John Pavlos may have spent only two years playing on the soccer
field for Hall of Fame coach Alan King, but he certainly had a
memorable impact on the program’s history.
After arriving from Dutchess Community College, Pavlos quickly
became a force in Division III Men’s Soccer. He netted 14
goals and handed out 8 assists as WPI finished the 1976 regular
season 10-2-1.
Pavlos was even better in the postseason as the Engineers
stunned New England’s top-seed Westfield State 4-3 in a
penalty kick shootout after four sudden death overtimes on the
Owls' home AstroTurf field. The epic game took nearly three hours
and 45 minutes to play and, according to the Westfield State
yearbook, saw 100 cars ticketed because all the parking spaces had
been taken early for the overflow crowd.
The Engineers went on to the second round of the NCAA
Tournament, where they lost to eventual national champion Brandeis
6-5 in sudden death overtime. Pavlos posted three goals and added
twos assists during WPI’s magical postseason run.
“Coach King was very fortunate to have such a
prolific and energetic scorer as John Pavlos on his roster in
the late '70s,” remembers former sports information
director Steve Raczynski. “John was like a man possessed,
like a man among boys, with his ability to bust by
defenders.”
A year later he kept scoring at a jaw-dropping rate, collecting
17 goals while doling out 4 assists on an Engineers squad that
posted a 7-5-1 overall record.
John’s two-year totals on Boynton Hill included 34 goals
and 14 assists for 82 points. At the time of his graduation, it
ranked the forward third all-time on the WPI points list, despite
wearing the Crimson and Gray for only two seasons. For his efforts,
he was selected All-America in both 1976 and 1977.
“I was always surprised if he did not score at least one
or two goals a game,” continues Raczynski. “But, above
all, the best part about John was how he always comported
himself as a gentleman."
A native of Lamia, Greece, John Pavlos and his family came to
the United States in 1971. He graduated from Poughkeepsie (N.Y.)
High School in 1974 and from Dutchess Community College in 1976; he
studied mechanical engineering at WPI from 1976 to 1978.
John was drafted by the NASL in 1978 to play for the Houston
Hurricanes. He continued to be active in the sport by coaching the
local LaGrange Youth Travel Soccer Teams from 1995 to 2005. He and
his wife, Donna, and their children, Chris and Angela, live in
Poughkeepsie, where John currently owns a family business.
