Mention the San Francisco Seals and most soccer fans immediately think back to the United States Open Cup of 1997.  In that competition the Seals, a third division team at the time, shocked the soccer world by upsetting two Major League Soccer teams on their way to reaching the semifinals and being recognized by USA Today as its team of the year.  The catalyst behind that magical Seals run was a diminutive striker who was on a mission to prove the skeptics wrong. 

The previous season, Marquis White was drafted by the New England Revolution of MLS but was unceremoniously dumped before the start of the season after running into injury problems.  Finding himself back on the Seals roster after sitting out a year due to his injury, White, a graduate of Terra Linda High School in Marin County, was more determined than ever to prove that MLS made a mistake by letting him go.  After the Seals dispatched their opponents in the first two rounds of the Open Cup, White's chance at redemption finally arrived on July 24th with a matchup against the Kansas City Wizards.

The Wizards came into the match atop their division in the MLS standings and fully confident that their third division opponents would be easily vanquished.  They would quickly find out that their opponents had other ideas in store.  White wasted no time in proving his MLS doubters wrong with a first minute strike.  And after the Wizards answered that strike later in the half, White one-upped them with a second half goal which proved to be the winner.  After the match White had this emphatic response for those who questioned his abilities, "I knew I could play, and this proves it."

White and the Seals proved their abilities once again in the next round with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over their MLS neighbors the San Jose Clash.  The Seals run would finally end with a hard fought 2-1 defeat at the hands of perennial MLS power D.C. United.  White would end up leading the tournament in scoring with 6 goals; an impressive tally which was twice the amount of the next nearest scorer and an amount which has not been surpassed since in Open Cup play.

The following season White was one of three Seals players selected among the first four picks of the 1998 MLS Supplemental draft.  He went on to play two seasons with the Colorado Rapids, notching 4 goals in his MLS career.  He completed his professional playing career in 2000 returning to the Bay Area Seals of the A-League.  Upon completion of his career, he made the transition into coaching at the youth and high school level.  He is currently on the coaching staff at Mustang Soccer Club in Danville, CA (www.mustangsoccer.com).

 

Prior to beginning his career with the Seals, White attended the University of San Francisco, earning MVP honors in his final season.  He also spent time at the famed Tahuichi Academy in Bolivia and played in the Bolivian First Division with Santa Cruz Destroyers.

 

The San Francisco Seals of the USL's Premier Development League will recognize one of their most accomplished players by celebrating Marquis White Day on June 18th at Negoesco Stadium.  A pre-game ceremony honoring White will take place about 20 minutes prior to their 2:00 pm match against the Bakersfield Brigade.  The PDL match will be immediately followed by a match between the Seals and Bakersfield U-20 teams at 4:00 pm.

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