Professional
Following his graduation from Williams in 1989, Masters signed with the Albany Capitals of the American Soccer League (ASL). In 1990, the ASL merged with the Western Soccer League to form the American Professional Soccer League (APSL). Masters and the Capitals then played the 1990 and 1991 APSL seasons. In 1990, he was the third leading scorer in the APSL with 14 goals. In 1991, Masters scored seven goals as the Capitals went to the APSL title game only to lose to the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks. Despite this success, the Capitals folded during the off-season and Masters moved west to join the Blackhawks for the 1992 season. He played sixteen games, scoring four goals as the team finished 8-8. At the end of the APSL season, Masters traveled to England for a trial with Colchester United which, after relegation the previous year, played in the GM Vauxhall Conference. The Conference is the fifth tier of English football and, while classified as 'non-league', still receives significant media coverage and support from fans. Masters quickly attained cult status amongst Colchester supporters, scoring many vital goals in the clubs promotion winning 1991-92 season, including a hat-trick in the final game — a 5–0 win against Barrow FC that saw the 'U's' promoted back to The Football League. A few days later, Masters headed the first goal in Colchester’s 3-1 victory over Witton Albion in the FA Trophy final, sealing the so-called 'non-league' double for his side. That was the first goal scored by an American in a Wembley Stadium cup competition. Despite his productive time with Colchester, the British Home Office denied Colchester a work permit for Masters and he returned to the United States. In 1994, the Boston Storm traded Masters to the Long Island Rough Riders during the season. He played for the Roughriders through the 1997 season.
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Famous quotes containing the word professional:
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—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“The professional celebrity, male and female, is the crowning result of the star system of a society that makes a fetish of competition. In America, this system is carried to the point where a man who can knock a small white ball into a series of holes in the ground with more efficiency than anyone else thereby gains social access to the President of the United States.”
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—G.C. (Georg Christoph)