 Urso with Columbus Crew in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kirk Jon Urso[1] | ||
| Date of birth | March 6, 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S. | ||
| Date of death | August 5, 2012 (aged 22) | ||
| Place of death | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–2005 | Chicago Sockers | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2011 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 91 | (15) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2009 | Carolina Dynamo | 25 | (4) |
| 2010 | Chicago Fire Premier | 16 | (5) |
| 2012 | Columbus Crew | 6 | (0) |
| Total | 47 | (9) | |
| International career | |||
| 2007 | United States U17 | 2 | (1) |
| 2008 | United States U20 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kirk Jon Urso (March 6, 1990 – August 5, 2012) was an American professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. A product of Glenbard East High School and the IMG Soccer Academy, Urso played four years of college soccer at North Carolina. He helped the Tar Heels win three Atlantic Coast Conference titles, reach four consecutive College Cups, and claim a national championship in 2011. Upon his graduation, Urso's 91 appearances for North Carolina were the most in program history.
Urso appeared during the collegiate offseason with Carolina Dynamo and Chicago Fire Premier. He was selected by Columbus Crew in the first round of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft and went on to appear in six matches for the Crew. At international level, Urso appeared for the United States at under-17 and under-20 level after coming up through various boys' national teams. He appeared for the U17s at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup and was with the U20s at the 2008 Milk Cup.
Urso died at the Grant Medical Center in August 2012, from arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy,[3] an inherited heart disease caused by genetic defects of the parts of heart muscle. The student section at North Carolina's UNC Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium is named after Urso, and both the Tar Heels and Crew give out the annual Kirk Urso Heart Award in his honor. The Kirk Urso Memorial Fund was also created in his memory, to advance research and programming on congenital heart defects.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
UNCprofilewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
CrewProfilewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Merz, Craig (August 5, 2012). "Columbus Crew mourn passing of midfielder Kirk Urso". Major League Soccer. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2012.