Showing posts in the “Carolina RailHawks” category
David Fellerath ·
14 Jan 2010, 8:51 AM ·
1 Comment
John Cunliffe, 2007 MLS Combine MVP, in a 2009 game against the Vancouver Whitecaps (Photo by Rich Bostwick)
No, the RailHawks aren’t picking players in today’s MLS SuperDraft, to be held in Philadelphia at 2 p.m. However, recent history shows that the RailHawks and other D2 teams can expect to see some of these highly touted first- and second-rounders in the next couple of years.
Thanks to a blog I encountered on the Internets, I now know that three players who performed so well in recent MLS combines that they were named MVP of the thing are now Carolina RailHawks. That’s right. Here’s the list of recent combine MVPs:
- 2005: Luke Kreamalmeyer (drafted by RSL, joined RailHawks in 2009)
- 2006: Brian Plotkin (drafted by Chicago Fire, joined RailHawks in 2009)
- 2007: John Cunliffe (drafted by Chivas USA, joined RailHawks in 2009)
- 2008: Eric Brunner (drafted by Red Bull New York, joined Miami FC, now with Columbus Crew)
- 2009: Stefan Frei (drafted by Toronto FC, made 26 appearances in 2009)
- 2010: ?
Obviously, being named MVP of a brief meat market scouting combine is no sure ticket to D1 stardom. (Indeed, in a post on Tuesday about the combine, Ives Galarcep made a passing reference to Kreamalmeyer’s award.) But the three future RailHawks all proved to be solid performers in D2 and could perhaps feature again in the MLS. And no doubt there will be a number of draftees today who will find their niche in D2 rather than the MLS.
In scanning the recent first and second rounds of the MLS draft, I see that a number of picks ended up with the RailHawks: Cunliffe (2007, No. 7 overall); Nate Norman (2007, No. 21); Plotkin (2006, No. 20—three behind Jozy Altidore!); Jack Stewart (2005, No. 10); Josh Gardner (2004; No. 13—five behind Clint Dempsey!); David Stokes (2003; No. 5); Chris Carrieri (2001; No. 1).
Let’s look at another sampling of future prospects: the history of Generation Adidas (and its forerunner, the Nike-sponsored Project 40): There are definitely some future stars there (Tim Howard! DaMarcus Beasley!), but there are others, of course, who went on to relative anonymity, including two who more or less ended their careers with the RailHawks: the aforementioned Stokes and Carrieri.*
What all of this shows is that forecasting which college stars will become top-flight first division pro players is a highly inexact guessing game science. Who knows how Danny Mwanga of Oregon State, who is projected as the No. 1 overall pick, will pan out for the expansion Philadelphia Union? Or Teal Bunbury, winner of the 2009 MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the best college player in the country?
Here’s another interesting local angle to today’s draft: Seven of the top nine projected selections featured in the 2009 NCAA College Cup that was held in Cary, NC, last month.
- Tony Tchani (Virginia)
- Ike Opara (Wake Forest)**
- Teal Bunbury (Akron)
- Corben Bone (Wake Forest)
- Zach Loyd (North Carolina)
- Blair Gavin (Akron)
- Zack Schilawski (Wake Forest)**
The draft today promises to be fun. And of course, it will be interesting to look back on it a year or two from now to see how today’s stars of tomorrow ultimately fared.
UPDATE NO. 1 (Jan. 15, 2010; 10:46 a.m.): The Richmond Kickers of USL’s second division announced Thursday that Carrieri, who played for them in a part-time capacity last year, will play full-time this season.
UPDATE NO. 2 (Jan. 15, 2010; 10:48 a.m.): Opara, a 6-foot-2 defender who went to Jordan High School in Durham and then Wake Forest University, was selected third overall in the MLS SuperDraft by the San Jose Earthquakes. Schilawski, a forward and native of Cary who had an illustrious career with CASL, Cary High School, the Cary RailHawks U23 PDL team and Wake Forest, was taken by the New England Revolution with the ninth overall pick.
Carolina RailHawks, NASL, Soccer, UNC-Chapel Hill Blair Gavin, Brian Plotkin, Corben Bone, DaMarcus Beasley, Danny Mwanga, Generation Adidas, Ike Opara, John Cunliffe, Luke Kreamalmeyer, MAC Hermann Trophy, MLS combine, MLS draft 2010, NCAA College Cup, Teal Bunbury, Tim Howard, Tony Tchani, Zach Loyd, Zack Schilawski
David Fellerath ·
8 Jan 2010, 9:36 AM ·
12 Comments
Selby Wellman (photo courtesy of Carolina RailHawks)
We spoke with Selby Wellman, majority owner of the Carolina RailHawks, after yesterday’s press conference in which Sunil Gulati, president of the United States Soccer Federation, announced a provisional agreement to keep Division 2 soccer going in 2010. Wellman spoke to us from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where the North American Soccer League is holding its annual general meeting.
Among the highlights:
- Wellman said at least 11 teams will play in NASL in 2011, including a franchise to be announced within a couple of weeks.
- He said there are representatives of four prospective franchises also present in Fort Lauderdale.
- He acknowledged being the last holdout from the provisional agreement that was announced yesterday.
- NASL is filling league office positions, interviewing candidates in Fort Lauderdale this week.
- He acknowledged the possibility of playing on the fall-to-spring FIFA schedule, but said it is a low priority for now.
- Suggested some form of promotion/ relegation could occur within four to five years.
Triangle Offense: How do you feel about the news today?
Selby Wellman: Tremendous.
Seems like Gulati made clear this was a short-term arrangement.
Absolutely. This is nothing more than a 2010 transition. After two and a half years of work, we are going to launch North American Soccer League for 2011. And during this transition year we will launch our league. It’s a lot of work to launch a league and that’ll be our focus at the league level, to launch a league this year. The transition is nothing more than a way to compete on the field. There are nine NASL teams and three USL teams. Three of the NASL teams will play in the USL Conference, but they are members of the NASL body and they will be playing in the NASL in 2011.
Are the three NASL teams playing in the USL Conference going to have to, on any practical level, going to have to answer to the USL, or is the division just cosmetic?
No. It’s totally cosmetic. All of us report to the USSF, in terms of administrations, scheduling, disciplinary actions, things like that. That’s on the field. Off the field, the USL will run their business—and they have three teams in that business—and we will run our business-and we have nine teams in that business.
You’re having a general meeting [in Fort Lauderdale] right now. Do you have nine teams meeting there?
We have nine teams and we have four visiting teams that are prospects that would like to consider joining our league.
They are there to consider you or you to consider them?
Both. Meet everybody, chat with them, start talking about 2011 and joining the NASL.
Is Atlanta one of them?
No, Atlanta is already a member of NASL. They’re not part of the nine, though. We have nine team that will play in 2010. Atlanta will rejoin the league in 2011. They’re number 10. We’ll have an announcement of another franchise within the next two weeks that will start in 2011. That will be 11. Then we have four others here who are talking with us and will be meeting with us about 2011.
Can you tell us which markets they represent?
No, I really wouldn’t. But I can tell you they’re major markets. It wouldn’t be right to share that at this time. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Atlanta, Baltimore Crystal Palace, FIFA calendar, Harminder Paul Singh, NASL, promotion/ relegation, Rochester, Selby Wellman, Sunil Gulati, Tampa Bay, US Soccer, USL, USSF
David Fellerath ·
7 Jan 2010, 5:20 PM ·
Comment
There will be soccer in Cary this season after all.
After months of uncertainty surrounding the status of second-division soccer in the United States, officials with the United States Soccer Federation and representatives of two contending organizations announced today that the United Soccer Leagues and the nascent North American Soccer League would soldier through a provisional season under an unusual compromise arrangement. As part of this temporary resolution, all pending claims between the leagues and its parties will be dropped.
The two leagues will play a season divided into two conferences, the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. Each conference will have six teams, with the Carolina RailHawks falling into the NASL Conference.
| USL CONFERENCE |
NASL CONFERENCE |
| Rochester |
Montreal |
| Portland |
Vancouver |
| Puerto Rico |
Crystal Palace (Baltimore) |
| Minnesota |
St. Louis |
| Austin |
Carolina |
| Tampa Bay |
Miami |
A few things to notice about this provisional arrangement: Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Alek Papadakis, Carolina RailHawks, D2, Division 2, MLS, NASL, New England Revolution, Sunil Gulati, TOA, US Soccer, USL
David Fellerath ·
13 Dec 2009, 12:40 PM ·
1 Comment
Jordan Graye, after missing his penalty kick against Akron. (Photo by Rob Rowe)
WAKEMED SOCCER PARK/CARY–Temperatures dropped below freezing Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park right around the time Brian Ownby scored a golden goal to lift the Virginia Cavaliers over Wake Forest in the semifinal of the 2009 College Cup. Three hours later, it was even colder as a diehard contingent endured 110 minutes of scoreless play between the undefeated and No. 1-ranked University of Akron and the fifth-ranked UNC Tar Heels before the Zips (23-0-1) won on penalty kicks when UNC defender Jordan Graye shanked his effort over the goal.
The night’s real drama came in the sudden-death overtime of the first game between the Demon Deacons and the Cavaliers (18-3-3). The winner came in the third minute of overtime as Ownby, a sophomore from Glen Allen, Va., took a long pass from Jonathan Villanueva. Ownby, whose playing time has been limited by a hernia, beat Wake’s Anthony Arena and Ike Opara, chipped the ball past Wake Forest’s keeper Akira Fitzgerald and tore off his jersey on his way to embrace his teammates on the sideline.
At the center of the field, Wake Forest’s senior striker Zack Schilawski stood still, stunned. Wake had equalized in the game’s 70th minute on an unassisted foray by All-American midfielder Corben Bone, and the Deacons seemed to have the momentum going into overtime. Now the game was over, and Schilawski stood still for a long time, moving only when opposing players came over to console him.
It was a tough end for the Cary native’s amateur career. An All-American at Cary High, he was also a member of the Cary Clarets, the team of college amateurs that plays in the USL’s Player Development League (PDL).
As it happens, I witnessed one highlight of Schilawski’s amateur career that’s not on his online Wake Forest bio. It occurred on the same field in the summer of 2008, when his PDL team, then known as the Cary RailHawks, defeated a visiting side from the English Coca-Cola Championship, a team called Burnley FC. After Burnley struck first with a goal by midfielder Wade Elliott, Schilawski leveled after exploiting an error by Graham Alexander, then as now his team’s defensive mainstay. The RailHawks clinched the game in the 76th minute on a goal by N.C. State’s Tyler Lassiter, off an assist from Wake Forest’s midfielder Bone. Continue reading »
ACC, Carolina RailHawks, Duke, N.C. State, Soccer, UNC-Chapel Hill, Uncategorized Add new tag, Akira Fitzgerald, Akron Zips, Brian Ownby, Burnley, Cary Clarets, Cary RailHawks, Corben Bone, Jonathan Villanueva, Jordan Graye, NASL, NCAA championship, PDL, Teal Bunbury, University of Virginia, USL-1, Wake Forest, Zack Schilawski
David Fellerath ·
9 Dec 2009, 9:48 AM ·
3 Comments
We have to pay tribute to the work of Miami-based Kartik Krishnaiyer and Minnesota’s Brian Quarstad, who’ve done a phenomenal job staying on top of the complex developments concerning the future of lower-division soccer in America. For a fascinating, wide-ranging discussion of how we got here and where we might end up, listen to this podcast in which Quarstad and Krishnaiyer are joined by host Richard Farley and fellow guest Kristian Vazquez, a blogger who follows the Puerto Rico Islanders.
After three months of turmoil, the dispute between the United Soccer Leagues and the upstart North American Soccer League, of which the Carolina RailHawks are a part, is coming to a head. Today is the deadline set by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the two rivals to submit unspecified additional information so that the federation can make a ruling on NASL’s application for official sanction.
Yesterday, the USL filed a lawsuit in Hillsborough County, Florida, against three of its former teams who are now aligned with NASL: Baltimore Crystal Palace, Tampa and Rochester. (Kartik got this one and promises additional reporting today.)
Also yesterday, Jeff Cooper and the St. Louis ownership group announced the name of their proposed new NASL team: AC St. Louis. They also got attention with their two coaching announcements. The manager will be Claude Anelka, brother of Chelsea striker Nicolas, while the director of player development will be Francisco Filho, a 69-year-old Brazilian trainer who is said to have nurtured such superstars as Eric Cantona and Thierry Henry.
It was the former choice, however, that raised eyebrows: As was quickly discovered, Anelka’s limited coaching experience includes an eight-game stint at second-division Scottish side Raith Rovers that led to The Guardian including him on its list of 10 worst soccer managers of all time. One would hope that Anelka nonetheless impressed Cooper with his coaching acumen and that this isn’t merely an attention-getting novelty signing.
However, the more immediate question is if, when and how Anelka and the rest of the NASL will get to take the field and prove themselves. We’ll see what reporting we’re able to do; in the meantime, keep an eye on The Kartik Report and Inside Minnesota Soccer.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer AC St. Louis, Claude Anelka, court filings, Francisco Filho, Jeff Cooper, NASL, podcast, USL, USSF
David Fellerath ·
3 Dec 2009, 11:13 AM ·
6 Comments
While flipping through my soccer channels in search of a game, I spotted USL Breakaways on Fox Soccer Channel and taped it. Given the news of the past few weeks, and the generally clumsy PR operation of the United Soccer Leagues, I wanted to see how the USL is presenting itself.
I watched the hour-long program, which was hosted by Andrew Bell, former marketing director and current president of the Charleston Battery, who is young, British (Scottish?) and has a bit of Warren Barton about him (he’s also an FSC announcer). There wasn’t much news in this infomercial, produced for USL by Cultural Videos and Sports Communications, Inc., but I noticed a couple of points of emphasis.
First, the opening 30 minutes were devoted to the Super-Y league and its annual tournament in Tampa. We saw kids playing, and interviews with U15 players and coaches. No doubt intentionally, this segment spotlighted one of the main strengths of the United Soccer Leagues: fostering youth development.
After a segment featuring banquet highlights from the annual general meeting, and the Hall of Fame inductees (including Scott Schweitzer, star defender for Rochester who coached the Carolina RailHawks for its first two seasons), the theme of “development” was picked up midway through the program with an interview with USL President Tim Holt.
Holt didn’t engage directly with the fact that the first division that seems to have all but collapsed, but instead sounded the theme of “player development.”
Here are his remarks in full, with emphasis added:
Tim Holt: Yeah, it’s exciting, there’s a new direction, a new culture about USL. Probably most people know at this point, USL was acquired by NuRock Soccer Holdings from Nike, which was the previous owner. Nike Inc and the Umbro brands and Nike Soccer Brands will stay on as long-term partners in a 10-year partnership, so we get the best of both worlds. We have committed ownership from NuRock, Rob Hoskins, Alek Papadakis, their CEO. They’re soccer guys but they’re accomplished business executives, and they’re really bringing professional—more sophisticated approach to everything we do from our front-office standpoint, allowing us to serve our teams better. And it’s just a real exciting time, obviously, to be able to continue the relationship with Nike and Umbro, especially Umbro, the long time partners with USL, it’s very exciting. So we’re a few months into that transition, it’s been almost seamless, and we look forward to furthering that into 2010. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, NASL, Soccer Alek Papadakis, Andrew Bell, Anton Peterlin, Brian Quarstad, Chris Economides, NASL, Scott Schweitzer, Tim Holt, USL
David Fellerath ·
30 Nov 2009, 4:28 PM ·
1 Comment
The Rochester Rhinos fulfilled recent speculation today, announcing that they would join the nine other ownership groups that are poised to begin play next spring in the North American Soccer League, which now claims 10 teams.
Last week, Carolina RailHawks majority owner Selby Wellman told Triangle Offense that he expected there would be at least 10 teams but refused to confirm speculation about Rochester’s status.
Here’s a link to the early thoughts of Jeff DiVeronica of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “Devo” is an excellent, insightful soccer reporter; he’s also been consistent in his scorn for the breakaway league.
For those keeping score, the USL First Division is down to four teams, following today’s announcement from Rochester and the decision of Cleveland and Charleston to take themselves down to the USL Second Division:
- Portland Timbers (MLS-bound in 2011)
- Puerto Rico Islanders
- Austin Aztex
- FC New York (2010 expansion team)
Press release after the jump. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, NASL, Soccer NASL, Rochester Rhinos, USL-1
David Fellerath ·
25 Nov 2009, 10:52 AM ·
1 Comment
WECT of Wilmington, N.C., reports that despite flickers of optimism that a buyer could be found for the troubled USL-2 Wilmington Hammerheads, those hopes appear to be dashed and the USL is proceeding with the 2010 season without this North Carolina market.
This brings the number of teams apparently playing in the USL-2 next season to eight, a figure that reflects last week’s announcements that the Charleston Battery would self-relegate to the lower division, and that Tampa and Crystal Palace Baltimore would jump from the USL to the upstart, revived North American Soccer League.
The disappearance of the Hammerheads is a loss for the USL-2, certainly, but it’s also a loss for North Carolina soccer fans. Wilmington is a solid small market with an excellent stadium, and a healthy intra-state rivalry emerged last season between the then-USL-1 Carolina RailHawks and the Hammerheads. Jamie Watson, last year’s USL-2 player of the year, played in the Port City for a season, scoring 12 goals in 16 appearances. He’s now under a two-year contract to the Austin Aztex of the USL-1, which currently consists of either five or six teams (Austin, Rochester, Puerto Rico, Portland, the expansion FC New York and, perhaps, Cleveland).
According to WECT, David Irving, the highly regarded coach of the Wilmington Hammerheads for the past 12 seasons, is now free to seek other employment.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer David Irving, Jamie Watson, USL-2, Wilmington Hammerheads
David Fellerath ·
24 Nov 2009, 8:56 PM ·
Comment
It’s a bit of a relief to take a break from the Sturm und Drang of the North American soccer second division to simply note a bit of interesting RailHawks player news: Caleb Patterson (sometimes called Caleb Patterson Sewell), the sparkling young goalkeeper who split time with Eric Reed last year, was left unprotected by Red Bull New York for possible drafting by the expansion Philadelphia Union.
The way it works: Each existing MLS team is allowed to protect 11 players, and the Union can select a total of 10 players, with no more than one selected from any team.
Patterson joins fellow RBNY keeper Danny Cepero on the list, as the club decided to protect Bouna Coundoul. There’s some interesting company on the list: The Galaxy’s Josh Saunders, for example, just days after his excellent emergency substitution for Donovan Ricketts in the MLS championship. (Patterson may be on the MLS expansion list, but he’s also spending some time in Cary; he was present to pose for this Nov. 11 photograph of retired France international Lilian Thuram during his visit to WakeMed Soccer Park. Patterson is at the far right.)
Other notables on the MLS list: Mexican superstar Cuauhtémoc Blanco; U.S. internationals Frankie Hedjuk, Ricardo Clark, Tony Sanneh, Clint Mathis and Bobby Convey; as well as one-time Duke star Michael Videira.
Here’s the complete list, with more explanation and context.
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Caleb Patterson Sewell, Los Angeles Galaxy, MLS expansion draft, Red Bull New York
Joe Schwartz ·
24 Nov 2009, 11:12 AM ·
1 Comment
Pelé, seen in the film Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (Miramax Films)
Carolina RailHawks majority owner Selby Wellman expects at least 10 teams to be in the newly named North American Soccer League, though he declined to name the possible additions to the nine confirmed ownership groups.
Wellman and fellow owners announced Monday that they will bring back the NASL name, conjuring up memories of the first American professional soccer league, which included the likes of Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff before it folded in 1984.
“We talked about it a long time. There’s pros and cons because the league didn’t make it, that would be the con. The pro is it really did launch professional soccer in
America and had a good brand,” he said. “There’s a lot of us around here with some gray hair that’ll say, ‘I remember that brand.’”
The league now has a name, but the owners have a lot of questions to answer before the first ball is kicked in April. Along with the RailHawks, former USL teams Atlanta Silverbacks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are part of NASL. St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crystal Palace Baltimore also are slated for inclusion in the breakaway league.
Others have speculated that Rochester Rhinos may be included, but Wellman, also the spokesman for the new league, isn’t saying as of yet.
“I can’t name them,” he said. “We already have plans underway, and we’re getting all kinds of requests coming in from different groups.” Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Crystal Palace Baltimore, Don Garber, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, MLS, Montreal Impact, NASL, Pele, Rochester Rhinos, Selby Wellman, St. Louis Soccer United, Tampa Bay Rowdies, TOA, USL, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
