Published: November 06, 2008 11:00 pm      

Mooch appears on Vet ballot

Former Hartwick College standout Glenn "Mooch" Myernick is among the 16 names that appear on the National Soccer Hall of Fame's 2009 Veteran Ballot, the Oneonta shrine announced Thursday.

The Soccer Hall simultaneously released its 15-person Builder Ballot, which features famous soccer names such as former U.S. National Women's Team coach Tony DiCicco, former U.S. National Men's Team coach Bruce Arena and Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber.

The Hall has not set a date to announce the results for either election.

Myernick died at age 51 in October 2006, five days after suffering a heart attack while jogging with a friend in his Denver neighborhood. Myernick won the Hermann Trophy as the country's best college player in 1976, when he earned his second All-American honor as a member of Hartwick's Division I team.

Myernick's time at Hartwick overlapped with his five years as a player for the U.S. National Men's Team (1975-79). He went on to play eight professional seasons in the North American Soccer League (1977-84), then served the U.S. National Men's Team as an assistant coach in 1992.

Myernick coached the Colorado Rapids from 1997-2001. He led the Rapids to an MLS championship appearance in his first season. Myernick also coached the U.S. Olympic Men's Team from 2002-04 and returned to the U.S. National Men's Team as an assistant under Arena for the 2006 World Cup.

On Oct. 23, Myernick received one of 11 spots reserved for former college players on the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer 50th anniversary team. The Soccer Hall also recognized Myernick's contributions to soccer with the Glenn "Mooch" Myernick Memorial Middle School Soccer Jamboree, a two-day event for local modified soccer players that ran Sept. 27-28 and featured an appearance by U.S. National Women's Team standout Abby Wambach.

Myernick will be honored as part of the 50th anniversary team during the NCAA Men's College Cup in Frisco, Texas, on Dec. 12-14. Former Oneonta State standout Farrukh Quraishi, Jeff Agoos (Virginia), Armando Betancourt (Indiana), Paul Caligiuri (UCLA), Richard Chinapoo (Long Island), Angelo DiBernardo (Indiana), Brad Friedel (UCLA), John Harkes (Virginia), Claudio Reyna (Virginia) and Al Trost (Saint Louis) also made the 50th anniversary team, which features Indiana's Jerry Yeagley as its coach.

Caligiuri, Harkes, Trost and Yeagley are members of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

The Veterans Screening Committee, which features 16 Hall of Famers, selected the final ballot from more than 300 former players who were eligible for consideration. All living Hall of Famers are eligible to vote in the Veteran election. The veteran who receives the most votes and appears on at least 50 percent of the ballots will be elected.

Myernick is vying for the top Veteran spot with the following people: Desmond Armstrong; Barry Barto; George Best; Hubert Birkenmeier; Teofilo Cubillas; Steve David; Linda Hamilton; Lori Henry; Shep Messing; Bill McPherson; Bruce Murray; John O'Connell; Andy Racz; Bob Rigby; and Kyle Rote Jr.

Builder Ballot

The Builder's Screening Committee, another 16-member team of Hall of Famers, selected the final Builder list from more than 50 eligible candidates.

DiCicco, Arena and Garber join the following people on the final list: Chuck Blazer; Bob Contiguglia; Bill Cox; Bob Gansler; Burton Haimes; Robert Kraft; Joe Machnick; Francisco Marcos; Fritz Marth; Thom Meredith; Kevin Payne; and David Socha.

All Soccer Hall of Famers and a select group of soccer administrators are eligible to vote for builders. Similar to the Veteran election, the builder who receives the most votes and appears on at least 50 percent of the ballots will be elected.

In the event of a tie in either election, more than one person may be selected in the same year as long as they appear on at least 50 percent of the ballots.

Voting has already started for the 2009 Player election, which features 25 candidates and runs from Nov. 3-Dec. 3. Results from the Player election will be announced live on Fox Soccer Channel during coverage of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's annual convention from 8-10 p.m. Jan. 15. The Soccer Hall's website, www.soccerhall.org, states that an announcement regarding the results of the Veteran and Builder elections "have not been finalized."

The Hall honored veteran Hugo Perez and builder Anson Dorrance as its Class of 2008, which produced no Hall of Famers from the Player election. A player must appear on 75 percent of the ballots cast to be elected.