Hall of Fame
Member of Dons 1975 and 1976 NCAA Championship teams
USF Career Years: 1973-1976
Mal Roche was born on September 13, 1952 in Coventry, England, grew up in California, and attended USF in the class of 1976. He played soccer with the Dons as a forward from 1973 to 1976. He was a member of the Dons 1975 and 1976 NCAA Championship Teams, and also played for the San Francisco Athletic Club's soccer team during the 1970s. In the 1975 Semi-Finals against Brown, he scored the winning goal on an assist from McKeown.Â
After graduating from USF in 1977, Roche signed with the Sacramento Spirits of the American Soccer League. In his rookie season, Roche tied for fourth with 13 goals and was named Rookie of the Year. In 1978, he moved to the Los Angeles Skyhawks, helping his team to the championship game, but they lost to the New York Apollo. He had a drop in goal scoring during the 1979 season and at the end of the season, the Skyhawks folded. In 1980, the Golden Gate Gales selected Roche in the Skyhawks' dispersal draft and he saw a return to form, leading the ASL league in scoring with 17 goals, and in points at 41.
The Gales, like the Skyhawks before them, collapsed at the end of the season and Roche moved to the Carolina Lightnin' for the 1981 season. He scored only eight goals in 1981, but gained his first championship as the Lightnin' defeated New York United in the championship game. The Lightnin' and the ASL folded at the end of the 1983 season. Roche spent at least part of the 1983-1984 Major Indoor Soccer League season with the St. Louis Steamers. In 1984, Roche played for the San Francisco Glens which won the San Francisco Soccer Football League title that year.
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