Bill Lanza, Sr. (Meritorious) - Inducted 2025

Bill Lanza, Sr. played for the University of West Virginia from 1965-1968. He amassed a career record of 20 goals scored and remains one of the university’s five record-setters; having secured five game winning goals in one season (1967).

 

After college, Bill served in the United States Marine Corps for twenty years. He was a player/coach for Marine amateur teams in Norfolk, VA, Camp Pendleton, CA, and Quantico, VA. After his retirement from the Marine Corps, he went on to have an extensive coaching record. He coached for VYSA, Virginia high school varsity teams, and Woodbridge HS for a total of 41 years.

 

Bill has been on the field refereeing for almost the same amount of time, serving intermittently as a USSF referee from 1979 to the present. From 1983-1984, he served in the Prince William Soccer Board of Directors as the Director of Coaching.

 

Bill coached the PWSI 76’ers to their 1993 VYSA U15 Boys State Championship. While coaching for Woodbridge HS, he won over 100 games over nine years, recording 10 straight winning seasons. In 1996, his Woodbridge team ranked 2^nd in the nation after defeating Clover Hill in the VHSL State Final.

 

He was 1996 VHSL Coach of the Year, ALL MET Boy’s Coach of the Year, and Potomac News Boys Coach of the Year. He coached his final season at Woodbridge HS in 2004; being inducted into their School Hall of Fame in the same year.

 

Ten years later, in 2014, Woodbridge HS was without a head coach for their Boys’ Varsity team. The board took a chance and gave Bill a call, asking him to once again coach their team. Of course, Bill said yes. He coached Woodbridge HS again for another six years, before officially retiring in 2020.

 

Bill’s dedication and passion for the game is unmistakable. He has consistently found himself returning to the game he loves, and he has made an undeniable impact on the sport.