Joe Papaleo (born October 7, 1961) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

. He was the 1990 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year and the 1993 CISL Goalkeeper of the Year. He currently coaches the Christian Brothers Academy boys' soccer team and is the former coach of the Syracuse Silver Knights Academy team. In 2012, he became the Goalkeeper coach for the

MISL Major Indoor Soccer League has been the name of three different American professional indoor soccer leagues: *Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League *Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2 ...

team the

Syracuse Silver Knights Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

Youth

In 1979, Papaleo graduated from Christian Brothers Academy where he was a three-time All-Central New York and one-time All State soccer player. He was inducted into the CBA Hall of Fame in 2001. Papaleo attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 1980 to 1982. He was a 1982 Third Team NSCAA All American and the

Soccer America ''Soccer America'', the oldest soccer-specific media publisher in the United States, was founded in 1971 by Clay Berling in Albany, California. The magazine is headquartered in Oakland, California. History The magazine was founded by Clay Ber ...

Goalkeeper of the Year. Papaleo set school records for career 44 and season wins with 44 and career shutouts with 36.

Professional

In 1982, the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

selected Papaleo in the first round (first overall) of the

North American Soccer League (1968-1984) 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 ...

draft. However, 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 also drafted him in the first round (first overall) of the MISL Draft. When the Cosmos informed Papaleo that he would be confined to the Cosmos reserve and indoor teams for at least three years, he chose to sign with Pittsburgh. He played for the Spirit until 1986 when he moved to the

Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...

. After one season in Tacoma, the Stars released Papaleo in a salary reduction effort. On July 30, 1987, he signed as a free agent with the Dallas Sidekicks. He was the 1990 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year. The MISL collapsed at the end of the 1991–1992 season and the Sidekicks moved to the

. Papaleo was the 1993 CISL Goalkeeper of the Year. Papaleo wore number 91. In 1989, he met Nick Veason an eleven-year-old soccer player dying of AIDS. He then changed his jersey number to 61. This was in honor of Veason's birthday of June 1. Papaleo visited Veason every day during his last five weeks alive. He died on October 28, 1990. Papaleo, Billy Phillips and Sidekicks' equipment manager Chris Agnes were pallbearers at his funeral. In 1995, the Sidekicks traded Papaleo to the

Pittsburgh Stingers The Pittsburgh Stingers are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) for two seasons from 1994 to 1995. Year-by-year Players * Bob Lilley (1994) * P.J. Johns Philip Joseph Johns (born June 7, ...

, but he retired soon after.

Coach

Following his retirement in 1995, Papaleo returned to Syracuse to become the head coach of the Christian Brothers Academy boys' soccer team. Over the years, his teams have won two New York State High School championships and he was the 2001 New York State Private School Coach of the Year. In 2005, Papaleo was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. Since 2010 to date, Papaleo has been the head coach for player skills development training for the Fayetteville-Manlius Soccer Club Travel Program. In 2012, Papaleo became the assistant coach for the

. In 2014's summer Papaleo coached Syracuse Developmental Academy boys u16 and u17 teams.

References

External links

MISL stats

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papaleo, Joe 1961 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Continental Indoor Soccer League players Dallas Sidekicks (CISL) players Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Pittsburgh Spirit players Soccer players from New York (state) Syracuse Orange men's soccer players Tacoma Stars players Christian Brothers Academy (DeWitt, New York) alumni 20th-century American sportsmen