Showing posts tagged “NASL”
Neil Morris ·
17 Mar 2010, 9:36 AM ·
Comment
A joint press conference featuring coaches and players for the Carolina RailHawks and Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution was designed to promote the teams’ preseason friendly this Saturday evening, March 20, at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary.
However, another continuing revolution again took center stage thanks to one attendee, RailHawks’ President Brian Wellman.
Joining Wellman for Tuesday’s press conference at the Hilton Garden Inn in Durham, N.C. were RailHawks’ coach Martin Rennie and captain Mark Schulte, together with longtime Revolution head coach Steve Nicol and two of their young players, Raleigh natives Darrius Barnes (a Duke University grad) and Zack Schilawski (a former Wake Forest standout). All appeared before members of the local media and a smattering of diehard RailHawks supporters.
Barnes enters his second season with New England as the only field player in MLS to play every minute of every game during his last year’s rookie outing. Meanwhile, Schilawski is embarking on his rookie season with the Revolution after the team drafted him in the first round of this year’s MLS SuperDraft. Although Schilawski will play in Saturday’s game, Nicol confirmed that Barnes will not due to a minor injury.
Last year, the RailHawks won the Community Shield match against New England, 1-0. This year’s game marks the end of the Revolution’s 10-day training visit to WakeMed Park. Last weekend, the Revs traveled to Charlotte, where they defeated the USL-2’s Charlotte Eagles 2-0. The match against Carolina will be their final tune-up before the scheduled MLS season opener against the L.A. Galaxy on March 27—a event that could be delayed or canceled if the ongoing MLS labor dispute isn’t resolved by then.
I will defer to the RailHawks’s revamped Web site for much of the arduous work of transcribing the comments that came from the dais. It is safe to say that the Railhawks enter the season a hungry and confident kettle. Coming off last year’s regular season runner-up finish in USL-1, which included winning the most matches in the league, Rennie returns the core of his squad along with several new, key pieces.
“For players and for coach, a second-place finish isn’t what we’re after,” said team captain Schulte. “We want to be first. It was a commendable season, considering no one really knew each other the first month or so. This year, I think is going to be something special.”
But, it was Wellman who sounded the most insurgent chord, using his opening prepared comments to expound on the mindset of both his team and its fledgling, as-yet-unsanctioned league, the North American Soccer League (NASL).
“Every roster spot is a meaningful spot, and Martin has a plan for every guy on the roster to get us deeper in the playoffs and contend for championships in both the U.S. Open Cup as well as the NASL league cup.”
The latter reference is eyebrow-raising, seeing how such a cup does not currently exist. The USSF has mandated that the member squads of both the USL-1 and NASL play in a combined USSF-sanctioned Division 2 league for 2010. Neither the USL-1 or NASL are individually sanctioned as D2 leagues by USSF this year. Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer Brian Wellman, Community Shield, Darrius Barnes, Mark Schulte, Martin Rennie, MLS, NASL, New England Revolution, Nic Platter, Ramak Safi, Steve Nicol, striker from The Gambia, Zack Schilawski
David Fellerath ·
4 Mar 2010, 2:58 PM ·
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“Don’t count us out just yet,” seems to be the message from the United Soccer Leagues today. As anticipated by early media reports, the USL-1 upped the ante in the ongoing struggle over the future of Division 2 soccer in North America.
The league announced that Orlando will operate a USL-1 franchise beginning next season, as part of its plan to “re-establish” its first division, which is currently playing under the auspices of the U.S. Soccer Federation along with teams from the rival NASL.
The new franchise will be operated by NY Empire Lacrosse, LLC and will be called the Titans. NY Empire Lacrosse brought professional lacrosse to the Orlando market in January and appears to have settled on outdoor soccer as the best way to diversify its pro sports operations.
“We looked at several different options, including indoor soccer and hockey, but in the end, professional outdoor soccer made the most sense in terms of being able to utilize our staff on a year-round basis without a lot of overlap in the seasons,” NY Empire president Steve Donner said in a USL press release.
The Titans have no playing facility yet, but the organization is “exploring options on a home facility and hope to make an announcement in the near future,” according to the release.
There are currently three USL-1 teams: Portland, Puerto Rico and Austin. Portland will begin play in the MLS next season, so the introduction of Orlando means the number of USL-1 teams slated to play in 2011 remains at three. It’ll be interesting to see if the USL has more such announcements up its sleeve, as there’s purportedly a required minimum of eight clubs for sanctioning by the U.S. Soccer Federation (notwithstanding this season’s six-team USL-2).
It’s also more than a little interesting that there are now three D2 soccer franchises in Florida (Miami FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies are committed to the NASL).
The “NY Empire” moniker for the company might raise some eyebrows. Turns out that Steve Donner’s sports background includes an ownership stint with the Rochester Rhinos. For background, see Jeff DiVeronica’s post on the blog of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. (He’s rather skeptical of this Florida venture.)
Continue reading »
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer NASL, Orlando Titans, steve donner, USL-1
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
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
Neil Morris ·
20 Nov 2009, 11:16 PM ·
Comment
Today was a flurry of activity in the ongoing dispute between USL Soccer and the breakaway Team Owners Association (TOA), which includes the Carolina Railhawks. First came a potentially game-changing press release from the TOA announcing the addition of two franchises to their nascent, still-unsanctioned league. USL-1 newcomer Tampa Bay Rowdies, a charter TOA member who remained slated to make their USL-1 debut next season, and USL-2’s Baltimore side Crystal Palace FC both declared their membership in the still unnamed league. This increases declared TOA membership to nine teams. It was less than a month ago that USL trumpeted the attendance of both clubs’ ownership groups at a USL organizational soiree in Beaverton, Oregon as part of the future of USL. “There is a change in the air,” USL CEO Alec Papadakis declared at the time. Indeed.
Later, the website USL News (not affiliated with the USL soccer league) broke the news that last Monday, Miami FC, a TOA breakaway team, filed claims with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on behalf of North American Soccer League, LLC. Of course, NASL is an iconic name in the annals of American soccer as the professional league that operated from 1968-1984 and featured such aging superstars as Pele and Franz Beckenbauer. This could very well forecast the name of the breakaway league, which the TOA says they will formally announce next week.
Then, late today, USL released their own foreboding statement regarding the Tampa and Baltimore defections. USL asserted the two teams’ contractual obligation to participate in the 2010 USL-1 season, and it not only promised to pursue breach of contract claims against the two squads, but, more ominously, accused the TOA of participating in “tortuous interference” with USL’s contractual relationship with its member teams. It bears mentioning that Papadakis is a franchise attorney, and with USL-1 rapidly losing the public relations and recruiting battle with a still-nonexistent league, legal haranguing remains one of the few (and perhaps effective) arrows they have left in their quiver.
With that in mind, soccer journalist Kartik Krishnaiyer posits that Tampa - who has already paid a $750,000 franchise fee to play in USL-1 next season - may be pledging support for the TOA in order to raise their member squads above an 8-team minimum required for approval by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), who is said to be meeting this weekend to consider the TOA’s application for sanction as Division II Men’s Outdoor Professional League. As with everything in this ongoing saga, stay tuned.
Below is today’s TOA press release:
TAMPA, BALTIMORE TO JOIN NEW PROFESSIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE
Expansion brings new league to nine teams
Nov. 20, 2009 - The Tampa Bay Rowdies<http://www.tbrowdies.com/> and Crystal Palace Baltimore<http://www.crystalpalaceusa.com/> have joined the new professional soccer league announced last week, beginning play in the United States and Canada in April 2010.
The addition of Tampa Bay and Baltimore brings the new league to nine teams, as they join the owners of the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, Montreal Impact, St. Louis Soccer United and Vancouver Whitecaps.
A name for the new league will be announced next week. The new league is also active in its search for a full-time commissioner and will introduce an extensive marketing campaign in the coming months.
“Tampa and Baltimore joining our efforts is a testament to our game plan, our current ownership strength and our promise for the future. The ownership groups of both teams share our vision for soccer in North America and we are thrilled to welcome them to our new league,” said Joey Saputo, Chairman of the Board of Governors and President of the Montreal Impact.
“As we start a new team and build a strong franchise in Tampa, it’s important that our group of team owners learn from past mistakes in North American soccer and focus on building a strong league, as well,” said Andrew Nestor, owner and president of the Tampa Bay Rowdies. “With this new team-owned and controlled league which consists of some of the most established teams in North American soccer, we are excited about our team and collective future.”
“Crystal Palace Baltimore is pleased and honored to join and be a part of what we see as the future of North American soccer. We are particularly excited about the structure of a team-controlled and owned league, especially when you look at the quality of owners that we have in this league and the impressive history of the clubs,” said Pete Medd, co-owner of Crystal Palace Baltimore. “We are proud to be one of the founding members and believe it’s the right league at the right time for us and for soccer in North America.”
Carolina RailHawks, Soccer NASL, TOA, USL
