Overbeck, Venturini, Kluegel, Lassister on Hall of Fame Ballot

Former Tar Heel and Carolina Courage star, Duke assistant coach Carla Overbeck , her fellow Carolina alums Tisha Venturini-Hoch and Jena Kluegel, and former Athens Drive High graduate, NCSU standout, and U.S. MNT player Roy Lassiter are among 10 former U.S. Men’s National Team, Women’s National Team and MLS veterans that have been added to the ballot of players eligible for induction into the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2006. Lassister was named state 4-A Player of the Year as senior for scoring a state-record 47 goals and leading Athens High to the state championship. In his senior year at NC State, Lassister netted 22 goals for the Wolfpack. I Lassister scored 88 goals in MLS, a record until Duke's Jason Kreis surpassed that mark in 2004, and added 4 goals for the US National team while earning 30 caps. Overbeck, Kluegel and Venturini-Hoch were all first-team All-Americas during their careers at Carolina as well as being veterans of the U.S. Women's National Team. North Carolina posted a phenomenal 95-match unbeaten streak (89-0-6) during Overbeck's collegiate career. At the National Team level, Overbeck was an instrumental player for the U.S. in winning the 1991 Women’s World Cup in China. She captained the 1995 U.S. World Cup squad that advanced to the semifinals and also served as captain of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team that won the gold medal.

In 1998, Overbeck competed on the gold-medal-winning Goodwill Games squad. She again captained Team USA to the 1999 World Cup championship and to a silver medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Overbeck joined the coaching staff at Duke University in 1992.

The newcomers join 47 players who were on the ballot in 2005, when Marcelo Balboa, John Harkes and NC State's Tab Ramos were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Besides the trio of former MNT stars, leading vote getters on the ballot included MNT veterans Thomas Dooley and Hugo Perez, who is in his last year of eligibility.

Two players are inducted into the Hall of Fame each year, provided they receive the most votes and are named on at least 50 percent of the ballots cast. A third candidate may be elected if that candidate is named on 80 percent of the ballots cast.

-- Jarrett @ 3/15/2006 06:04:00 PM