PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania – Senior defender
Mark Lindstrom of the UNCW men's soccer team has signed a professional contract with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC of USL Championship.
"I'm very excited about the opportunity to play for this great club," Lindstrom said. "I want to give thanks to my coaches and teammates at UNCW for preparing me for this next step in my career. I can't wait to get started with Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC."
The Gavle, Gastrikland, Sweden, native inked a one-year deal with a club option for the 2021 season and becomes the third UNCW player off this year's team to secure a spot with a professional team. Redshirt senior defender
Danny Reynolds was selected with the 35th overall pick by Seattle in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft and senior forward
Phillip Goodrum was taken by Atlanta with the 75th overall selection.
"Mark has all the traits to become a solid contributor on our backline," Pittsburgh Coach Bob Lilley said. "He reads the game well, is solid in the tackle and comfortable on the ball."
A 6-3, 200-pound defender, Lindstrom earned First-Team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors for the second year in a row in 2019 and was a Second-Team selection on the NCCSIA All-State and United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Teams. He started all 19 games and played in 98.8 percent of the team's minutes (1,770-of-1,791) while registering two goals.
The only player in program history to earn All-CAA notice four times, Lindstrom scored the first goal of his college career in UNCW's 3-0 victory over Presbyterian and added the game-winning marker in overtime to beat Hofstra back on Oct. 5.
Lindstrom started 65-of-68 games for Coach
Aidan Heaney and tallied 5,924 career minutes.
"This is great news that Mark has signed with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL," said Heaney, the 2019 CAA Coach of the Year. "He has been such a consistent performer throughout his career at UNCW and is one of the premier center backs in college soccer.
"Under Head Coach Bob Lilley, he will be playing for an experienced coach who is known for how well his teams defend. I think it's a great fit for both."
