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Clarkson University Athletics

MARK BISSONETTE - CLARKSON ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

CLARKSON
ATHLETIC HALL of FAME
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MARK BISSONETTE '81
Class of 2012 Inductee



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The 25th season of Clarkson Men’s Soccer was celebrated in 1977 and fittingly the arrival of freshman Mark Bissonette must have sparked some celebrations by season’s end. The 5-8, 160-pound striker and midfielder made an immediate impact and helped ignite a 20-year run of unmatched success for the program. In the previous eight seasons, Clarkson’s Men’s Soccer program had surpassed the .500 mark only twice, but Bissonette’s scoring prowess helped the Knights reach second place in the ICAC standings in 1977. Though the precise measures of his statistics that season have conflicting results in Clarkson’s literature, Bissonette’s name was at the top of every list.

Bissonette’s contribution to Clarkson soccer continued to grow as he was a vital part of their growing offensive power, scoring nearly 40 percent of the team’s goals over the course of his four-year career. He was picked as an ICAC First-Team All-Star as both a sophomore and junior, when he tallied 15 goals and eight assists over the course of 28 games. He was also picked as the ICAC MVP in 1979 when he became only the fifth player in program history to record double-figures in goals (10) in a single season.

It was in 1980 that the Golden Knights and Bissonette put themselves on the national scene, thanks in large part to his overwhelming senior season. Clarkson began the year slow on offense with seven goals in the first five games, but came through with a 4-1 record as Bissonette continually scored at key moments, tallying six of the seven scores in that time, including game-winners in three 1-0 shutout victories. By regular-season’s end, Clarkson had posted an impressive 12-2-1 record and earned one of four NCAA Tournament bids in the New York Region, and one of only 24 national bids among 382 schools. The third-seeded Golden Knights took on Binghamton, but lost 4-3 in double overtime as Bissonette added the final score of his illustrious career in the first half.

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Though the season would end with a loss, Bissonette earned numerous accolades that November. He was picked as the ICAC Most Valuable Player for the second straight year, gained All-NYS honors for the third straight season, and became only the second player in Clarkson Men’s Soccer history to gain All-American honors. Chosen as an Honorable Mention All-American that season, Bissonette was only one of five players in all of Division III to earn the title, as in those days Division I, Division II and Division III all combined for All-American honors.

Bissonette officially finished his Clarkson career with 37 goals and 21 assists for 95 points in 57 games, the highest total in the program’s history to that point and still fourth most in the 60-year history of the program. More important than any of the individual numbers, Bissonette’s arrival helped ignite a recruiting boom that allowed Clarkson to maintain its success on the pitch, as five more members of the program gained All-American status and the Golden Knights continued to be a force in the East for the next two decades, including a Final Four appearance in 1993.
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