Team America Spotlight of the Week (#4)

Staying within the USL, Division 2:



League: USL Division 2
Location: Richmond, VA
Coach: Leigh Cowlishaw
Website: www.richmondkickers.com
Stadium: University of Richmond Stadium (cap 9,000)
Avg Attendance: 2,262
Notable Wins:
1995 USISL Premier League Champions
1995 U.S. Open Cup Champions
2002 USL-1 Division Runner-Ups
2005 USL-1 Division Runner-Ups
2006 USL-2 Regular Season Champions
2006 USL-2 Divison Champions

Notable Players:

Robert Ssjjemba - Ugandan forward who previously played for D.C. United appearing mostly for the reserve team, USL Division 2 MVP

Mike Burke - third on the Kickers' all-time points list with 75

Ronnie Pascale - USL-2 Goalkeeper of the Year last season with a 0.99 GAA

Kevin Knight - the most tenured member of the Kickers' roster going on his 8th year with Richmond, will serve as Captain this upcoming season

Nowaf Jaman - new signing for 2007 from the Cincinnati Kings, USL-2 Rookie of the Year last season, a striker notching 4 goals and 8 assists in his first year

Notable Former Players:

Brain Carroll - stint consisted of 8 games on loan with the Kickers in 2003

Bryan Namoff - also spent much of his time on loan with Richmond, but not that much

Dwayne DeRosario - returned from playing in Germany for FSV Zwickau to score 17 goals in 35 Richmond appearances makes DeRo a legend at yet another club, Dwayne was here from 1999-2000 before heading to San Jose and then Houston

Richie Williams - 5'5" midfield demon started with Kickers and end with them in 2004 before he took his Red Bulls post; capped 20 times by the US National team

David Testo - had 28 caps with Richmond, notching 6 goals before moving onto the Columbus Crew

Brian Kamler - played for Richmond in its inaugural years before being drafted by D.C. United at the beginning of MLS in 1996

Clyde Simms - presently starting center mid for D.C. United after a full year in 2004 with the Kickers; at Richmond, appeared in 28 games scoring 3 goals before being signed as a discovery player

Rob Ukrop - his number was recently retired by the Kickers, MVP of the memorable 1995 season in which Richmond won the then named USISL and Open Cup championship

Blurb:

Founded in 1993, the Kickers have survived the contraction and expansion fever of late 20th century American soccer. In 2006, the Kickers decided to move from USL-1 to USL-2 on their own terms claiming cost-saving measures to preserve the integrity of the franchise. Despite the self-imposed "demotion" and in the midst of the USL turbulence, they have carved a rather fine history of soccer accolades. We should not forget to mention the rich crop of "alums" that the Kickers have helped produce. A big reason for that is their feeder squad, the Richmond Kickers Future. The Kickers senior team in turn acts as a pseudo-feeder team to D.C United. It is a career path shared by current D.C. roster members Bryan Namoff, Clyde Simms, and Brian Carroll and former members Jeff Causey, Richie Williams, and Brian Kamler. A lot of their success can also be attributed to their head coach Leigh Cowlishaw, a former University of Richmond and Richmond Kicker player who helped the hometown team win the 1995 USISL Championship and the U.S. Open Cup. He appeared 94 times for the Kickers, tallying 19 goals and 11 assists. As talked about before, the Richmond Kickers Future develops and fosters young talent for the Kickers senior team. Players like Malcolm Cephas, Cristian Neagu, Stephen Shirley (now with the Kansas City Wizards), and most importantly, Dominic Oduro (FC Dallas striker hopeful) all played several years with an increasingly solid Future squad. Altogether, the club is starting gain a real rabid following (with two supporter clubs: the Corner Kicks and the Side Kicks) and with annual friendlies against D.C. United it looks to get back to USL-1 status sooner rather than later. The Kickers open their 2007 USL Division 2 championship defense on April 21st against the Cincinnati Kings.

Here is an article on one of the craziest games I have ever seen in person: the final result of this Open Cup match was Ocean City Barons 8, Richmond Kickers 4. Check it out here.

2007 Season Signings


Tell me what you think about the Team America Spotlight of the Week at BonnWM3@hotmail.com. Have suggestions on next week's Spotlight, let me know

Team America Spotlight of the Week (#3)

On to USL-2 this week...the spotlight belongs to:


League: USL Division 2
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Coach: Bill Becher
Website: www.cityislanders.com
Stadium: Skyline Sports Complex (cap 4,000)
Avg Attendance: 1,781
Notable Wins: 2005 USL-2 Semifinals
2nd Place 2005 USL-2 Regular Season

Notable Players:
Chad Severs - A Vineland, NJ product who scored 13 goals last year for the Islanders.
Sumed Ibrahim - This Ghanain midfielder was taken 20th in the 2004 MLS Superdraft by the Chicago Fire. Released eventually to play with the MISL's Baltimore Blast.
Shane Crawford - anchored their midfield last year; known for his Jamaican national team caps (4 to be exact)
Mo Odour - appeared for the Kenyan U-20 team

Blurb:

This team based in the heart of Pennsylvania has only been in existence since 2004. It's existence coincided with the disbanding of the Harrisburg Heat, however the rich semi-professional teams in the area allowed the Islanders to thrive (Hershey Bears, Harrisburg Senators). The City Islanders are exactly what the name spells out as their field (city-owned) is actually located on an island. Already it has finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in USL Division 2. Their worst year in the league was this past year as they went 8-9-3 and finished 7th. Harrisburg's 2007 preseason will see them take on Bucknell University, St. Francis (PA) University, Crystal Palace Baltimore (USL-2), and NCAA Division 1 stalwarts Lehigh University. Their talent is mostly found from all the universities they play preseason friendlies against. Fittingly, the City Islanders consist of above 60% Central Pennsylvania boys. They seem to have a small connection with D.C. United as they seem to have an annual match-up against the boys in black. Their real connections seem to be with the development of youth players as their academy boasts a whopping 400 players (rather big for a USL-2 team) and agreements with some 55 different teams. According to GM Joe Sierko, the on-field goals for Harrisburg this year involve a USL-2 Championshp and the title as the USL-2 team to progress the farthest in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.


Tell me what you think about the Team America Spotlight of the Week at BonnWM3@hotmail.com. Have suggestions on next week's Spotlight, let me know

Team America Spotlight of the Week (#2)

Still in the PDL this week, but this squad has also (like the Des Moines Menace of last Wednesday) created a lot of talent in its 10 years of existence.
This weeks SPOTLIGHT is taken by my 'local' squad...


League: Premier Development League
Conference: Northeast Division
Location: Ocean City, NJ
Coach: Neil Holloway
Website: www.sjbarons.com
Stadium: Carey Stadium (cap 2,000)
Avg Attendance: 750
Notable Wins: 1999 PDL 2nd Place
2005 US Open Cup 3rd Round
2-time Northeast Conference Champs ('98,'05)

Notable Alums:
Tony Donatelli - selected in the 3rd round of the Supplemental Draft by the Houston Dynamo, now plays for USL Division 1 Champions the Vancouver Whitecaps
Byron Carmichael - selected 60th in the 2003 MLS Superdraft by the Kansas City Wizards, back with the Barons now
Ruben Mingo - ex-Richmond Kicker, consistent scorer and PDL MVP in 2004
Michael Todd - taken 16th in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft by the KC Wizards
Ryan Carr - extremely athletic GK in the Tim Howard mold; took part in MLS Combine

Blurb:

The foundation of the South Jersey/Ocean City Barons is their 'youth academy' which acts as a feeder system into the first team. This is pretty rare in the world of PDL Amateur soccer as most teams just use it for a quick buck. The Barons, however put money in and, in return, they consistently churn out extremely talented and hard-nosed players like Ryan Heins, Richie Baker, Ryan Carr and Adam Sternberger. Byron Carmichael and Ruben Mingo together on the field is/was a pretty scary sight especially when the dispatched the Long Island Rough Riders 4-0 in the 2nd round of the US Open Cup. Neil Holloway and John Thompson are co-managers of sort and also run the front office from the side of Neil's house in Sicklerville, NJ. The administration is rag-tag and they are never going to compete off-the-field with the likes of the Des Moines Menace, but the Barons are proof that money doesn't buy championships. For the Barons, it is simply youth development and for that, they are easily one of the best in the country. They have several connections with strong area soccer clubs like Ocean City High School and Winslow High School. All that is needed is someone to inject some money into the program. If the MLS ever comes to Philly/South Jersey, you can bet to see some of these guys on the invitees to training camp list.



Tell me what you think about the Team America Spotlight of the Week at BonnWM3@hotmail.com. Have suggestions on next week's Spotlight, let me know.

Team America Spotlight of the Week (Wednesdays)

We will get to the MLS teams.
We will get to the USL D1/D2 teams.
But what about the PDL?
This weeks SPOTLIGHT is taken by the...



League: Premier Development League
Conference: Heartland Division (known as 'the HD' to some)
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Coach: Casey Mann
Website: Menace Soccer
Stadium: Waukee Stadium (cap 6,200)
Avg Attendance: 4,000 (remember, this is amateur PDL soccer)
Notable Wins: 1998 PDL 3rd Place
2005 US Open Cup 4th Round
2005 PDL Champions

Notable Alums:
Michael Kraus - selected 48th by the KC Wizards in the 2007 MLS Superdraft
Andy Greunebaum - selected 3rd by the Columbus Crew in the 2006 Supp Draft
Ezra Hendrickson - 35 year old Mr. Versatility, now with the Columbus Crew
Stephen Shirley - selected 29th by the KC Wizards in the 2006 MLS Superdraft
Tomas Boltnar - long time leading goalscorer; a Czech senior

Blurb:

It seems that every year the Menace are a contender for the PDL crown. If it's not actual results, it is potential. A lot of that has to do with their youth initiative with an already established Academy and a "Jr" team. They also have a relatively healthy fan club in the "Red Army", but the downright mystery is how in the hell do they get so many people to their games?? One guess could be the ownership and financial clout behind Kyle Krause and the wealthy Krause family which own most of the semi-pro teams in that area. He made his money in what was the brilliant idea called, Kum & Go, LLC. However, an e-mail into them didn't discover much, but it also has to do with location is my guess. To generalize, the Heartland has produced it's fair share of goodies. If people from there know the mystery behind the Des Moines Menace and are willing to share, please post a comment or send an email to BonnWM3@hotmail.com.

Also, tell me what you think about the Team America Spotlight of the Week at BonnWM3@hotmail.com.