Mike Masters

Michael Masters (born April 26, 1967 in Leesville, Louisiana) is a former U.S. soccer forward who is the first American to score a goal in Wembley Stadium. He played one season in the American Soccer League, three season in its successor, the American Professional Soccer League, and the end of the 1991-1992 English season during which his team, Colchester United, won the FA Trophy final. Masters also earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1992.

Mike Masters
Personal information
Full name Michael Masters
Date of birth (1967-04-26) April 26, 1967
Place of birth Leesville, Louisiana, United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1985–1988 Williams College
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1990 Albany Capitals ? (?)
1990–1991 San Francisco Bay Blackhawks 16 (4)
1990–1991 → Colchester United (loan) 11 (1)
1991–1992 Colchester United 15 (7)
1992–? Newbury Town ? (?)
?–1994 Boston Storm ? (?)
1994–1997 Long Island Rough Riders ? (?)
National team
1992 United States 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

High school and college

Masters grew up on Long Island and graduated from The Wheatley School of Old Westbury, New York in 1985. In 1991, the school inducted Masters into its Athletic Hall of Fame for his high school soccer, basketball and track and field exploits.[1] Masters then attended Williams College, a small NCAA Division III liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He chose Williams for its academic-athletic balance, and also because he wanted to play both soccer and basketball.

[2] At Williams, he played on the men's soccer team from 1985 to 1988. In 1987 and 1988 he was selected as a first team All American.[3] He finished his four years at Williams with a school record 44 goals, a record broken in 1996 by Brad Murray.[4] Masters also served as captain of both the soccer and basketball teams.[2]

Professional

Following his graduation from Williams in 1989, Masters signed with the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League (ASL). In 1990, the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). Masters and the Capitals then played the 1990 and 1991 APSL seasons. In 1990, he was the third leading scorer in the APSL with 14 goals. In 1991, Masters scored seven goals as the Capitals went to the APSL title game only to lose to the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks. Despite this success, the Capitals folded during the off-season and Masters moved west to join the Blackhawks for the 1992 season. He played sixteen games, scoring four goals as the team finished 8-8.[5]

At the end of the APSL season, Masters traveled to England for a trial with Colchester United which, after relegation the previous year, played in the GM Vauxhall Conference. The Conference is the fifth tier of English soccer and, while classified as 'non-league', still received significant media coverage and support from fans. Masters quickly attained cult status amongst Colchester supporters, scoring many vital goals in the club's promotion winning 1991-92 season, including a hat-trick in the final game — a 5–0 win against Barrow FC that saw the 'U's' promoted back to The Football League. A few days later, Masters headed the first goal in Colchester's 3-1 victory over Witton Albion in the FA Trophy final, sealing the so-called 'non-league' double for his side. That was the first goal scored by an American in a Wembley Stadium cup competition.

Despite Masters' productive time with Colchester, the British Home Office denied him a work permit and he returned to the United States.[6] In 1994, the Boston Storm traded Masters to the Long Island Rough Riders during the season.[7] He played for the Roughriders through the 1997 season.[8]

National team

On June 27 1992, Masters earned his only cap for the United States national team,[9] he replaced Eric Wynalda in the 59th minute of the 0–0 draw with Ukraine at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.[10][11] In doing so, Masters became the first player to win a full international cap whilst playing for Colchester.[12]

Post-soccer

Following his time with the national team, Mike spent some time coaching at DePaul University. He went on to receive his MBA at DePaul. He currently works on as an investment banker with Barclays Bank in London, Canary Wharf. He works in the high yield syndicate team. He is well known by financial issuers and investors, and has been on numerous well known European deals.[2]

He resided in New York with his wife and son before moving to London, where he currently resides.

Honors

Club
Colchester United[13][14]

References
  1. "WHEATLEY SCHOOL ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME". The Wheatley School. East Williston School District. 26 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. "Mike Masters, the first American to score at Wembley". ESPN FC. ESPN Inc. December 1, 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  3. 2007 Mens Awards Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Murray's Two Goal Performance Leads Williams to Victory Over North Adams". Williams College. 5 November 1996. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. "American Professional Soccer League 1992 Season". The A-League Archives. 27 January 2007. Archived from the original on 1 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  6. Soccer Net
  7. PLAYOFF BEGINS TONIGHT The Record (New Jersey) - Friday, August 5, 1994
  8. Long Island Rough Riders All Time Stats Archived 2012-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Mike Masters". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises Ltd. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  10. "USA v Ukraine, 27 June 1992". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises Ltd. 27 June 1992. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  11. "US-Ukraine - 0: 0". Kopanyi-Myach.info (in Ukrainian). History of Ukrainian Soccer. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  12. "Soccer: Sodje's international call". Gazette-News.co.uk. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. 29 May 2000. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  13. "Conference Honors". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
  14. "FA Trophy Honors". Coludaybyday.co.uk.
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