Mark Pulisic

Mark Pulisic

Pulisic in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Mark Pulisic
Date of birth	(1968-09-20) September 20, 1968
Place of birth	Centereach, New York, United States
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s)	Forward
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1989	George Mason Patriots	73	(35)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1999	Harrisburg Heat (indoor)		(296)
Managerial career
1993–2005	Lebanon Valley College (men)
1996–2005	Lebanon Valley College (women)
2003–2004	Harrisburg City Islanders (assistant)
2006–2007	Detroit Ignition
2015–2017	Borussia Dortmund (academy)
2017	Rochester Rhinos (assistant)
2018	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mark Pulisic (born September 20, 1968) is an American former soccer player and coach. He played for the Harrisburg Heat for his entire professional career. He is the father of Christian Pulisic, who plays for AC Milan and the United States men's national team.

College

Pulisic attended George Mason University, where he played soccer from 1986 to 1989. He finished with thirty-five career goals in 73 appearances. In 2012, he was voted into the George Mason Men's Soccer Hall of Fame.

Harrisburg Heat

In 1991, Pulisic turned professional with the Harrisburg Heat of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). He remained with the Heat throughout his career, retiring from playing professionally in 1999. When he retired, the Heat honored him with a Mark Pulisic Night at the Farm Show Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was then inducted into the team's Hall of Fame, joining Bob Lilley, Richard Chinapoo, and Todd Smith.

Coaching

In 1993, Lebanon Valley College hired Pulisic to begin a new chapter of the men's soccer program, where he coached until 2005. In 1996, Pulisic began coaching a new women's team program at the school as well. While with Lebanon Valley College, Pulisic also served as an assistant coach for the Harrisburg City Islanders of the USL in 2003 and 2004.

On April 19, 2006, the expansion Detroit Ignition of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) hired Pulisic as the team's first coach. In April 2007, he was named the MISL Coach of the Year. On November 6, 2007, former Heat teammate Bob Lilley replaced Pulisic as head coach of the Ignition, moving Pulisic to the front office as director of soccer operations.

Pulisic relocated to Germany in 2015 after his son Christian was signed by Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, and was hired as a coach for Dortmund's U10 academy team. In early 2017, Pulisic returned to the United States, joining second division club Rochester Rhinos as an assistant coach under his former teammate and colleague Bob Lilley.

Personal life

Mark Pulisic's father is originally from the island of Olib in Croatia.

Mark Pulisic is the father of AC Milan and U.S. men's national team player Christian Pulisic. His nephew Will Pulisic plays for MLS Next Pro club Minnesota United FC 2.

In a 2023 interview for ESPN, his son Christian Pulisic added that his paternal grandmother Johanna DiStefano was Sicilian, noting that "My dad, her son, has an Italian flag tattooed on his forearm."

Honors

Individual

• MISL Coach of the Year: 2007

External links

• "Mark Pulisic Named Assistant Coach" (Pittsburgh Riverhounds, January 5, 2018)
• Mark Pulisic at Detroit Ignition at the Wayback Machine (archived October 8, 2007)
• Mark Pulisic on Twitter