senior. Palguta led the team in scoring as a junior and was named Captain in his final year. Already a professional soccer player commuting daily between Rochester and
Ithaca, New York
Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...
, he graduated in 2005 with a B.S. in Hotel Administration.
Palguta also played for the
Cape Cod Crusaders
Cape Cod Crusaders were an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when ...
of the
USL Premier Development League
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...
from 2002 to 2004. He won back-to-back national championships in 2002 and 2003 and tallied the game-winning assist in the 2003 contest. He was named Captain and led the team to the national semifinal game in 2004.
Professional
Palguta was drafted by the
Rochester Raging 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 ...
in March 2005 in the second round of the
USL First Division
The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010.
During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...
College Draft. With the help of his agent, David-Ross Williamson, he signed his first professional contract as a college senior. Despite the difficult task of balancing professional soccer with his studies at Cornell, Palguta impressed former Rhinos Head Coach
Laurie Calloway during his rookie pre-season and immediately earned a starting position at left back. He scored his first professional goal against the
MetroStars on August 3, 2005 during the Third Round of the
2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Palguta was the unanimous choice for "Rookie of the Year" honors in 2005, led all players in minutes played in 2006 and 2007, received All-League honors in 2008 and was named to the USL 1st Division Team Of The Week nine times in his brief USL career.
Palguta was drafted by the
New Jersey Ironmen
The New Jersey Ironmen were an American indoor soccer team. They originally joined the Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008), Major Indoor Soccer League for the 2007–08 season. When the MISL ceased operations a year later, they joined the Xt ...
as their second pick in the second round of the
2007 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Draft held on July 12, 2007. He passed on the opportunity, however, and opted to play with the
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
' Reserve Division for the remainder of the season.
Palguta came close to breaking into
Major League Soccer (MLS) twice before. He was a trialist in 2007 with
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...
and was the last player cut prior to the start of the season. In 2008, he accepted an invitation to join the Red Bulls as a trialist; however, despite being offered a contract, the Rhinos refused to negotiate a transfer and Palguta was forced to return to Rochester for the 2008 season.
After some pre-season training with New York in 2009, Palguta returned to Rochester to prepare for the upcoming season. Less than 24 hours later, however,
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 ...
called and Palguta was en route to Denver. With only four days remaining to opt out of his USL-1 contract, and having been claimed as a Discovery Player by Colorado, Palguta signed with Rapids on March 11, 2009.
Palguta was a member of the Rapids team that won MLS Cup by defeating FC Dallas 2–1 on November 21, 2010 at BMO Field, Toronto, Canada He was released by Colorado on November 16, 2012. but opted out of the
2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft
The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate.
The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the t ...
after accepting the position of Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO.
Coaching
After two years as the Assistant Men's Soccer Coach at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, Palguta was named the third Head Coach in program history by Athletics Director Ken Ralph on Feb. 6, 2015. He was named Coach of the Year in November 2019 after only five seasons at the helm, joining two-time recipient Horst Richardson as CC coaches to be honored by their conference peers. Palguta (68-22-10) guided the Tigers to a No. 22 ranking in the final
United Soccer Coaches
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 ...
Division III National Rankings, the finals of the
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulties related to travel distanc ...
Tournament and his first appearance in the
NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament in 2019.
Honors
Cape Cod Crusaders
*
USL Premier Development League
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...
Championship: 2002, 2003
Rochester Raging Rhinos
*Rookie Of The Year: 2005
*USL First Division All-League Selection: 2008
*USL Coaches Performance Award: 2008
Colorado Rapids
*
Major League Soccer Eastern Conference Championship:
2010
*
Major League Soccer MLS Cup Championship:
2010
Colorado College
*
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas. Difficulties related to travel distanc ...
Men's Soccer Coach Of The Year: 2019
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palguta, Scott
1982 births
Living people
American soccer players
Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alumni
Cornell Big Red men's soccer players
Sportspeople from Toms River, New Jersey
Soccer players from New Jersey
Cape Cod Crusaders players
Rochester New York FC players
Colorado Rapids players
Major League Soccer players
USL First Division players
USL League Two players
Association football defenders