Mid-Atlantic Region

Started by Mid-Atlantic Fan, August 29, 2017, 02:44:32 PM

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Hopkins92

Quote from: FelixCloudy on December 20, 2018, 09:45:59 PM
Happy to report that Nick West had a recent tryout with USL Charlotte Independence according to his hometown paper.  http://easthamptonstar.com/Sports/20181211/Nick-West-Named-Nation-Division-III-Player-Year. All the best to him as he pursues a pro career.  :)

https://www.easthamptonstar.com/2019815/nick-west-signs-pro-soccer-team

Playing for an outfit called the Stumptown Athletic in the new National Independent Soccer Assoc. based in Charlotte. I guess he impressed the manager/coach while trying out for the Independence.

First game is Sept 7 in Philly.

Ejay

What I found most interesting is that West is making more in this new league than USL was willing to pay.

Flying Weasel

Quote from: EB2319 on August 15, 2019, 04:36:00 PM
What I found most interesting is that West is making more in this new league than USL was willing to pay.

Yes, that was the most attention-getting thing in the article.  Let's see how this league does and if it is really prepared to pay their players more.

Not to diminish Nick West's talent and capability to play "at the next level", but getting this opportunity wasn't hurt by more than a bit of a Messiah connection in all this.  Stumptown Athletic's coach Mark Steffens was the coach of the Charlotte Eagles for 17 years (9 championship finals, 2 titles), a club that peaked with a few years in the A-League, but have mostly been a highly competitive USISL, USL 2nd Division, USL Pro, PDL team.  The Eagles are an arm of the Christian organization, Missionary Athletes International (MAI) and many Messiah players have gone on to play for the Charlotte Eagles and/or serve in MAI over the years.  Messiah coach McCarty and assistant Faro had playing careers under Steffens with the Eagles, just to cite two examples.  Steffens spent 1 1/2 years coaching the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in 2015 and 2016, getting replaced mid-season by former Messiah coach Dave Brandt.

Ejay

I don't think people realize just how hard it is to "play at the next level", even with the right contacts.  Remember Lucas Terci for Montclair State - All-American and 2016 Offensive POY?  He finished his career with 63 goals and 40 assists and couldn't make the grade at RedBull II (who call Montclair State home).  Was offered a trial with Cosmos that went nowhere and eventually ended up at FC Motown in NPSL for a short stint.  Not on roster now so I have no idea what's happened since to a former D3 stand-out talent.

jknezek

Quote from: EB2319 on August 16, 2019, 10:36:43 AM
I don't think people realize just how hard it is to "play at the next level", even with the right contacts.  Remember Lucas Terci for Montclair State - All-American and 2016 Offensive POY?  He finished his career with 63 goals and 40 assists and couldn't make the grade at RedBull II (who call Montclair State home).  Was offered a trial with Cosmos that went nowhere and eventually ended up at FC Motown in NPSL for a short stint.  Not on roster now so I have no idea what's happened since to a former D3 stand-out talent.

And it's only getting harder with each academy that MLS and USL teams start. Now I think the academies are great, and really the only way U.S. Soccer is going anywhere long term, but... if you didn't come up in their system, just being a college standout isn't going to get you far. You can even see that in the MLS Superdraft these days, which has lost so much importance. For MLS and USL, homegrown talent is where it is at. You develop it, you grow it, you keep it for cheap players or sell them on for real money. College is an increasing dead end for soccer with its incompatible rules, strict time restrictions on practice, and focus on athletes instead of players (a function of the first two problems).

You want to play at the next level? Play in an academy. If you are good enough, they will pay for you to go to college while you play soccer, instead of playing soccer while going to college. It's already the major route, eventually it will be extremely rare to see a college player making any kind of impact above whatever summer league is around or the PDL level.

truenorth

This all strikes me as a logical evolution of the professional side of the sport in the U.S.  Still, we won't become as competitive internationally as we should be until we figure out how to make football (soccer) a sport that attracts young athletes at the street level.  Soccer is still dominated by suburban white kids in the U.S.  That is changing slowly, but not nearly as quickly as it could...

lastguyoffthebench

Messiah at Rutgers-Camden preseason match at 3:00 today...

Flying Weasel

And . . . Rutgers-Newark AT Messiah, Saturday at 7 p.m.  (disappointed I already have another commitment and will miss this)


lastguyoffthebench

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1eguUSAHYZ/?igshid=6xujkwvgqxmb

RUC goal vs Messiah...

3-1 win for the Falcons with a late insurance goal.

FelixCloudy

2019 Centennial Conference pre-season poll released. http://www.centennial.org/sports/msoc/2019-20/releases/Preseason-Poll-8-27

1. Johns Hopkins
2. Haverford
3. Franklin & Marshall
4. Dickinson
5. Gettysburg   
6. Swarthmore   
7. Muhlenberg   
8. Washington College   
9. McDaniel   

Mid-Atlantic Fan

Going to post my way too early power rankings as the season approaches for the region. Not much to go from here except last season, history and gut feel.

1. Messiah (shocker)
2. Haverford
3. F&M
4. Lycoming
5. Stevens
6. Catholic
7. Hopkins
8. Dickinson
9. Leb Val
10. Etown/Drew
Outside looking in: Eastern/Gettysburg/Swat/Scranton