COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland women's soccer coach Ray Leone will be inducted into the Anne Arundel County Sports Hall of Fame in a ceremony next week to honor his accomplishments as both a player and coach in the game of soccer. The ceremony will be held on October 17 at Michael's Eighth Avenue.

Leone is acknowledged as one of the greatest players in the storied history of Severna Park boys' soccer. He was the star of the first Falcons squad to reach the state finals in 1979 and went on to a great collegiate career at the University of Charlotte. He is a member of the inaugural Severna Park High Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.

Leone loved soccer too much to simply walk away from the sport, electing to pursue a career in coaching. He began as head coach of Berry College (Georgia) in 1986, becoming the only coach to lead a first-year program to a national championship game in college soccer history.

Leone has steadily risen through the ranks ever since and currently serves as head coach of women's soccer at the University of Maryland and just started his 33rd season in the profession. He entered the season with a career record of 292-175-49

Leone was a three-time All-Conference pick at three different positions while playing at the University of Charlotte. He scored the winning goal in what still stands as the longest game in Sun Belt Conference history, a seven-overtime affair against Old Dominion in 1983.

Leone led Berry College to the NAIA national championship in 1987. He started the women's soccer program at Creighton University in 1989 and within five years guided it to top five regional ranking.

In addition to Berry, Creighton and Maryland, Leone has served as head coach at Clemson, Arizona State and Harvard. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2000 and Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2014.

Leone spent nine seasons at Harvard, leading the program to five Ivy League Championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances. He has led three different schools into the NCAA Tournament with Arizona State and Clemson joining Harvard.

Leone has compiled 23 winning seasons and his 285 career victories entering the 2018 season ranked 21st among active head coaches at the Division I level.

Leone will be honored alongside Jeff Herrick, Lauren Gibson and Don Sadler.

The Capital Gazette contributed to this report.

-Terps-