The Loyola men's soccer team began its incredible two-year NCAA tournament run on Nov. 16, 1986, when the Greyhounds stunned top-ranked Virginia on the road. Midfielder Sam Mangione didn't score Loyola's goal in that 1-0 victory, but he did something more important.
Mangione marked the great John Harkes, who would go on to win the Hermann Trophy the following year as the top player in the nation. Not only did Harkes not score, he didn't even take a shot.
"We had a great team, we hadn't lost all year, but nobody knew a thing about us," says Mangione. "They had notoriety, guys who ended up playing for the national team, but we were confident. We thought we were just as good, if not better."
The following week, Mangione had his school-record 13th assist of the season in Loyola's Round of 16 win over George Mason before an overflow crowd at Curley Field.
In addition to his single-season record for assists in the Division I era at Loyola, his 24 career assists are tied for sixth.
A starter for the Greyhounds in each of his last three seasons, he was twice an all-conference choice for Loyola and was a tri-captain for two teams that reached the NCAA final eight. The Greyhounds won or tied 67 of their 83 games during his career.
During his senior season of 1987, the Greyhounds would again beat Virginia, this time in the second round, on the way to a second straight South Atlantic region title.
Mangione joins five of his teammates on those NCAA quarterfinal teams of 1986 and 1987 in the Loyola Athletics Hall of Fame. He also joins his older brother Nick, a member of the Loyola Class of 1980 who was inducted in 1989.
After graduating from Loyola with a business degree, he played professionally both indoors and outdoors, even while completing law school at the University of Baltimore. He currently assists with the soccer program at Loyola Blakefield.
