Robert Stephen Ukrop Jr. (born April 5, 1970) is an American former

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 is chairman of

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

club

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 ...

. Ukrop, part of the Ukrop's Super Market family,1994 Newspaper article
/ref> grew up in Richmond where he attended Collegiate School where he starred with both the school's golf and soccer teams.ibid
/ref> When Ukrop graduated from high school in 1988, he had roster offers from Wake Forest and the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

. However, he chose to attend

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

. He was a member of the Sigma chapter of the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha, KA, or simply The Order, is an American social fraternity founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu, the order constitu ...

. At the time, Davidson had no soccer pedigree, but Ukrop brought it into national prominence during his four and a half seasons there. His junior year, Ukrop scored 22 goals and assisted on 12, earning him second team All American honors. However, he broke his leg at the start of the 1991 season. As a result, he was a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

that year, but came back strong in 1992. In 1992, his last season at Davidson, Ukrop led the nation in scoring, bagging 31 goals and assisting on 10 others. He also led Davidson to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Final Four only to fall to

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3–2 in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

in the semifinals. That year, Ukrop was named a first team All American and the ISAA Player of the Year. He finished his four years at Davidson with the school record in career goals (76), points (184) and assists. His points total is almost double the next player on the points list. While still at Davidson, Ukrop played with the U.S. national B Team. After graduating from Davidson in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in classical studies, Ukrop went to the

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

with the U.S. U-23 national team. He scored two goals and added an assist in the U.S. victory over Italy. That summer he also joined the

of the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. The USISL had begun as a small indoor league in the Southwest U.S., but gradually expanded outdoor as well. In 1993, the Kickers joined the league, making the playoffs as a wild card team. They defeated 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 ...

, then lost to the eventual USISL champion Greensboro Dynamo. Ukrop spent the 1993–1994 indoor season with the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 cha ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). That year, he lost a significant number of games when he took an elbow to his face, resulting in a broken jaw. Ukrop then moved to the Raleigh Flyers (USISL) for the 1994 outdoor season, before moving to 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) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

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. ...

(APSL). He then spent the 1994–95 indoor season with the Dayton Dynamo of the NPSL. The Dynamo moved to Cincinnati and renamed itself the Silverbacks in 1995. In 1996, Ukrop rejoined the team for the 1996–1997 season. In 1995, he was with the

when that team won the USISL title. Ukrop was a USISL Atlantic Division All Star. The Kickers also took the 1995

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

with Ukrop being named the championship game MVP. In January 1996, the

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 ...

drafted Ukrop in the seventh round (65th overall) of the 1996 MLS Draft. He scored the Revolution's first goal (and second goal, recording the team's first brace) in team history on April 13, 1996, against the

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

. However, he never became a regular contributor for the Revs, managing only nine games and the aforementioned two goals, both goals coming in the Revolution's first game of the season. The Revs released Ukrop on June 28, 1996, and he returned to the Richmond Kickers for the remainder of the season. Ukrop continued to play each season with the Kickers until he announced his retirement on December 9, 2004. Ukrop retired holding the club records for career goals (70), career assists (30), career points (170) and matches (231). On January 24, 2004, Davidson retired Ukrop's jersey number (#6) and inducted him into its Hall of Fame.Davidson Hall of Fame
/ref> On April 30, 2017, Ukrop was inducted into Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2019, 22 Holdings, LLC, an organization consisting of former Davidson College soccer players and led by Ukrop, acquired a controlling interest in the Richmond Kickers. Ukrop is currently the chairman and CEO.

Footnotes

External links

Davidson info

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukrop, Rob 1970 births Living people All-American college men's soccer players American men's soccer players American people of Slovak descent American Professional Soccer League players Baltimore Spirit players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Davidson Wildcats men's soccer players Dayton Dynamo players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Indoor soccer players Major League Soccer players Men's association football forwards National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players New England Revolution players Raleigh Express players Richmond Kickers players USISL players USL First Division players 20th-century American sportsmen