25th Anniversary Profile: Dante Washington
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – As part of the Big South Conference’s 25th Anniversary celebration in 2008-09, which is presented by Royal Purple, the Conference is profiling each week the Top 25 “Best of the Best” moments in League history. This week’s feature is former Radford men’s soccer star Dante Washington.
A video vignette of Washington’s illustrious career, featuring comments from former Radford men’s soccer coach Don Staley, is now available for viewing on the Big South’s website, www.BigSouthSports.com, under the 25th Anniversary Media Center banner. Additional vignettes around other “Best of the Best” moments are also available, and the full vignette collection of the Top 25 “Best of the Best” moments will be posted as they are completed in the near future.
As a freshman for Radford in 1988, Dante Washington immediately burst onto the Big South soccer scene with his amazing talent. He led the Highlanders to the Big South Tournament championship that season with a school-record 27 goals scored and 22 assists for a Big South single-season record 76 points – a Conference record that still stands today. The All-Conference selection also led the nation in scoring in 1988. In that first season, he scored six goals in a game and dished out four assists in another.
Washington missed the 1989 season due to a broken ankle, but came back in 1990 and picked up where he left off as he tallied 23 goals and 18 assists for 64 total points to again lead all of NCAA Division I in scoring. He earned his second All-Conference honor that season and was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) First-Team All-Region selection.
In 1991, Washington led the Highlanders to a school-best 15-4-2 overall record and the regular-season Big South championship. He was voted Big South Player of the Year after leading the League in scoring for the third time. He tallied 16 goals and 14 assists for 46 points and became the Big South’s all-time leading goal scorer and point scorer during that season. He became Radford’s first Division I consensus First-Team All-American in 1991 and was also the state of Virginia’s Player of the Year. Washington also participated on the U.S. Under-23 team in 1991 and became the first African-American to score a goal for the U.S. National Team.
Washington earned more attention in the summer of 1992 when he played for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team at the Barcelona Olympic Games, where he led the team with six goals in qualifying action. Washington concluded his collegiate career later that fall with his fourth All-Conference honor. He posted 13 goals and 11 assists in his senior season to finish his brilliant career with 82 goals scored, 66 assists and 230 total points – all Radford and Big South Conference records. His 82 goals scored still rank second all-time in NCAA history.
Washington earned a double major in history and political science while at Radford, earning adidas Scholar Athlete All-American honors in 1992. He moved onto the professional circuit and later joined Major League Soccer in 1996 as a member of the Columbus Crew during their inaugural season. He played three games for the Crew before moving onto the Dallas Burn later that season. He spent just over three years in Dallas and helped the Burn reach the playoffs every season with the squad. In 1997, he was named an MLS All-Star and scored a goal in the All-Star Game. He finished 1997 with 12 goals and six assists, and tallied two playoff scores as well. In all, Washington scored 24 goals during his time in Dallas.
Washington re-joined the Crew in 2000 and earned his second All-Star distinction that year. He scored a career-high 15 goals in addition to nine assists for Columbus, and notched a goal and an assist in the 2000 All-Star Game. Washington and the Crew made the playoffs in 2001, 2002 and 2004 before he moved onto Real Salt Lake in 2005. He played nine games for Real Salt Lake in what would be his final MLS season. Washington spent nine seasons in MLS and scored 57 goals and had 31 assists in 189 career regular-season and playoff games. He still ranks as the Crew’s fifth all-time leading goal scorer with 28.
Following his playing career, Washington later worked as a broadcaster for the Crew. In July 2007, Washington joined the MLS front office as a regional ambassador for Region I (Mid-Atlantic/Northeast), which consists of 13 states, including MLS markets Washington, D.C., New York and New England. He is responsible for league and soccer development in Region I, which includes relationship building with youth clubs and tournaments, player development efforts sponsored by the league, and fan building with MLS and its respective clubs.
Washington is one of the Top 25 “Best of the Best” moments in League history. The Conference is conducting an online fan poll to help determine the Top Moment in the first 25 years of the Big South Conference. Voting is open on www.BigSouthSports.com and continues through March 25. Fan voting will be combined with the 25th Anniversary Committee’s votes to come up with the official rank order of the “Best of the Best” moments. The countdown will be unveiled at the concluding 25th Anniversary banquet in May 2009.
Next week’s featured “Best of the Best” moment and vignette: Liberty National Champion Josh McDougal.