Scott Cannon (born July 22, 1968, in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is Indiana's List of cities in Indiana, third-most populous city after India ...

) 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 played three seasons 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 ...

, two in 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. ...

, three in the National Professional Soccer League and at least four in 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 ...

and

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

. He was the 1999 USL Defender of the Year and a two time USL All Star.

High school and college

Cannon grew up in

, attending

Reitz Memorial High School Reitz Memorial High School or simply Memorial High School (MHS) is an inter-parochial Catholic high school on the east side of Evansville, Indiana, United States. It sits on land bought with money donated by Francis Joseph Reitz in 1922 in memo ...

where he won 3 State Championships and was a 1985 and 1986 NSCAA High School All-American soccer player. He then went on to attend

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Carnegie Hall of Moores Hill College, Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton College ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 1986 to 1990. In 1990, he anchored a defense with 20 shutouts and allowed only 5 goals in 25 games (NCAA records) during their undefeated season. Cannon was named a first team All-American and was inducted into the Evansville Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003

Professional

In the spring of 1991, during his final semester of college, Cannon started his professional career with the

Albany Capitals The Albany Capitals joined the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988. The team joined the American Professional Soccer League in 1990 when the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League. The club was based in Albany, New York, a ...

of the

(APSL). The Capitals made it to the finals of the APSL but lost in penalty kicks. In the summer of 1991, he also played for the U.S. at 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 ...

. That fall, he signed with the Harrisburg Heat of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) for the 1991–1992 season, despite being selected first (third overall) by the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch is an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the Crunch played a total of 16 seasons in three separate leagues unde ...

in the first round of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) draft. He later signed with the

Detroit Rockers The Detroit Rockers were an indoor soccer team in the National Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 2001. They played in Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit, Michigan, as well as The Palace of Auburn Hills and Compuware Sports ...

at some point during the 1994-1995 NPSL season, playing only ten games with them. In the summer of 1995, Cannon spent one season with the expansion Albany Alleycats of

. That fall, he signed with the Cincinnati Silverbacks of NPSL. In February 1996, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

selected Cannon in the sixth round (52nd overall) of the Inaugural Player Draft. Cannon delayed reporting to the Rapids as the Silverbacks went to the NPSL championship series. When he arrived in the Colorado training camp, he reported injured with a bone spur in his ankle. Despite that, he played twenty-one games, starting sixteen, with the Rapids. The Rapids released Cannon at the end of the season and he played 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 ...

(USISL) in 1997. In March 1998, 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 ...

picked Cannon in the second round (21st overall) of the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. He spent the 1998 season in Columbus, where the team made it to the finals of the

US 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 ...

and the semi-finals of 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 ...

. He was waived by the Crew on November 2, 1998. In May 2000, Cannon rejoined the Kickers for the 2000 USL season. He was the USL Defender of the Year and a first team All Star. In 2001, he moved to 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 ...

, playing five games before being called back to MLS by 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 ...

on May 5. Two days later, the Mutiny signed Cannon for the remainder of the season. Cannon played nine games with the Mutiny. The Mutiny waived Cannon in November 2001. Even though he received several offers to continue playing, Cannon decided to retire from professional soccer.

Coaching

Since retiring from playing, Cannon has served in a variety of youth soccer positions. He is currently the Director of Soccer for Rhode Island Surf Soccer Club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Scott 1968 births Living people Albany Alleycats players Albany Capitals players All-American college men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Charleston Battery players Cincinnati Silverbacks players Colorado Rapids players Columbus Crew players Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Harrisburg Heat (NPSL) players Major League Soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana Richmond Kickers players Soccer players from Indiana Tampa Bay Mutiny players A-League (1995–2004) players USL Second Division players Columbus Crew draft picks 20th-century American sportsmen