Luke Vercollone (born April 4, 1982) is an American former professional

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 as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The fra ...

in the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

Career

Youth and College

Born in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

, Vercollone grew up in

Pembroke, Massachusetts Pembroke is an historic town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Pembroke is a South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore suburb of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. The town is located app ...

and attended

Silver Lake Regional High School Silver Lake Regional High School is a public, regional high school in Massachusetts' South Shore region. It is the only secondary school in the Silver Lake Regional School District, comprising the towns of Kingston, Plympton and Halifax, Massa ...

where he was a letterman in soccer and wrestling, and won All-Conference honors and All-State honors. He played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

, where he was named to the All-

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

first team his senior season, finishing his career at with 11 goals and 24 assists. Vercollone also played for the

Cape Cod Crusaders The Cape Cod Crusaders was an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when the franchi ...

of the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, helping the team to consecutive PDL Championship titles in 2002 and 2003.

Professional

Vercollone was drafted 42nd overall in the

2004 MLS SuperDraft The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the younge ...

by the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, but was not offered a contract by the team. Instead, he was picked up by

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

and signed to a

developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied t ...

, but saw practically no time on the field his rookie season, playing a total of 2 minutes in two games. The Revolution released him to waivers following the 2005 season in which he played a total of 35 minutes in 3 games. On April 10, 2006, Vercollone joined the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

for the 2006

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

season. In two seasons with the Battery, he made 66 appearances, scoring three goals and six assists for 12 points overall. In January 2008 Vercollone signed for the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

of the

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 ...

, and was part of the Kickers team which won the 2009 USL Second Division championship. On January 14, 2010, Richmond announced the re-signing of Vercollone for the 2010 season. Vercollone re-signed for a fourth season with Richmond on November 10, 2010. The club signed him for the 2012 season on September 22, 2011.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks

On October 19, 2014, it was announced that Vercollone was the first ever signing for new

club

. Vercollone was also announced as the team's first captain. Vercollone ended his first season with the

with 14 goals and 9 assists. On October 26, 2015, it was announced that Vercollone was in the

All-League Team. On December 4, 2015, it was announced that Vercollone would return to

club

for the 2016

season. On March 6, 2016, Vercollone scored 2 goals in a 3–1 victory against Colorado State-Pueblo University in a preseason game. On March 12, 2016, Vercollone scored in a 3–2 preseason victory against UCCS. On March 15, 2016, Vercollone scored in a 4–0 preseason win against

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on th ...

. On October 15, 2018, following the conclusion of his fourth season with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, Vercollone announced his retirement from professional soccer in a
exclusive interview with Last Word on Soccer's Mark Turner.
Vercollone concluded his career in Colorado Springs being the first player to represent the club more than 100 times, and leading all-time assists and goal scoring (28 goals, all competitions).

Honors

Cape Cod Crusaders *

: 2003 Richmond Kickers *

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Colorado Springs Switchbacks *

First Team All-League:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

Richmond Kickers bioCharleston Battery bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vercollone, Luke 1982 births Living people People from Pembroke, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Norwalk, Connecticut Soccer players from Fairfield County, Connecticut Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts American men's soccer players Soccer players from Massachusetts Men's association football midfielders Major League Soccer players USL First Division players USL Second Division players USL League Two players USL Championship players New England Revolution players Cape Cod Crusaders players Charleston Battery players Richmond Kickers players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer players Columbus Crew draft picks