Roy Lee Lassiter (born March 9, 1969) 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 forward. He played the first few years of his professional career in Costa Rica. He returned to the United States to play in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

when that league was launched in 1996, and from 1996 to 1999 he was one of the most prolific goal scorers in MLS. Lassiter served as the assistant coach of

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

club Houston Dynamo 2. On Thursday, June 15, 2023, Lassiter was named Head Coach of Carolina Core FC. He is the father of Ariel Lassiter, who plays for

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

of MLS.

Early life and education

Lassiter was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

where he attended Athens Drive High School. He was the North Carolina State 4-A Player of the Year as a senior and a high school All-American. That year, he led his high school soccer team to the state championship while scoring a state record 47 goals. He also played for a local youth club, 69 Raleigh Rockets, which beat to the LaJolla Nomads 3–0, Roy scored all three goals, in the 1986 Noitis National Club Championship Cup. Lost in the 1986 Southern Regional Finals, in Plano TX, to the Dallas Titans 3–2, before the McGuire Cup. Lassiter attended Lees-McRae College in 1987, won the D3 National Championship 1988. He then transferred to

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

in 1989, where he was a 1991 First Team All-ACC and All South.

Club career

While convalescing, Lassiter was contacted by

Turrialba Turrialba may refer to: Places * Turrialba Volcano * Turrialba Volcano National Park, created around Turrialba Volcano. * Turrialba (canton), located in Cartago Province Cartago (), which means Carthage in Spanish, is a Provinces of Costa Ri ...

from Costa Rica in 1992. As Lassiter recalls it, "I have no idea how they got my name. They paid for my trip down there while still recovering from my leg injury, and I signed a contract." He also played for Carmelita and in summer 1995,

Alajuelense Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Al ...

sold him to Major League Soccer. In August 1995, Lassiter was arrested in connection with two burglaries that took place in 1992 after a Raleigh police detective read a newspaper article that mentioned a goal Lassiter scored in a U.S. friendly match with Benfica. Lassiter was sentenced to 30 days in jail. In 1996, Lassiter won the top goalscorer award in

, scoring 27 goals for

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 ...

, after when he was loaned for 6 months to Italian Serie B side

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. His record in the league's inaugural season was tied several times, but stood until it was broken in 2018 by Josef Martínez of

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

. Lassiter was traded to D.C. United in 1998 for Roy Wegerle. He played two seasons in DC, winning the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

in 1999. Lassiter was traded to the

Miami Fusion Miami Fusion F.C. was an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team played from 1998 to 2001. Announced in 1997 as one ...

in 2000 due to salary cap, as Lassiter sought a significant pay raise yet D.C. United were near their salary cap limit. He was then traded to the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The administrative offices are located in downtown K ...

in 2001, and back to DC in the middle of the 2002 season. He ended his MLS career with 88 regular season goals, a record surpassed in 2004 by

Jason Kreis Jason Clarence Kreis (born December 29, 1972) is an American soccer coach and former player who is the director of operations and special projects for Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake and the former head coach of the United States unde ...

. Lassiter added 13 goals in MLS playoffs and is 3rd in that category behind Carlos Ruiz and

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional association football, soccer player and coach who was most recently the interim head coach of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Often co ...

. He ended his professional career with

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

Virginia Beach Mariners The Virginia Beach Mariners were an American soccer club, who formerly played in the USL First Division of the United Soccer Leagues, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind Major League Soccer. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due ...

in 2003 as player/assistant coach, but played a few games with Laredo Heat of the

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 ...

and the exhibition Austin Posse in 2004 to help promote their clubs.

International career

Lassiter was called up to the U.S. national team in January 1992. He earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

as a substitute for

Eric Wynalda Eric Boswell Wynalda (born June 9, 1969) is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and former player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach ...

in a 1–0 loss to the

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. However, he broke his leg in a training ground collision with Bruce Murray a few days later. His second cap with the national team came over three years later as a substitute for Frank Klopas in an August 16, 1995 1–0 loss to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

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. On October 8, 1995, he played a third time for the national team, again as a substitute, scoring the game-winning goal in a 4–3 victory over

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Lassiter's career continued to rise, and he earned his first start for the national team in December 1996 and became a regular for much of 1997. While Lassiter played consistently for the U.S. in 1997, his appearances tapered off in 1998 and he was selected as an alternate for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

roster. He played only one game in 2000, his last with the national team. He represented his country in four

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matches and finished his international career with 34 caps and 4 goals.

Career statistics

:''Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lassiter goal.''

Coaching statistics

Honors

Alajuelense * Costa Rican Championship: 1995–96 Tampa Bay Mutiny *

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

D.C. United *

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

; runner-up

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

Copa Interamericana The Copa Interamericana () was an international association football, football competition endorsed by CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) and CONMEBOL (South America). Established in 1969, it was discontinued in 1998 after CONCACAF ...

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

MLS Golden Boot The MLS Golden Boot (currently commercially termed "Audi Golden Boot") has been awarded since the 2005 Major League Soccer season, 2005 season to Major League Soccer's regular–season leading scorer. The award replaced the MLS Scoring Champion ...

: 1996 (with Tampa Bay Mutiny) (with Tampa Bay Mutiny) *

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

: 1996 (with Tampa Bay Mutiny) * CONCACAF Champions League MVP:

(with D.C. United)

References

External links

*
Soccertimes profile of Roy Lassiter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lassiter, Roy 1969 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players African-American soccer players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players A.D. Carmelita footballers Liga Deportiva Alajuelense footballers Tampa Bay Mutiny players D.C. United players Genoa CFC players Miami Fusion players Laredo Heat players Sporting Kansas City players Serie B players Liga FPD players A-League (1995–2004) players Athens Drive High School alumni Virginia Beach Mariners players American expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate sportspeople in Costa Rica Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Costa Rica Soccer players from North Carolina Soccer players from Raleigh, North Carolina USL League Two players Lees–McRae College alumni Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Men's association football forwards CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players Lees–McRae Bobcats men's soccer National Premier Soccer League coaches Houston Dynamo FC non-playing staff 20th-century American sportsmen