Pat Fidelia

Pat Fidelia (born April 16, 1959 in Port-au-Prince) is a retired Haitian-American soccer forward who spent four seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the American Soccer League and one in the United Soccer League. He also earned one cap playing with/for the national team.

Pat Fidelia
Personal information
Full name Patrick Fidelia
Date of birth (1959-04-16) April 16, 1959
Place of birth Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Mercer County College
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1978–1980 Philadelphia Fury 46 (17)
1979–1980 Cleveland Force (indoor) 29 (10)
1981 Montreal Manic 6 (0)
1981–1982 Philadelphia Fever (indoor) 6 (0)
1982–1983 Carolina Lightnin'
1984 Charlotte Gold
National team
1979 United States 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Youth

Fidelia was born in Haiti and moved to the United States as a child, settling in Mount Holly, New Jersey and graduating in 1976 from Rancocas Valley Regional High School.[1] He then attended Mercer County Community College.[2]

Playing

Professional

The Houston Hurricane of the North American Soccer League (NASL) drafted Fidelia with the last pick (96th overall) of the 1978 Draft. It then traded him to the Philadelphia Fury.[3] While playing as a substitute for most of the 1978 season with the Fury, Fidelia led the team in scoring with eight goals. The Fury folded at the end of the 1980 season and Fidelia moved to the Montreal Manic for the 1981 season.[4] In 1979, he signed with the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League, playing 29 games for the team during the 1979–1980 season.[5] In 1982, Fidelia left the NASL for the Carolina Lightnin' of the American Soccer League. He scored eight goals that season.[6] The ASL folded following the 1983 season and the Lightnin' jumped to the United Soccer League, changing its name to the Charlotte Gold. The Gold lasted only the 1984 season before folding. Fidelia retired from playing professionally.

National team

Fidelia earned his one cap with the national team in a 3–1 win over Bermuda on October 7, 1979 when he came on for Greg Villa.[7]

Amateur

Fidelia continued to play for amateur teams in the Charlotte Amateur Soccer League. In the late 1980s he played for Fish Fare and was with Pepsi in 1990.

Coaching

After retiring from playing, Fidelia coached high school soccer at Charlotte Christian. In April 1989, he resigned, but was hired by Christ School in Arden, NC. He currently coaches at Carolina Day in Asheville, NC.

References
  1. Holroyd, Steve. "Before Hoppenot, there was Fidelia", The Philly Soccer Page, July 11, 2012. Accessed July 18, 2019. "Pat Fidelia was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on April 16, 1959. Moving to the United States at a young age, his family settled in Mt. Holly, New Jersey.... While attending Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Fidelia starred as a forward for the school’s soccer team, graduating in 1976 as the team’s leading scorer."
  2. Westcott, Rich. "Pat+Fidelia+Rancocas" "Veterans Stadium: field of memories", p. 189. Temple University Press, 2005. ISBN 1-59213-428-9. Accessed February 14, 2011.
  3. SoccerAmerica Sports Library
  4. REMEMBERING THE "PSEUDO-ATOMS"--THE PHILADELPHIA FURY, 1978-1980 Archived 2002-11-27 at Archive.today
  5. The Cleveland Force 1979-1980 Season
  6. "The Year in American Soccer - 1982". Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  7. USA - Details of International Matches 1885-1969 Archived 2010-01-17 at WebCite
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