Militello Lands on His Feet : Pro soccer: Former Palos Verdes High player nearly retired, but he has bounced back with the Salt Lake City Sting.
He was known as “Boomer” at Palos Verdes High, so when Salt Lake Sting forward Dominic Militello scored three goals in his first American Professional Soccer League match, it didn’t surprise family and friends.
But the April 13 hat trick in Albuquerque, N.M., that led to a 3-1 victory over the New Mexico Chiles made Militello a home-crowd favorite. Sting Coach Laurie Calloway called him a “marked man.”
“He’s an absolute idol here in the community,” Calloway said. “But those three goals in his first pro start hurt him in some respects. He can’t creep up on anyone now.”
Militello, 23, followed the three-goal match with a tie-breaking penalty kick in overtime to defeat the host Phoenix Condors, 2-1. In the Sting’s home opener April 21, almost 10,000 crowded into Derks Field, home of the minor league baseball Trappers of the Pacific Coast League, for a match with front-running San Francisco. Many came to see Militello, who did not score but added an assist in a 4-2 overtime loss.
“I’m not a celebrity,” Militello said. “But I was really surprised with that kind of crowd for our first game.”
Injuries to other players forced Calloway to move Militello to the back line, but he remains a scoring threat. In a May 11 match with the visiting California Emperors, Militello scored the match’s only goal against former Cal State Dominguez Hills goalie Chris Wilson. Militello is tied for seventh in the APSL in points (nine), only three off the lead.
Calloway said he expects that the 5-foot-8, 150-pound graduate of Palos Verdes, El Camino College and Nevada Las Vegas will be up front when the Sting plays the Los Angeles Heat at West Torrance High on July 13.
Militello will remain with the club after his playing career, as he was recently hired to work in the team’s community-service department.
At a recent engagement in a small town 30 miles north of Salt Lake, more than 3,000 people showed up and Militello signed autographs for hours.
“The people here are tremendous,” he said. “They are courteous and responsive. They’re not real educated on soccer yet, but they are willing to learn.”
It was part good luck, good timing and a good tuneup on his truck that got Militello to Utah.
In December, Militello nearly retired. Although he helped El Camino to a state title and a second-place finish and UNLV to a conference title and two postseason berths, Militello lost confidence in his game.
“I was getting burned out on soccer,” said Militello, who joined an American Youth Soccer Organization league when he was 4.
His father, Tom, said: “He came back from (Las Vegas) after graduating thinking that he had gone about as far as he could go with soccer. . . . He wanted to get on with his life. He even applied for a few jobs.”
But Gabriel Cucuk, coach and owner of the San Pedro Yugoslavs, a semipro team in the Greater American Soccer League, was willing to pay Dominic to play. During January, Dominic struggled.
“I wasn’t playing well,” he said. “One game I told myself that this was it. I was going to hang it up. But I scored a couple of goals and decided to hang around.”
In February, Cucuk persuaded Militello to travel with the team to play in a prestigious semipro tournament in Las Vegas. That’s where he caught Calloway’s attention with a seven-goal performance in the opening match.
Militello returned to Southern California, where he worked out with the Heat. The Heat showed little interest in Militello.
“I expected to be a Heat player this year,” he said. “No one approached me, no one called me.”
Emperor Coach Rildo Menezes gave Militello a two-week tryout, but Menezes was looking for a Diego Maradona-style player, one who could take the ball up the field on the dribble.
Said Militello: “I’m the kind of player that can create a space, make an off-ball run and get a loose goal or a garbage goal. I. . . . can’t beat five or six players in one setting.”
In March, Calloway asked Militello to visit Salt Lake City.
“I had this old (truck) and I didn’t think it would make it to Utah, so I told him I couldn’t come,” Militello said. “He sent me an airline ticket. I was impressed. Laurie was the first coach to give me something so I could try out.”
Militello used his first paycheck to have the truck fixed and he drove it to Salt Lake City. It still has California plates, but that doesn’t mean Militello is contemplating a return to the South Bay.
“I’m happy to be in Salt Lake City,” he said. “Here, the players come first. I don’t feel left out in the cold.”
San Diego Nomad fullback John Gerrard, a former player-coach of the Yugoslavs, was quick to notice Militello’s abilities. On May 12, the Nomads held Militello scoreless from the back line and defeated the Sting, 2-1, but Gerrard said, “I was surprised at how really good (Militello) looked. He looked a step above everybody else.”
Militello, who played football, baseball and soccer in high school, was voted Palos Verdes’ athlete of the year in 1985. Although he was also named the Bay League’s most valuable soccer player in his senior year, he is remembered by Palos Verdes football fans for the “Miracle Catch,” a 65-yard pass reception for a touchdown against West Torrance. The play, completed with no time left, gave Palos Verdes the 1984 Bay League title.
