August 1, 2006

2006 NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame Inductees

Two current coaches with 10 national championships to their credit, one retired junior college coach with three national championships along with four players, a forward, midfielder, defender and goalkeeper, spanning twenty-five years of junior college soccer are the 2006 inductees to the NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame. In November, the seven inductees to the sport will be officially honored at the NJCAA Division One Soccer Tournament Banquet in Tyler, Texas and at the NJCAA Division Three Soccer Tournament Banquet in Herkimer, New York. They will join 32 players, coaches and contributors already named in the NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame. The 2006 Hall of Fame class includes:

Charlie Inverso has coached Mercer County Community College for over 20 years. Under his direction, the Vikings have captured 11 final four national finishes, three national runner-up awards and five NJCAA Division One National Championships. He has been an ODP Region One staff coach for 14 years and an assistant coach with the United States U15 National team for six years. He is fast approaching 400 wins which includes three victories over Mike Pantalione's Yavapai College teams in the 1991, 1995, 1996 national title matches.

Mike Pantalione is the first and only coach in Yavapai College soccer history. His .922 winning percentage is the best in men's intercollegiate soccer history at any level. Under his direction, the Roughriders have captured 17 consecutive conference titles, 15 final four national finishes, six national runner-up awards and five NJCAA Division One National Championships. He is fast approaching 400 wins (all-time best 21.8 wins per season) which includes three victories over Charlie Inverso's Mercer County CC teams in the 1997, 2002, 2003 national title matches.

Perry Nizzi was the Herkimer County Community College soccer coach from 1981 to 1997. His teams captured nine Region III titles with three undefeated NJCAA Division III National Championships. His 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 teams won 97 consecutive matches. He finished with a 291-56-11 overall record for the New York school and was twice named NJCAA Division III National Coach of the Year. He is currently the head men's soccer coach at Hamilton College (NY) where he has turned the NCAA Division III team into a top 20 soccer program.

Shalrie Joseph was a two-time NJCAA First Team All-America and two-time NSCAA All-America for Bryant & Stratton Business Institute during the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He was the focal factor that brought Bryant & Stratton national recognition. In addition, he was two-time NCAA Division One All-America for St. John's University . Currently, he has emerged as one of the top players in the world and is considered the top central defensive midfielder in Major League Soccer. He also is the captain of the Grenada National Team.

Cris Vaccaro was an All-America goalkeeper at Mercer County Community College in Trenton , New Jersey . He helped lead Mercer to a runner-up finish in the National Championships in 1976. After graduating from the University of Baltimore , Cris embarked on an 18-year professional career in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He was an eight time all-star selection and one of the league's all-time standout goalkeepers. Cris has been a National team goalkeeper for Puerto Rico and has served as their U17, U20 and full National team coach.

Edson Rico was one of the original soccer recruits in the program's history at Yavapai College in Prescott , Arizona and still to this day, the Roughriders all-time leading scorer. He led Yavapai's first recruiting class to a NJCAA National Championship in 1990, including assisting on the championship winning overtime goal. A two-time All-America selection from Las Vegas , he is still at the top of the table in goals and points for the Arizona school. In addition, he played eight years of professional soccer including four years in Belgium .

Fleming Petersen was a key defender of the back to back national championship teams at Massasoit Community College in 1986 and 1987. Among his many accomplishments, he made the NJCAA National All-Tournament team and was the Defensive MVP of the 1987 National Tournament. He played every match at Wake Forest University during his final two years of intercollegiate soccer where he was also an All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection. He currently coaches an elite women's team in his native homeland, Denmark .