When the San Antonio Scorpions host the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in The NASL Championship Final this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. ET) at Toyota Field, it will match up two Barry men's soccer legends. The Scorpions are coached by Alen Marcina, the Bucs' all-time leading scorer, while Mark Anderson, the only Buccaneer to be named national player of the year, is one of the offensive leaders for the Strikers.
Marcina, who played at Barry from 1999-2002, amassed 151 points (62 goals, 27 assists) in 76 games. He led the Bucs to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1999 and 2000, including the championship game in 2000, an all-time classic that went four overtimes against Cal State-Dominguez Hills. Marcina was the Player of the Year in the Sunshine State Conference in 2002 as well as Offensive Player of the Year. He led the Bucs to SSC titles in 1999 and 2002.
Anderson had 150 points (59 goals, 32 assists) from 2008-11. He ranked just behind Marcina in points and goals and tied Mike Lupton for the top spot in assists. He led the Bucs to an SSC Tournament title in 2009 and the regular season crown in 2010. As a senior in 2011, he had one of the best seasons in program history. He scored a school-record 21 goals, was named the Player of the Year in the SSC, the NCAA South Region and on the Daktronics National Team. He was also according the national Academic All-American of the year on the Capital One/CoSIDA team.
Fans will be able to tune into the big match via several different outlets.
On a national level, fans can watch the match live on ESPN3, ONE World Sports and NASLLive.com, while KSAT12.2-MeTV will air the game on local television in San Antonio. Florida-based online radio station SoFloRadio.com will air the game live as well.
Neither the Scorpions nor the Strikers have ever lifted the Soccer Bowl trophy, which is the third oldest men’s professional outdoor soccer league prize in the United States.