Jeff Agoos, Joy Fawcett elected to Soccer Hall of Fame

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Two of American soccer’s most influential figures of the last two decades on Thursday were elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, N.Y.

Jeff Agoos, a five-time Major League Soccer champion, and Joy Fawcett, a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, will be inducted into the Hall in ceremonies on Aug. 2

The pair headed the field on the 159 ballots cast. Agoos, now sporting director for the New York Red Bulls, was named on 108 ballots (67.9%), and Fawcett, a former UCLA coach, was named on 106 ballots (66.7%).

Agoos led D.C. United to three MLS championships and earned two more rings while playing for the San Jose Earthquakes. A longtime fixture on the U.S. men’s national team, he appeared in 134 games, second only to Cobi Jones. He played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and also the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

He also won an NCAA championship at the University of Virginia in 1989.

Fawcett is widely regarded as the best defender in the history of the women’s game. She won the Women’s World Cup in 1991 and 1999 on a team on which she was every bit the equal of such stars as Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Michelle Akers and Kristine Lilly. Her two Olympic gold medals -- she also won a silver medal in 2000 -- came in 1996 and 2004.

Fawcett, who retired in 2004, played 239 games for the U.S. -- that’s the fourth-most in history behind only Lilly, Foudy and Hamm.

A three-time All-American at California, she is director of the Saddleback United Soccer Club in Mission Viejo.

Chivas USA Coach and two-time MLS most valuable player Preki finished third in the voting, receiving 96 votes, or 60.4%, just shy of the 66.7% needed for election.

-- Grahame L. Jones

Top photo: In a 2003 game, Jeff Agoos, left, gets a foot on the ball before D.C. United’s Ben Olsen can get a breakaway shot off. Credit: Rick Bowmer / Associated Press

Inset: Joy Fawcett in action against China in the gold-medal game at the 1996 Olympics. The U.S. won the gold. Credit: Anacleto Rapping / Los Angeles Times