Dallas Sidekicks Players

Joe Papeleo

How He Got Here

Signed as a Free Agent on July 30, 1987.

College Days

• Named to All-American Team his senior year at Syracuse, 1982.
• Named Soccer America Goalkeeper of the Year, 1982
• Played for the East team in the 1982 Senior Bowl
• Named MVP of U.S. Olympic Sports Festival, 1981

Draft Notice (before he came to Dallas)

Papeleo was selected by the Pittsburgh Spirit with the First Round pick in the 1982 MISL Draft (11th overall)

Honor Roll

1987-88

MISL Defensive Player of the Week twice

1. Week of December 17, 1987
2. Week of January 18, 1988

1988-89

• MISL Defensive Player of the Week
1. Week of January January 30, 1989
2. Week of April 8, 1989

• MISL All-Star (all Sidekicks players given All-Star credit for this season)
• Named Defensive Player of the Game on 12 occasions

1989-90

• MISL Goalkeeper of the Year (Gold Glove)
• 2nd Team, all-MISL
• Met Life/Sidekicks Defensive Player of the Month twice
  1. January 1990
  2. March 1990

• MISL Defensive Player of the Week for week ending April 8, 1990.

1991-92

• MISL Defensive Player of the Month twice
  1. December, 1991
  2. March 1992

• Defensive Player of the Game
  • October 24, 1991 <view box score>

1993

• CISL Goalkeeper of the Year (Gold Glove)
• 1st Team, all-CISL

1994

1st Team, all-CISL

Record Book

Papeleo holds the following Sidekicks records:

Regular Season

• Career Saves (2363)
• Saves in a Game (48, at La Raza de Monterrey on July 11, 1993)
• Career Shots Faced (5570)
• Shots Faced in a Season (1071 in 1991-92)
• Shots Faced in a Game (60, November 2, 1990 vs Wichita)
• Career Victories (104)
• Consecutive Victories, both all-time and during a season (11 in 1993)
• Career Goals Allowed By a Goalkeeper (823)

Playoffs

• Career Best Winning Percentage (.625 10-6 record with Sidekicks)
• Career Assists credited to a goalkeeper (2, tied with Hank Henry)
• Lowest Goals Against Average, Season (2.88)

If You Can't Beat Them...

Papeleo signed with Dallas just over a month after being the losing Goalkeeper for Game 7 of the 1987 MISL Finals against the Sidekicks.

...Beat Them

Papeleo not only started the first game of the 1987-88 season at Tacoma, he also won the game, and assisted on the first Sidekicks goal of the season (his first point as a Sidekick).

Why The Number Kept Changing

Papeleo chose number #32 in 1988-89 by adding his youngest daughters birthday numbers (9/7/88) together. After adding his 3 children's birth-day-of-month together, and deciding to wear #40, he met a young cancer patient named Tara Brecheen. The 13 year old Duncanville girl loved soccer and was determined to keep playing even while suffering from cancer.

When he found out she was dying, Papeleo visited Tara at her Duncanville home every day for her last 5 weeks of life. Before the 1990-91 season began, he added Tara's birthday to his player number, (January 11), raising it to 51. He had a special replica of that uniform made for her, which she wore to the last Sidekicks match she went to.

Miss Brecheen died on October 28, 1990. Members of the Sidekicks, including Papaleo, Coach Billy Phillips, and equipment manager Chris Agnes served as pallbearers at her funeral on October 30, 1990.

Top 10

Papeleo finished in the Top 10 Goalkeepers in either the MISL or CISL during the following years:

Major Indoor Soccer League

• 1987-88 (4th, 3.62 GAA)
• 1988-89 (4th, 3.86 GAA)
• 1989-90 (1st, 3.34 GAA)
• 1990-91 (8th, 5.86 GAA)
• 1991-92 (2nd, 5.26 GAA)

Continental Indoor Soccer League

• 1993 (1st, 5.29 GAA)
• 1994 (2nd, 5.97 GAA)

Sidekicks Highlights

1987-88

• Recorded his best Goals Against Average as a Goalkeeper of Record (meeting the minimum level of playing time to be recognized on the MISL's leader board) at 3.62 (Papeleo did have a 3.56 GAA as a backup Goalkeeper in Pittsburgh)
• Shutout the San Diego Sockers 3-0 on December 12, 1987. This was the only time the Sockers franchise had been shut out indoors in San Diego's history.
• Earned the Sidekicks only Playoff win, a 6-3 decision over the Cleveland Force in Game 2 (April 24, 1988)

1988-89

• Recorded a personal 3 game winning streak
  1. February 25, 1989 at Los Angeles
  2. March 4 at Los Angeles
  3. March 7 vs Wichita

1989-90

• Earned win at Wichita on March 27, 1990 (his first ever win at the Kansas Coliseum during his then-8 year career)
• 15th Win of the season on April 8, 1990 vs St. Louis cinched the Western Division Championship. Papaleo recorded 17 saves on 30 shots during that match.

1990-91

• Recorded win on Opening Day (October 20, 1990 vs San Diego)
• Earned 100th Career win at St. Louis Storm on March 8, 1991
• Played in 10,000th career minute during vs St. Louis on November 11, 1990

1991-92

• Blocked 44 shots vs San Diego on October 24, 1991
• Won 6 consecutive starts
  1. February 22, 1992 vs Tacoma
  2. February 29 vs Cleveland
  3. March 6 vs San Diego
  4. March 15 at St. Louis
  5. March 21 vs St. Louis
  6. March 25 vs Wichita

   

• Recorded two separate 4 game winning streaks
  • First Streak
    1. October 19, 1991 at Baltimore (Opening Day)
    2. October 24 at San Diego
    3. November 1 vs St. Louis
    4. November 8 vs Cleveland
  • Second Streak
    1. December 13 vs San Diego
    2. December 26 at Wichita
    3. December 27 vs Cleveland
    4. December 29 vs Tacoma

     

1994

• Opened the Season with 6 consecutive wins
  1. June 11 vs San Diego
  2. June 14 at Houston
  3. June 15 vs Washington
  4. June 18 vs La Raza de Monterrey
  5. June 26 at Pittsburgh
  6. July 2 vs Arizona

   

• Recorded two seperate 4 game winning streaks
  • First Streak
    1. July 16 vs Anaheim
    2. July 23 vs Houston
    3. July 27 at Detroit
    4. August 10 at San Jose
  • Second Streak
    1. August 14 vs Detroit
    2. August 19 vs Sacramento
    3. August 27 vs Pittsburgh
    4. September 1 at Anaheim

     

M*A*S*H*ed

1989-90

Missed first 13 games of this season while recovering from off-season knee surgery.

1990-91

Injured right knee on January 16 and missed 9 games.

1991-92

Tore cartilage in his right knee with 2 seconds to go in the 1st period vs Wichita and would be out for the remainder of the Regular Season and the Playoffs on April 3, 1992.

1993

Broke finger on goal post after slipping on wet turf that Reunion Arena placed directly over the ice that had just been frozen for a hockey game later in the week. Missed both the remainder of the Semifinal (vs La Raza) and the all of the Championship series.

Regular Season Statistics

Goalkeeping Statistics with Dallas

Major Indoor Soccer League

Continental Indoor Soccer League

Scoring Statistics with Dallas

Major Indoor Soccer League

Note: Personal fouls were not an official statistic in the MISL until the 1990-91 season

Continental Indoor Soccer League

All Regular Season Games

Playoff Statistics

Goalkeeping Statistics with Dallas

Major Indoor Soccer League

Continental Indoor Soccer League

All Playoff Games

Scoring Statistics with Dallas

Major Indoor Soccer League

Note: Personal fouls were not an official statistic in the MISL until the 1990-91 season

Continental Indoor Soccer League

All Playoff Games

Where Did He Go?

Joe Papaleo was traded to the Pittsburgh Stingers (CISL) before the 1995 season, but retired before playing a game with them.

He currently works for Chrysler Corporation in Syracuse, New York.