Former MCCC Athletic Director Leister Inducted into Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame
Former MCCC Athletic Director Al Leister was inducted into the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame on April 15 th. Leister was the Athletic Director at Mercer County Community College from 1970-1989 . Leister introduced additional varsity programs to MCCC including women’s basketball, soccer and softball and men’s and women’s tennis. Leister also created a soccer camp featuring some of the area’s premier soccer players. During Leister’s time as Athletic Director at MCCC, the Vikings won 2 national men’s soccer titles, reached the NJCAA National Tournament 19 times and produced 39 All-Americans.
Leister brought the National Soccer Tournament to Mercer in 1982, where it remained for 18 years. The women also hosted the National Tournament from 1984-1993 and the Vikings women’s soccer team appeared in all 10 of these tournaments.
Leister is also responsible for the hiring of soccer coaches Stan Dlugosz, Bill Drake, Charlie Inverso and Shelly Dearden. Leister was a member of Mercer Athletic's Inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2021.
The Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the Hibernian Club in Hamilton.
