David Vanole, 43; goalkeeper on Olympic, U.S. national soccer teams
David Vanole, the starting goalkeeper for the U.S. soccer team at the 1988 Summer Olympics who later helped the United States qualify for the World Cup for the first time in four decades, has died.
He was 43.
Vanole, who had long battled a weight problem, collapsed Monday while on a family skiing trip in Utah and died later that day in Salt Lake City. A cause of death was not announced.
The Redondo Beach native and longtime Manhattan Beach resident was recognized Wednesday by Sunil Gulati, president of U.S. Soccer, the governing body for the sport in this country, for his contribution to the game.
“David Vanole was one of the pioneers at the start of a new era for U.S. soccer,” Gulati said. “He should be remembered for that, right alongside the other early stars of the sport in our country.”
After playing at UCLA on the NCAA soccer championship team in 1985, Vanole helped the United States qualify for the 1988 Olympics and started in all three of the team’s games in Seoul.
He was the Olympic teammate of such players as Tab Ramos, John Harkes and Paul Caligiuri.
Vanole played 13 times for the national team, including five matches en route to its qualification for the Italia ’90 World Cup, where he and Kasey Keller were the backup goalkeepers, behind starter Tony Meola.
Once his playing career ended, Vanole turned to coaching at UCLA, serving as goalkeeper coach for both the men’s and women’s teams and helping the men’s team to its 1997 NCAA championship.
He was instrumental in developing some of the top goalkeepers in the country, including UCLA, Major Soccer League and U.S. national team players Kevin Hartman, Matt Reis and Nick Rimando.
“His players loved him and his peers had the utmost respect for his coaching ability,” said UCLA women’s soccer coach Jillian Ellis.
Vanole also served as goalkeeper coach under his former UCLA coach, Sigi Schmid, for the U.S. Under-20 team at the FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria in 1999 and the next year was goalkeeper coach for the U.S. women’s team that won a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He was an assistant coach with Major League Soccer teams D.C. United and the New England Revolution and the Women’s United Soccer Assn. team Washington Freedom.
Vanole is survived by his wife of 18 months, former Women’s United Soccer Assn. official Kerry Tatlock, now the NBA senior director of global marketing partnerships.
Funeral services are to be held Saturday in New York, with a memorial service scheduled for 1 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Manhattan Beach Community Church, 303 S. Peck Ave.
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latimes.com
