FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations
Official U.S. Men's Soccer Release
SOMERS, Wis. (June 19, 2013)-- Former University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's soccer standout Mark Litton served as an assistant coach for the United States National Futsal Team at the Four Nations Tournament in Newcastle, England on June 6-9, helping the Americans win the championship at the round-robin event.
The U.S. National Team began the tournament with a 2-1 victory over host England on June 6 with Kraig Chiles scoring both goals, including the game-winner in the 38th minute. The Americans rolled Malaysia 8-1 a day later before capping off the tournament on June 9 with a 4-2 win over Poland to secure the Four Nations Tournament title inside Sport Central at Northumbria University.
Litton (pictured on far left) and the squad began preparations for the tournament on May 31 with a four-day training camp in Milwaukee, Wis., before heading across the Atlantic for the four-day tournament.
Futsal is the internationally recognized indoor version of soccer. Unlike the commonly played American version of indoor soccer, futsal is played on a hard court surface without walls or boards. The five-a-side game is played with a smaller, less bouncy ball and places a premium on creativity and technique as well as ball control and passing skills.
Litton, a 2010 UW-Parkside Hall of Fame Inductee, has served as goalkeeper coach for the Milwaukee Wave of the Major Indoor Soccer League since 2004, helping the Wave win league titles in 2005, 2011 and 2012. He has additionally served on the staff for the US National Futsal team during the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup and during the 2012 Futsal World Cup qualifying process. Litton assisted as a goalkeeper coach for UW-Parkside for eight years and is currently a volunteer coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Litton's goalkeeping expertise has gotten him invitations to coach at professional combines in both the indoor and outdoor game.
As a Ranger, Litton was a goalkeeper from 1985-1988, establishing several records during his tenure. Litton was a First Team All-American in 1988, posting a national record 14 shutouts and compiling a goals against average of 0.683. He completed his UWP career with 21 shutouts and a 1.23 GAA while earning a pair of NAIA All-District 14 awards. Litton graduated with a degree in communications and played four seasons professionally with the Milwaukee Wave.
