Art Napolitano (born January 7, 1956) is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played professionally in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. Raised in

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a Township (New Jersey), township and the most populous municipality in Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, the state's capi ...

, Napolitano graduated in 1974 from

Steinert High School Steinert High School (also formally known as Hamilton High School East) is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as one of three secondary high schools that are part of the Hamilton Towns ...

, where he was part of two state champion soccer teams. Napolitano attended

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the seminary became a four-year coll ...

where he played on the men's soccer team from 1974 to 1977. His senior season, the Hawks won the NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship with Napolitano scoring one of the goals of the game.Steve long scored the winning goal. He turned professional in 1978 with the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion ...

of the

. That fall, he moved to the

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit was an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit was founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then returned ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League. He spent two seasons in Pittsburgh. In the summer of 1980, he played for the

Pennsylvania Stoners The Pennsylvania Stoners were an American soccer team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007, the team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, i ...

of the American Soccer League. He then returned to the indoor game, this time with the

Hartford Hellions The Hartford Hellions were a soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1981. The Hellions played their first season in the New Haven Coliseum before moving to the remodelled Hartford Civ ...

before finishing his career with the Philadelphia Fever.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Napolitano, Art 1956 births American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Hartford Hellions players Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players Houston Hurricane players Living people Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Pennsylvania Stoners players Sportspeople from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Philadelphia Fever (MISL) players Pittsburgh Spirit players Soccer players from Mercer County, New Jersey Steinert High School alumni Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders 20th-century American sportsmen