University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Roberto Beall 1991 - Soccer
Perhaps the most colorful men's soccer player to ever play for the Catamounts, Roberto Beall was twice named first team, all-conference and earned All-American honors in 1990. A 2003 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, he was a team captain in 1989 and 1990 when Vermont, under coach Ron McEachen, won back-to-back conference titles and twice advanced to the NCAA tournament.
He concluded his career fourth in scoring at UVM with 62 points on 22 goals and 18 assists (second all-time). Along with Ken Duck and Mark Zola, his class won more games, 52, than any other in the history of UVM soccer.
The son of a career U.S. diplomat, Beall grew up in many parts of the world and graduated from high school in Bogota, Colombia. Beall played in all 19 games as a freshman in 1987 and he was second on the Cats with five goals and 14 points. As a sophomore he scored four goals as UVM, playing an upgraded schedule, went 10-6-3. The next season, 1989, Vermont (19-3-1) swept through the first season of America East (then named the North Atlantic Conference) play and advanced to the NCAA East Regional Finals (national quarterfinals) before falling to Rutgers.
A co-captain along with UVM Hall of Famer Kevin Wylie, Beall shared the team's scoring lead with Mike Mason and set a new Vermont single-season record with 10 assists. Always with flair for the dramatic, he led Vermont with five game-winning goals in 1989. He scored the goal to beat Hartford in the NAC championship game and then had an overtime tally against Yale in the second round of the NCAAs in front of over 5,000 fans at Centennial Field. A NAC All-Championship selection, Beall was named first team, all-conference as well as first team, All-New England.
The next season, Beall captained the team along with Chris Karwoski as Vermont (12-7-3) finished second in the conference regular season standings behind B.U. but topped the Terriers on penalty kicks in the conference championship game. In addition to being named the most outstanding player in the NAC Championship, Beall repeated on the all-conference, first-team and all-New England squads and was an honorable mention NSCAA All-American.
Following graduation, Beall earned a spot on the 1991 US National select team and then, as well as becoming a collegiate assistant coach, he began a professional career in the summers. In 1994 and 1995, while an assistant at UVM, he played for the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USISL, which at the time was the top US pro league. In 1996, he went south and played for the Mobile Revelers while joining the staff at South Alabama under future UVM coach Roy Patton.
He returned to UVM with Patton as an assistant in 1996 and the next summer, he was the captain of the Vermont's first pro soccer team, the Wanderers. He retired from competition in 1998 after a final season with the Vermont Voltage. Beall spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach of the Catamounts. He is greatly responsible for the resurgence of the program that reached the conference title game in 2000 and 2002, including capturing the 2000 America East Championship.
