Anibal “Steve” Armas (born March 2, 1977) is a retired American soccer

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who is a currently Associate Head Coach for the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer The Wake Forest University Demon Deacons men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of students attending Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They achieved their greatest result in 2007, winning t ...

program. Armas previously spent one season in

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 Cana ...

and several seasons in the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. He was a member of the United States U-17 men's national soccer team at the

1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship The 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the fifth edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, and Gifu City in Japan between 21 August and 4 September 1993. Players born after 1 August 1976 were a ...

. Coaching wise he served as a head and assistant coach at Campbell University, Greensboro College and the Carolina Dynamo.

Player

Youth

Armas grew up in Maryland where he was an NSCAA and

Parade Magazine ''Parade'' was an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 700 newspapers in the United States until 2022. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., ''Parade'' had a circulation of 32 million and a readership of 5 ...

High School All American soccer player at the Bullis School. He is a member of the Bullis School's Athletic Hall of Fame. Armas attended the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the Flagship un ...

, playing on the men’s soccer team from 1995 to 1998. He scored 11 goals and added 17 during his four seasons as a Terrapin. He left school before finishing his degree, but returned and graduated in 2003 with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Spanish Language and Literature.

Professional

In 1999, Armas signed for the

Maryland Mania Maryland Mania was a soccer club based in Baltimore Maryland that competed in the A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zea ...

in the

USL A-League 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, p ...

. He began the 2000 season with the Raleigh Capital Express, playing four games. He also spent time with D.C. United. In June 2000, 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 on ...

signed Armas as a Discovery Player. He played four regular season games with the Crew. He also played on 2000 Open Cup game for the Crew, coming on for John DeBrito in the 66th minute. He also went on loan to

MLS Pro 40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S. ...

for one game. The Crew waived him at the end of the season. In November 2000, 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 ...

claimed Armas off waivers, but released him before the season. In 2001, John Dugan, who had coached the Express in 2000, became the new head coach of the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home gam ...

. He promptly signed Armas. On June 12, 2001, half way through the season, the Silverbacks traded Armas to the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its h ...

in a three-way trade which sent

Andrew Restrepo Andrew Restrepo (born October 8, 1970) is a retired American soccer defender who played one season with the MetroStars in Major League Soccer. He is currently a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Tampa men's team. Restrepo played ...

from the

Rochester 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 t ...

to Atlanta and Stoian Mladenov to the Rhinos from Minnesota. In 2002, Armas played three games with the Cincinnati Riverhawks. In 2003, he played seventeen games for the

Carolina 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. T ...

, scoring five goals and adding 16 assists as the Dynamo took the league title. Armas was selected as a first team All Star. He then moved to the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American s ...

for the 2004

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

season and was back with Carolina for the 2005 season.

National team

In 1993, Armas was a member of the U.S. U-17 national team which went to the second round of the

. Armas played all four U.S. games in the tournament.FIFA player profile
Fifa.com. Retrieved on January 6, 2012.

Coach

In 2004, Armas became an assistant coach with the Carolina Dynamo. That fall he added to his responsibilities when he became an assistant coach at

Greensboro College Greensboro College is a private college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was founded in 1838 by Rev. Peter Doub. The college enrolls about 1,000 students from 32 states, the District of Columbi ...

. While at Greensboro College, Armas helped to guide the men's program to a 2005 USA South Conference tournament championship and a second round NCAA tournament appearance. Armas was hired as an assistant coach by

Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc. ...

in July 2006. Since Armas' arrival in 2006, the Fighting Camels have compiled a 45–29–6 overall record (.600), including a 25–4–5 mark (.809) in the Atlantic Sun Conference regular season. The Camels finished ranked among the top-10 in the final South Region poll in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and earned the school's first year-end national ranking (No. 25) in 2008 at the Division I level. He was named head coach of the Fighting Camels in January 2010 after the departure of then head coach Doug Hess to Drexel University

Philadelphia, Pa Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Armas, Steve 1977 births Living people American soccer coaches American soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks players Campbell Fighting Camels soccer coaches North Carolina Fusion U23 players Cincinnati Riverhawks players Columbus Crew players D.C. United players Association football midfielders Major League Soccer players Maryland Mania players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players Minnesota Thunder players MLS Pro-40 players People from Germantown, Maryland Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Raleigh (Capital) Express players USL League Two players Soccer players from Maryland A-League (1995–2004) players USL Second Division players United States men's youth international soccer players