Pat Hennig, Chair of the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame, is pleased to announce its 2024 class of inductees, which will officially become enshrined at a ceremony on Saturday, January 27th, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Bristol. The seven new members entering the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame are Chris Canetti, Annmarie Catania, Thomas D’Agostino, Jerry Garlick, Stephen Griggs, Allen Nunes and Gary Swanson.
Tickets for the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame Dinner are available for purchase now, with advertising and sponsorship opportunities also being available. Click here to learn more about how you can attend or support this special evening. Members of the media are invited guests and should email [email protected] for a credential.
Chris Canetti (Guilford, CT) has enjoyed a 24-year career as an executive in Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League with the NY/NJ MetroStars, Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash. The Connecticut native is the current President of the Dynamo and previously held the same position with the Dash from 2013 to 2018. Canetti has two MLS Cups in his portfolio, winning consecutive league titles in 2016 and 2017, and he also raised the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Trophy with the Dynamo in 2018. Further, he played a key role in launching the Dash as an NWSL expansion franchise in 2014. In addition to his responsibilities with the Dynamo, Canetti currently serves as the President of the Houston 2026 World Cup Bid and Host Committee as well. In 2013, Canetti played a vital role in putting together an event in Newtown, Connecticut, in hopes of bringing smiles to faces in a town devastated by the tragic Sandy Hook shooting. The event featured the likes of Mia Hamm, Landon Donovan, Alexi Lalas, Christie Rampone, Eric Wynalda and dozens of others exclusively for residents of Newtown.
Annmarie Catania (Rocky Hill, CT) has been an instrumental figure in Connecticut soccer for more than 30 years since being named an All-American as a player at Mitchell College in New London. She has enjoyed a highly successful career as a coach and instructor at all levels of the game, currently serving as the head girls soccer coach at Rocky Hill High School and at Connecticut Football Club. Additionally, she works as a goalkeeper coach for Connecticut ODP and the Regional Training Centers. Her Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame selection is the latest high accolade for Catania, who was previously inducted into the Connecticut Girls Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Mitchell College Hall of Fame and Rocky Hill Athletic Hall of Fame.
Thomas D’Agostino (Longmeadow, MA) played professionally in the American Soccer League before transitioning to coaching and eventually earning his US Soccer Federation A License. Over the past 30 years, D’Agostino has coached or served in leadership roles at all levels of the game, ranging locally in the State of Connecticut all the way to internationally in Europe. His portfolio includes stops with Connecticut ODP, Connecticut Fusion of United Women’s Soccer, FSA FC United Connecticut, Western Mass Pioneers of the United Soccer League, Western Mass Lady Pioneers of the USL W-League, Atlantic Soccer Club, South Central Premier Connecticut, Longmeadow Soccer Association and SoccerPlus Field Player Academy. He has also volunteered his time in philanthropic initiatives to help grow the game such as Futbol For Change in Ghana.
Jerry Garlick (Simsbury, CT) has enjoyed a highly successful coaching career for more than 20 years, and his portfolio includes accolades such as being named the 2002 Connecticut Junior Soccer Association (CJSA) Coach of the Year (Girls Team) and 2003 NSCAA National Coach of the Year (Youth Girls Division), also receiving the high honor of being named a “Hometown Hero” by the Town of Simsbury. Garlick has coached at all levels with Simsbury Soccer Club and has guided eight teams to Connecticut Cup Championships. In addition to coaching, he has also contributed extensively to the soccer community at executive positions such as Simsbury Soccer Club President and on the CJSA Disciplinary Committee.
Stephen Griggs (Guilford, CT) served as the head coach of Yale University from 1978 to 1995, and he remains the winningest coach in the history of the school with 143 victories. He led Yale to three Ivy League Championships and helped the team reach the NCAA Division I Quarterfinals in 1991. He also worked at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, and he served on a committee that aspired to make the Yale Bowl a host site when the international tournament came to the United States four years later. Griggs has remained a key figure in the Connecticut soccer community for more than five decades, and his contributions have helped lead the sport to the success it continues to see at the state level and beyond.
Allen Nunes (Cromwell, CT) held the scoring record at the University of Hartford for 34 years until it was finally broken in 2004. He was an All-New England First Team selection over four consecutive seasons in college and was named the Athlete of the Year at the University of Hartford in 1971. 20 years later, he became the first soccer player to get inducted into the University of Hartford Hall of Fame. After college, he was drafted by the Connecticut Wildcats of the American Soccer League. Additionally, he also played and coached for Hartford Portuguese Soccer and Hartford Luso for more than 30 years. Nunes was inducted into the Hartford Portuguese Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Hartford Public High School Hall of Fame in 2004.
Gary Swanson (Waterford, CT) has been an instrumental figure in soccer throughout the region for more than four decades. The 1982 Parade Magazine All American and all-time leading scorer at Waterford High School also had his jersey number retired at his high school. The former Connecticut ODP player was a captain and All-New England selection at Boston University before playing professionally with the Connecticut Wolves of the American Soccer League. In addition to his success as a player, Swanson also enjoyed an extensive career in soccer as a broadcaster for New England Sports Network (NESN) and as a club executive and coach at Waterford Soccer Club and Southeast Soccer Club.
To contact the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame, please call (860) 676-1161 or email [email protected].