Mary Theresa Varas will be inducted into the Long Island Soccer Player Hall of Fame in ceremonies on Saturday.
Ceremonies will be held at the Huntington Hilton in Melville, N.Y.
She will be inducted into the Hall, along with Doc Lawson, Nick Megaloudis, Peter Jianette, John Lignos and Jean Varas.
Peter Collins, the late president of the Long Island Junior Soccer League, will receive the Paul LeSueur Ambassador of the Game Award.
The Hall also will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Arrows, who won their fourth and final Major Indoor Soccer League championship in 1982.
Varas started playing with the Massapequa Thunderbirds in 1975, performing with the Massapequa Express, which won four consecutive Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association and Region I championships. She also played in three consecutive U.S. Youth National Championships, including the first U-19 youth national championship in 1980.
Varas attended Berner H.S. from 1977-81, where she led the team to the Nassau County and Long Island titles. She was named an All-American in her senior season.
She was a captain of the Long Island team, which dominated the Empire State Games for seven years (1979-85), winning five gold medals and two silver medals.
Varas attended the UCF. As a freshman, she led the team to the women’s national championship, which was governed by the now defunct Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and was named the MVP of the national tournament. The next year, she paced UCF to the first NCAA championship game, UCF’s highest finish in history. Despite losing in the final, Varas was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player. She concluded her senior season with another NCAA tournament berth, making it three out of her four-year career. Varas’ honors included being an All-American in 1983 and was named UCF’s MVP or three years until being nudged out by future U.S. women’s national team legend, Michelle Akers.
In 1984, Mary and her sister Jean were featured in Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” for their accomplishments as soccer playing sisters. The appearance in SI was thought to be the first published recognition for female soccer players.
There were few playing opportunities after college for women in 1985, but Varas played in three successive U.S. Olympic Festivals, winning gold in 1985 and silver in 1987. Her Orlando Caliber Comets teams also competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur National Cup, reaching the 1994 national semifinals.
“The Class of 2022 is an extraordinary example of the amazingly rich history of soccer on Long Island,” LISPHOF founder Kevin L. McCrudden said. “In the early days of men’s and women’s soccer in America, you can find the footprints of some of the greatest and most influential players in America on Long Island. Never mind one of the most influential people in American soccer history, Mr. Peter Collins. Truly one of the ‘founding fathers’ of youth soccer on Long Island and America.”
Added Hall executive director Jim Kilmeade: “The Long Island Soccer Player Hall of Fame not only represents world class athletes, but world class human beings. On behalf of our board of directors, we look forward to learning about their individual life stories and are honored to induct this distinguished Class of 2022. These seven individuals have collectively inspired and impacted the lives of thousands of young soccer players, coaches and fans across Long Island and the Country. We look forward celebrating the 1981-82 national champion – NY Arrows and the careers of Doc Lawson, Peter Jianette, Mary Theresa Varas, Jean Varas, Nick Megaloudis John Lignos and the man at the forefront of the sport on Long Island, Mr. Peter Collins.”
