USL- Latest news, results

[Frank Cunha]

City Islanders & Riverhounds
The Harrisburg City Islanders announced their first ever signing. David Bascome, who has most recently been with the Baltimore Blast. Bascome has been a part of the Harriburg soccer scene for yrs. Racking up big numbers witht the Harrisburg Heat. He also has a soccer school is Harrisburg. www.bascomesoccer.com

The City Islanders are having tryouts Jan. 6th and 7th!! I'll be there!

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have dropped a division, from the A-League to the D3 league. They are also having tryouts, I believe its Jan. 19th. I'll also be there!!

Should make for some interesting soccer in the Central PA area.....Riverhounds-City Islanders should be a good rivalry.

[Frank Cunha]

Battery Picks Two In 2004 A-League Draft 17/12/03

The Charleston Battery has picked two college prospects in the 2004 A-League Player Draft. In the first round, Charleston picked Coastal Carolina striker, Joseph Ngwenya, in the second round the Battery picked USC Spartanburg forward, Ricky Charles.

A native of Zimbabwe, Ngwenya is a finalist for Missouri Athletic Club's 2003 Hermann Trophy and was selected to the 2003 NSCAA Division One All-America Team. Last year's NSCAA Scholar Athlete of the Year, Ngwenya is in a position to become the first male player to receive the award in consecutive years.

Ngwenya enjoyed an outstanding senior season leading Coastal Carolina in scoring with 21 goals and 14 assists. His goals helped Coastal advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament where they were defeated by Santa Clara.

This past summer Ngwenya was a member of the PDL Champion Cape Cod Crusaders. He scored 17 goals for the Crusaders which tied him for first in the league.

USC Spartanburg forward, Ricky Charles was named to the 2003 NSCAA Division Two All-America Team. A native of Grenada, Charles finished the season with 52 points on 18 goals and 16 assists.

Charles ranked third in the nation in scoring, was seventh in goals scored per match, and fourth in assists per match. A two-time All-Conference selection, Charles also earned All-Region and All-America honors in 2002.

[Frank Cunha]

Rhinos select Two Forwards 17/12/03

The Rochester Raging Rhinos selected two players in the 2004 A-League College Player Draft, which took place on Wednesday afternoon. Rochester selected University of Rhode Island forward Perek Belleh (pronounced PARE-ek BELL-uh) with their first round (10th overall) pick and forward Matthew Delicate with their second (26th overall) pick from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Belleh, a 6’0” 175 forward, led the Rams with 12 goals and 24 points during his senior season in 2003. The native of Syracuse, N.Y. finished his career at URI with 23 goals and five assists. Belleh was named to the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team in 2000. He tallied three goals and one assist for seven points during his freshman campaign. A Graduate of Corcoran High in Syracuse, he amassed 81 career goals during his high school career with the Cougars.

Delicate, a native of Boncath Wales, UK, set the school mark for career scoring at Virginia Commonwealth with 44 goals and 101 points. Led the Rams in scoring during his senior season with 15 goals and 39 points, earning him Second Team All-American honros. In addition the 6’3” 190 pounder earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors for the third straight season. He played with the Richmond Kickers Future in the United Soccer League’s Premier Development League, scoring 15 goals in 17 matches. Prior to attending VCU, Delicate was selected to and started for the Welsh Schoolboys U-18 team in Wales. He majored in physics and French.

The two round draft order was based on reverse league standings from the 2003 season.

[Frank Cunha]

Braz is Back with the Impact 17/12/03

Adam Braz is back home. The 22-year-old defender, who had left the Impact after the 2002 season to join ranks with club Vasteras SK, a second-division Swedish team, has returned to play with the Montreal squad.

"I loved my experience in Sweden but I wanted to play at home," said Braz, a Montreal native who started 25 of 30 games with club Vasteras. "I think I learned a lot by playing abroad. I acquired more maturity both as a player and an individual. But on the other hand, the Impact is doing very well and I wanted to play in my home town. I’m really happy and excited to be back."

Despite his rookie status in 2002, Braz played 20 of 28 games with the Impact, 17 as a starter. He played a total of 1,554 minutes, ranking 4th among defenders on the team that year.

"Adam brings a lot to the team both on the field and in the dressing room," said Impact head coach Nick DeSantis. "Although he was a rookie in 2002, he quickly earned a spot as a starter. Now, after a stint in Europe, he’s coming back to us with even more experience."

By playing in Europe, Braz was fulfilling every soccer player’s dream, but he admits it wasn’t always easy.

"We started the season very strong and the team was in the top three in the league. But after a string of injuries to key players, we went 10 games without a win. We finally finished 11th overall (out of 16 teams) and at the end of the season, our coach was fired."

As for the difference in the level of play between the A-League and Sweden, Braz believes the Impact can compete.

"I think we tend to underestimate the calibre here," he says. "After playing there, I think the Impact could easily compete with teams in Sweden, even first-division clubs."

Braz, who will take part in the Impact’s tour of children’s hospitals, Thursday, will join the Canadian Olympic team’s training camp at the end of December to prepare for the qualifiers for the 2004 Games in Athens.

THE IMPACT DRAFTS TWO PLAYERS

In other news, the Impact drafted two players, Wednesday, at the A-League college draft : University of Louisville midfielder Adrian Cann, from Thornhill, Ontario, in the first round, and Montrealer Olivier Occean, a striker with Southern Connecticut State University, in the second and final round.

Occean, who is 6’1 and 180 pounds, was recently picked for the second straight year on the first All-American team in the NCAA’s Division II. This season, he scored 21 goals and collected 48 points, tying a team record.

Cann, 6’3 and 165 pounds, is the first player in Louisville history to become an All-American. He was the team’s MVP for two straight years.

[Frank Cunha]

December 17, 2003 (TORONTO, ON) – The Toronto Lynx selected two local soccer standouts as part of the 2004 A-League Draft today. With their first round pick, the fifth overall selection, the Lynx drafted midfielder Marin Pusek from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Pusek, a native of Brampton, was a three-time All-South Region Selection and an All-Conference USA selection in each of his seasons at UAB. A product of St. Augustine Secondary School in Brampton, Pusek recorded 4 goals and 4 assists for the Blazers in 2003.



In the second round, 21st overall, the Lynx selected defender, Kareem Morgan, a teammate of Pusek’s at UAB. Morgan attended Dunbarton High School in Pickering before beginning his Blazers’ career and is a former member of the Canadian National U20 and U18 teams. Led by Pusek and Morgan, UAB finished with a 10-4-5 record and a top 25 ranking in 2003.



New Lynx head coach, Duncan Wilde, was pleased with the team’s additions, stating, “We were intent on picking two talented Canadians in the draft and after outstanding years at UAB, we consider both Marin and Kareem ready for a career in the A-League. We will definitely be in contact with both over the holidays with the hopes of having them on board for 2004”.



LYNX TWO-DAY CHRISTMAS CAMP



With the holidays upon us, the Toronto Lynx continue to be busy preparing for the 2004 season. The Lynx local pro talent will be training Monday, December 22nd and Tuesday, December 23rd from 10am-12pm at the Hangar at Downsview Park. “With a new coaching staff in place, it is important to take every opportunity we can to see the guys before the start of the 2004 season. This will put us ahead of schedule when training camp opens,” said Wilde, who, along with assistant coach, Billy Steele will be on hand for the sessions.



The pros aren’t the only Lynx players that will be in action over the holidays. The Toronto Lynx Premier Soccer Academy U13 and U14 teams will also be training on Monday and Tuesday as they prepare for their March Break trip to the U.K. The teams will spend March 10th-21st in England, competing in exhibition matches against some of the biggest clubs in the world, including academy teams from English Premier League giants, Manchester United and Everton.

[Lemmy]

So I take itt that you live in the Pittsburgh area?

[Frank Cunha]

no

leaving close to Portuguese Ave

[Frank Cunha]

Mariners Pick Two in Draft 18/12/03

The Virginia Beach Mariners selected local soccer standout Phil Hucles from William and Mary and Norfolk Academy in the first round, and Wake Forest All-American Jeremiah White in the second round of the 2004 A-League College Draft. The draft was held December 17 at the United Soccer Leagues headquarters in Tampa by conference call with all A-League teams participating.

Hucles, from Virginia Beach, starred at William and Mary, ending his college career ranked eighth in school history with 87 points, tied for fifth with 36 career goals, fifth with 224 shots and tied for sixth with 9 game-winning goals. He was named a Second Team NSCAA All-American, First Team All-CAA and NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region his senior year. As a junior, he was named Second Team NSCAA All-South Atlantic Region, First Team All-State and All-CAA. In 2001, he was ranked second in goals and points with 12 and 30 respectively and was named second-team All-CAA. As a freshman he led the team with 14 goals and was named Second Team All-CAA. In his four years in Williamsburg, Hucles appeared in 87 matches, starting 85.

As a forward/midfielder at Norfolk Academy, Hucles was named The Virginian-Pilot High School Male Athlete of the Year his senior year, TCIS Player of the Year for two seasons, and First Team TCIS and VPL for three years running. He also was an Honor Roll Student all four years as well as being named All-State twice in lacrosse.

Jeremiah White, a native of Lansdowne, Pa, is Wake Forest’s first ever ACC Player of the Year and three-time All-ACC first team selection. He was also an NSCAA All-American in 2001, despite battling injury the first half of the season. He scored 11 goals to lead the Deacons including the game winner against Old Dominion in the 88th minute to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

As a sophomore in 2001, White became the first Deacon to lead the ACC in scoring in nearly 20 years. He is the first player in Wake history to score 10 or more goals in consecutive seasons.

White was also named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week the beginning of 2003 season and scored eight goals and five assists in 2003, leaving Wake Forest as the school's second all-time leading scorer with 37 goals and 19 assists for a total of 93 points.

Both Hucles and White have been invited to the 2004 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine in Carson, California in January. If either player is selected to play for MLS and does not choose to compete or is cut by his MLS team, the Mariners have two weeks to sign either player before he is released to talk to other A-League teams.

[Frank Cunha]

A-League Alignment Announced 18/12/03

United Soccer Leagues announced today the official alignment for the A-League for the 2004 season. USL also announced details of the 2004 A-League playoff structure.

The 16-team A-League will remain with a two-conference format while eliminating the division format within. The Eastern Conference will be comprised of nine clubs while the Western will include seven.

The Richmond Kickers will join the Atlanta Silverbacks, defending A-League champion Charleston Battery, Montreal Impact, first-year club Puerto Rico Islanders, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Syracuse Salty Dogs, Toronto Lynx, and the Virginia Beach Mariners in the Eastern Conference.

The Western Conference will consist of another first-year team in the Edmonton Aviators, along with Calgary, the Milwaukee Wave United, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps and defending Western Conference champion Minnesota Thunder.

2004 A-League Playoff Format Set

The 2004 A-League playoff format will remain relatively the same with the top four teams from each conference advancing to the postseason and playing in a two-leg, aggregate score series in the conference semifinals and conference final to determine who will advance to the A-League Championship.

"Although the disparity in the number of teams competing in each Conference creates the challenge of selecting a playoff structure equitable to teams from both Conferences, we are excited to have arrived at a format consistent with recent A-League seasons," said A-League director Tim Holt. "Selecting the top four teams from each of the two Conferences puts an emphasis on the importance of success throughout the regular season, as well as increasing the likelihood of the added drama when teams face their rivals in the race for the A-League Championship."

The Conference Semifinals series will be September 3 and 5 with the Conference Final series being held September 10 and 12. The semifinals will feature the fourth seed against the top seed with the second and third seeds squaring off. The A-League Championship will be held the weekend of September 18 and will be broadcast on Fox Sports World.

The A-League boasts 16 teams from coast-to-coast in the US and Canada, and is the highest level in the United Soccer Leagues (USL) system. For more information please check out our web site at www.RichmondKickers.com.

[Frank Cunha]

Marriott College Classic March 27-28, 2004 -- Mike Rose Soccer Complex,
Memphis, TN. Showcase open to foreign, ODP, & top competitive teams.
U15, U16, U17,
U18/19 Boys/Girls.

Irish teams from Colaiste Ide will be playing in the U18 divisions.
U18/19
finals played in Stadium. Player Profile book produced.

Please visit http://www.gomrsc.com

Last year's attending teams/college coaches, application, & hotels can
be
obtained from Web site.

Entry: $550 ($490 for teams at Marriott Hotels)

Deadline: February 27, 2004.

If interested, please e-mail me at simonlacon@mikerosesoccercomplex.com

[Frank Cunha]

A-LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2004 ALIGNMENT



Friday, December 19 2003

The United Soccer Leagues announced today the official alignments for the 2004 A-League season. The USL also announced 2004 A-League playoff details.

The 16-team A-League will remain with a two-conference format while eliminating the division format within. The Eastern Conference will be comprised of nine clubs while the Western will include seven.

Two expansion clubs highlight the 2004 alignment with Edmonton set to begin play as a member of the Western Conference and Puerto Rico a member of the Eastern.

The Edmonton Aviators join Calgary, Milwaukee Wave United, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps and defending Western Conference champion Minnesota Thunder.

The Puerto Rico Islanders join the Atlanta Silverbacks, Montreal Impact, Richmond Kickers, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Syracuse Salty Dogs, Toronto Lynx, Virginia Beach Mariners and defending A-League champion Charleston Battery.


2004 A-League Playoffs.

The 2004 A-League playoff format will see the top four teams from each conference advancing to the postseason where they will play in a two-leg, aggregate score series in the conference semifinals and conference final to determine who will advance to the A-League Championship.

"Although the disparity in the number of teams competing in each Conference creates the challenge of selecting a playoff structure equitable to teams from both Conferences, we are excited to have arrived at a format consistent with recent A-League seasons," said A-League director Tim Holt. "Selecting the top four teams from each of the two Conferences puts an emphasis on the importance of success throughout the regular season, as well as increasing the likelihood of the added drama when teams face their rivals in the race for the A-League Championship."

The Conference Semifinals series will be September 3 and 5 with the Conference Final series September 10 and 12. The semifinals will feature the fourth seed against the top seed and the second and third seeds squaring off. The A-League Championship will be held the weekend of September 18 and will be broadcast on Fox Sports World.

[Frank Cunha]

Can a pro soccer franchise survive in Puerto Rico?

Probably not, although I hate to be the voice of gloom and doom here regarding the news this week that Bayamon will play host to a pro team, the Puerto Rico Islanders, in the United Soccer League.

Personally, I would love to see soccer take root in Bayamon. I mean, it's the most popular sport in the world. Most of the rest of the Caribbean, Central and South America is soccer-mad. Soccer has even caught on in the United States, where it would have been virtually impossible to put a competitive World Cup team together 15 years ago.

Puerto Rico, unfortunately, has several major hurdles to clear before soccer could ever replace baseball or basketball as a "national" pastime.

The first blockade is the local soccer community itself. Years of bickering and infighting have left the island with no development program to speak of.

About five years ago, Carlos Moya put Puerto Rico in the American Youth Soccer Organization as an answer to the federation's lack of programming for youngsters. Despite the program's success, Moya himself estimates that only about 2,500 school-age children participate -- discouraging numbers for an island of nearly 4 million people.

As of this writing, Puerto Rico has no soccer federation under its Olympic Committee (PROC). In 2003, FIFA, soccer's world governing body, essentially repossessed Puerto Rico's soccer federation for alleged mismanagement of funds. FIFA had been giving the island a quarter of a million dollars annually to develop soccer. Dr. Josean Berrios, who heads up FIFA's investigative committee said the group still has no answer as to how the $250,000 was spent for three of the past four years. The federation's PROC aid is also currently frozen.

With no youth program, Berrios estimates it has been five years since the island fielded a national team, the heart and soul of any sports program.

Soccer enthusiasts say that even if the Islanders catch on, it could take years before Puerto Rico develops players of international stature. This means fans in Bayamon will be cheering a roster full of U.S. and South American players, hardly likely to pack them in over at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, the venue for the Islanders' 14-game home stand beginning April 17, 2004.

This is the second time the Islanders try to make a go of it in Puerto Rico. In 1997, the franchise lasted seven games in San Juan before problems with the local federation and low fan turnout forced them to move to Texas.

In defense of the Islanders this week, Bayamon Mayor Ramon Luis Rivera Jr said that having proven baseball wasn't much of a draw, he was willing to try something new.

Rivera said the city will kick in $100,00 to support league in addition to funding a $3 million renovation for the baseball stadium, which will lose its pitcher's mound and be converted to a FIFA-regulation size soccer field.

"There are plenty of baseball stadiums in Puerto Rico," said Rivera, who said the conversion will be permanent until the Islanders finish their USL 2004 season. "We tried baseball in Bayamon and it didn't work. It's no secret that baseball [the winter league] is in a huge crisis. It's time to give soccer a chance. This will be the only pro team in Puerto Rico and will attract people from the other islands. We hope to make this a family affair and develop Bayamon's youth leagues."

The Islanders will play a 28-game season in the nine-team East Division of the USL along with the following other teams: Montreal Impact, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Atlanta Silverbacks, Charleston Battery, Richmond Kickers, Virginia Beach Mariners, Toronto Lynx and Syracuse Salty Dogs. The home team opens season April 17 in Bayamon versus the Toronto Lynx and will play exactly half of the season in Bayamon and the other half on the road. The East Division also plays against a seven-team West Division, although Puerto Rico will play most of its games against the East Division teams.

Veteran Puerto Rico national team coach Victor Hugo will coach the Islanders. Hugo is currently in Brazil scouting for the five import players the league permits. He will make a second scouting trip in December to Argentina. With a 25-man roster, team president Joe Serralta estimates no more than seven Puerto Ricans will get contracts. The bulk of the team is expected to come from the United States. The league spans two countries -- Canada and the United States. However, Serralta explained that the Islanders' players must be U.S. citizens to be eligible -- with the exception of the five allowable imports.

Moya, a lifelong soccer enthusiast, said he thinks pro soccer will attract corporate sponsors.

"The sponsors are looking for something new. Baseball was a bust. Even the Expos didn't attract the crowds sponsors anticipated," said Moya.Indeed, Eric Labrador, coordinator of the project for the city of Bayamon, said the sponsors have been circling. He cited interest from rival airlines as evidence.

USL CEO Dave Askinas admitted fielding a team in Puerto Rico was a huge risk, but said he felt it was worth taking.

"All the impetus [to bring a USL team to Puerto Rico] comes from here," said Askinas, who said Puerto Rico's backers put the proposal in his mailbox. "Puerto Rico has a combination of factors that makes it attractive. There's support from the local government and the team's organization is impressive. We're always looking to expand and this will bring attention to the league. We're hoping to expand to the Miami area someday and this is also a good first step."

Askinas said the Caribbean move won't be easy on the other teams but added that he liked the idea.

"It was all subject to CONCACAF [the North, Central American and Caribbean Soccer Confederation] approval. Normally you can't bring a team from another federation into your league but FIFA let Canada in so it is very understanding about expanding soccer in this region."

Askinas didn't rule out further Caribbean expansion in the future, perhaps to islands like Trinidad-Tobago or Bermuda.

"We can give them better preparation in our league than they can get in England or Europe," said the Long Island native. "It wasn't like that 25 years ago. You only had two or three good American players. Now you can fill a whole squad with just Americans. For Puerto Rico, I think if you start out with eight or 10 native players on team, eventually you will develop a national team that can be competitive."

Islanders president Serralta said Puerto Rico's national team development was the ultimate goal.

"Now we're going into battle with machine guns instead of the knives we had before," said Serralta. "So that when we collect all of our players and they play at the national level we'll be competitive. I noticed the other day that Puerto Rico's basketball team was ranked eighth in the world by FIBA. That's our goal for soccer, to put our team among the top eight in the world."

Cracking the top 10 in the world is a little ambitious for an island with no soccer history. As I said, I'm betting the USL's Islanders won't last more than seven games this second time around. Then again, I hope I'm wrong. You have to admire the courage of any mayor in Puerto Rico who dares to level a baseball diamond to make way for a soccer field. Go Islanders.

[BethlehemFC]

I think the biggest problem will be the finances. That's a lot of travel costs.