Neil Covone (born August 31, 1969) is a retired U.S.

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 ...

midfielder. He played five games for the United States men's national soccer team and was a member of the U.S. team at the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being Me ...

. His twin brother, Mike Covone, also played soccer.

College

In college, he played at Wake Forest University in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(ACC) from 1987 to 1990, His highest achievement came when he was named the MVP of the 1989 ACC Tournament. He was also a third-team All-American in 1988 and 1989.

National team

Besides playing five games with the senior national team and at Wake Forest, Neil captained the U.S. team at the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. This team, coached by

Bob Gansler Bob Gansler (born July 1, 1941) is a Hungarian-born American soccer player and coach of German descent. He coached the U.S. National Team at the 1990 World Cup, the team's first appearance at the tournament since 1950. Playing career As a pl ...

, finished fourth at the tournament. The team was also noted for having future U.S. superstar goalkeeper Kasey Keller between the sticks. Covone earned five caps with the U.S. national team. His first game was a 3–0 loss to Chile on June 5, 1989. He came on for Jimmy Banks. He then played sporadically over the next year. His last game was a 4–1 win over Liechtenstein on May 30, 1990. Gansler then selected him for the U.S. roster at the

. However, he never entered a game at the cup and did not play again for the national team.

Professional career

After graduating from college, he played two seasons with 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 The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

. In 1991, he played in 12 games, scoring one goal, as the Strikers went to the APSL semifinals only to fall to the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks. In 1992, Covone saw time in only five games, scoring no goals, with the Strikers.

Post-soccer career

He is currently a Partner with the Bice Cole Law Firm, PL, in Coral Gables, Florida.

References

External links

Hinshaw & Culbertson bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Covone, Neil 1969 births Living people American men's soccer players Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Sportspeople from Hialeah, Florida United States men's international soccer players 1990 FIFA World Cup players American lawyers United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Men's association football midfielders