) is a retired Italian-American soccer forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 who spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 and earned one cap with the U.S. national team in 1983.

Youth

Crescitelli was born in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and immigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with his family when he was 11. He settled in Long Beach, New York

Long Beach, New York

Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...

 and attended North Adams State College where he played Division III NCAA soccer from 1975-1978. He was a prolific scorer over his four season with Mohawks. He still holds both the school and NCAA Division III records for career goals per game (1.98 per game) and career goals (132 in 62 games).

Professional

At this time, the North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League

North American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...

 held a two part draft. Cresctelli was initially drafted by the Rochester Lancers

Rochester Lancers

The Rochester Lancers were a soccer team based in Rochester, New York that played in the American Soccer League from 1967 until 1969 and the North American Soccer League from 1970 to 1980 at Aquinas Stadium...

 in the first part of the 1979 draft, but he refused to sign with the team after it offered him a $6,500 per year contract. The Washington Diplomats

Washington Diplomats

The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club based in Washington, D.C.. Throughout their existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium...

 then selected him in the second half of the draft. signed Crescitelli in 1979. He played only a handful of games for the team his first season, scoring no goals and assisting on only two. In 1980, he came on strong, scoring 15 goals in 19 games. At the end of the season, the Diplomats folded and the San Jose Earthquakes took Crescitelli in the dispersal draft but he failed to replicate his goal scoring feats in California. In the fall of 1982, the Earthquakes entered the Major Indoor Soccer League for the winter indoor season. In 1983, he signed with Team America

Team America (soccer)

Team America was a professional version of the United States men's national soccer team which played as a franchise in the defunct North American Soccer League during the 1983 season...

. In 1983, the U.S. Soccer Federation attempted to create a more successful U.S. national team

United States men's national soccer team

The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

 by entering the team into the NASL as a franchise. However, the team stumbled to a 10-20 record and the bottom of the league standings and USSF pulled the national team from the NASL at the end of the season. While most of the Team America players returned to their original teams, Crescitelli signed with the Tulsa Roughnecks

Tulsa Roughnecks

-NASL:The Tulsa Roughnecks were a North American Soccer League team from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They played at Skelly Stadium on the campus of the University of Tulsa. The Roughnecks were a regular in the NASL playoffs, and won the NASL Soccer Bowl in 1983, defeating the Toronto Blizzard at B.C. Place...

 on May 8, 1984 and played the first half of the last NASL season with them. The Roughnecks released him mid-season and he signed with the Fort Lauderdale Sun

Fort Lauderdale Sun

Fort Lauderdale Sun was a U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League. In 1983, the team was known as the Fort Lauderdale Sun, but in 1985, changed its name to the South Florida Sun.-Origins:...

 of the United Soccer League

United Soccer League

The United Soccer League was a professional soccer league in the United States in the mid-1980s.After the demise of the second incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1983, four ASL teams founded the USL...

. He scored ten goals through the remainder of the season as the Sun took the league title. The league collapsed six games into the 1985 season and Crescitelli moved north where he played in the amateur Northern Virginia Soccer League. He may also played for the Buffalo Stallions

Buffalo Stallions

The Buffalo Stallions were a soccer team based out of Buffalo, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1979 to 1984. Their home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.-History:...

 of Major Indoor Soccer League

Major Soccer League

The Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...

 at some point before signing with the Fort Lauderdale Suns.

National team

Crescitelli earned a single cap with the U.S. national team

United States men's national soccer team

The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...

 in the only U.S. game in 1983, a 2-0 victory over Haiti. Crescitelli did not score and was subbed out for Sonny Askew

Sonny Askew

John "Sonny" Askew is a retired American soccer forward who spent seven seasons in the North American Soccer League, two in the second American Soccer League, two in the third American Soccer League, and one in the Major Indoor Soccer League...

.

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts

The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a public, residential, liberal arts college that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. Located in North Adams, Massachusetts, it is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts...

 inducted Crescitelli into its Hall of Fame in 1992, the same year he completed his degree.

Family

Currently, Crescitelli lives in East Rockaway, New York

East Rockaway, New York

East Rockaway is a village in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. The population was 9,818 at the 2010 census.The Incorporated Village of East Rockaway is in the town Hempstead, adjacent to Lynbrook, Hewlett and Oceanside. The primary ethnicities are mainly Italian and Irish...

 and teaches Physical Education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 at Robert H. Goddard Junior High School. Tony Crescitelli and his wife Rosemarie have 2 children: Michael and Brandon

External links

• NASL/MISL stats