USL-1 Top 25 of the Decade: 10 - Vallow

USLsoccer.com continues its look at the best and most influential USL First Division players of the past decade with number 10 on the Top 25, Scott Vallow. The longtime Rhinos goalkeeper has been a consistent leader among goalkeepers in the league.

# 10 – Scott Vallow

Orginally signed to be the goalkeeper of the Major League Soccer US Project-40 team that played in USL-1 in 1999, the netminder proved himself a capable goalkeeper in the league and landed a contract with the Rochester Rhinos at the beginning of the decade.

Replacing the departed Pat Onstad, Vallow picked up right where the champion goalkeeper left off, leading the club back to the championship game and helping capture a second league title in three years by downing Minnesota. He finished the year with Goalkeeper of the Year and All-League honors for his play as he went 12-6-1 with eight shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.83.

Vallow led the club to a repeat performance against Hershey the following year, making the Rhinos only the third team to repeat as league champions.

The 2002 campaign was a rough one as he split time with Onstad and had stints with the New England Revolution and Dallas Burn of MLS. He landed a permanent spot with the Colorado Rapids in 2003 that lasted for two years, but ultimately it was his return to Rochester in 2005 that proved most successful.

He immediately returned to the elite, showing no rust as he posted a record of 13-7-5 with nine shutouts and a GAA of 0.92. The team finished second in the table and reached the semifinals that season.

Vallow brought the club back to the USL-1 championship game for the first time since 2001 when he posted another All-League performance in 2006. He played every minute of the campaign for the Rhinos as they finished 13-4-11, posting more shutouts (14) than victories as he completed the season with a 0.75 GAA.  The Rhinos missed the regular season title by one point to rival Montreal and were stunned, 3-0, at home in the championship against Vancouver.

After playing every minute in 2006, injury cost Vallow most of the 2007 campaign. He returned to the pitch and played in all but one match in 2008, reaching double digits in shutouts (10) for the second time in his career as he went 11-9-9. 

Chris Economides’ Point of View

“When you think of Rochester soccer, you think of two names... Dougy Miller and Scott Vallow. Scott came in after a disappointing MLS stint and established himself as one of the quality keepers in the league. He controls the back very well and is a leader, serving as captain. When thinking of a quality keeper, you don’t have to go much past Vallow in USL-1”  – Chris Economides, Senior Director, USL First Division

Previously...

11 – Leighton O’Brien, 12 – Andrew Gregor, 13 – David Hayes, 14 – Cristian Arrieta, 15 – Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar, 16 – Dusty Hudock, 17 – Bill Gaudette, 18 - Charles Gbeke, 19 - Roger Levesque, 20 - Sebastien Le Toux, 21 – Scot Thompson, 22 – Ze Roberto, 23 – Zinho, 24 – Steve Klein, 25 – Mauricio Salles (First Five [+])

The Top 25 of USL-1 will continue with one player unveiled each Tuesday and Thursday for the next 5 weeks. A new player will also be unveiled in the countdown of the Top 15 of USL-2 each Wednesday.