USL Feature
Monday, October 11, 2010
By NICHOLAS MURRAY
TAMPA, Fla. – Before the Rochester Rhinos and Carolina RailHawks, for Chris Economides, there was the Kansas City Attack.
“I actually got my start in professional soccer in the indoor game,” Economides said, speaking at the USL offices. “I was one of the owners of the old Kansas City Attack in the NPSL in the early nineties. One of my early claims to fame was winning an indoor championship in my second season in Kansas City with the Attack beating some of my soon-to-be Rhino players that were members of the Cleveland Crunch.”
Now the Senior Director of USL PRO is getting back to his indoor roots as the leader of the USL’s I-League, scheduled to begin play in November, 2011. With just over a year until the league’s launch, Economides is confident of finding success both on and off the field for the franchises that make up the league’s inaugural season.
“I think just as you’ve seen with USL PRO, we’re trying to have a business model that makes sense,” Economides said. “The days of operating with multi-million dollar operating budgets, it just doesn’t make any sense from a financial perspective, from an operational perspective, so I think just as we’ve done with USL PRO, we’re trying to create a business model with the I-League that makes sense, which preaches financial prudence, which preaches income versus expenses.
“It’s a pretty simple, common sense aspect where your expenses shouldn’t outweigh your income. We’re preaching financial prudence when it comes to the I-League, it will be a very structured budget, not with a lot of high costs.”
The Rochester Lancers are, as yet, the only confirmed member of the I-League, but Economides expects to have at least eight, and even as many as 12, teams playing in regional competition. The main focus of the league in terms of franchises is currently the Northeast, Mid Atlantic and Midwest regions, but Economides believes that in the long-term, the league could grow across the country.
“The sky is the limit. If the business model makes sense, if the franchises are profitable, as we grow this it will grow regionally,” Economides said. “As this thing grows, as we build the entire indoor pyramid structure of the USL, we hope to be in over 100 markets in the PDL, W-League and USL PRO perspective.”
While building a pyramid similar to the one USL currently uses for the outdoor game, incorporating indoor youth leagues and potentially divisions that mirror the PDL and W-League, is part of the long-term strategy, Economides is also aiming to have I-League and USL PRO franchises develop partnerships that would offer the ability to build the brand with year-round exposure from the indoor and outdoor game.
“As we looked at the overall model of the I-League, I think that’s one of the common synergies that needs to take place,” Economides said. “As we talk to potential I-League markets, we’re hoping that an I-League market will either have a relationship with a USL PRO team or even take it one step further, if a USL PRO market wants to take on and have what I call year-round exposure and year-round opportunity, that’s an ideal scenario to have both the indoor and outdoor operators own the franchises themselves.”
It would also have a benefit for the players, who would have the ability to move between the two franchises and play year-round.
“I think it allows players to make soccer more of a year-round opportunity,” Economides said, “a year-round job to let them focus on their playing career, to let them focus on honing their skills, indoor and outdoor. As we look to build the sport in this country, I think it could be a key aspect that will provide players with year-round employment opportunities.”
What Economides hopes most of all, though, is that the I-League can bring back the type of entertainment and excitement the sport saw in its heyday.
“We’re in the entertainment business,” Economides said. “We’re competing with high school sports, we’re competing with movies, we’re competing with a whole host of things, so I think it has to be something that’s family-oriented, that’s family-affordable fun. I envision our ticket prices being very affordable for a family of four to go to a match and then make it an experience for the kids, for mom and dad to have a good time.”
All this week, look for video conversations with USL Senior Director of USL PRO Chris Economides on the I-League on USLSoccer.com.
Raj, who will graduate in May, is no stranger to the PDL. He played for the Chicago Fire PDL team in 2011 and then joined Reading United in 2012 where he saw action in 10 games. In his senior season at Fairfield, Raj started in 14 games and tallied one goal while receiving his third All-MAAC First Team selection. He was also named as one of 42 players to the Hermann Trophy watch list, an award given to the top player in college soccer. Raj started in every game his first three years and finished his junior season having started 54 consecutive games for the Stags.
Haney, a member of the 2012 Impact and freshman forward at Youngstown State University, returns to Fredericksburg for her second season. In 2012, Haney played in six games for the Impact, scoring two goals. In 2012 Haney started 15 of 17 games at YSU, and tallied five goals and three assists, including the go-ahead goal on September 25 against Cedarville in a non-conference matchup.
The Eagles, 1-0-1, played to a scoreless draw with the Rochester Rhinos on Friday night. The Eagles outshot the Rhinos 11-4, but Rhinos goalkeeper Kristian Nicht made seven saves to deny the Eagles a goal. Eagles defenders Shaun Francis and Ben Newnam both had great opportunities in the first half to put the Eagles in front but neither put their headed chances home. The Eagles' best chance came from a shot by Ghanaian midfielder Stephen Okai, whose low, hard shot forced a diving save by the Nicht to keep the game scoreless.
Watson had a good first half against the Blues, creating opportunities while also coming close to scoring himself. He finally provided the breakthrough for the Lions in the 57th minute, finishing a move from close range after Long Tan had sent a low cross to the top of the six-yard box. Five minutes later, Watson’s corner from the left was met at the back post by Yann Songo’o, doubling the Lions’ lead.
The 2013 W-20 season features 23 teams aligned in four regional divisions - North Atlantic, Midwest, New England and South Atlantic - playing 8-10 regular season matches from May through July, with a national championship set at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
The Lions jumped out to an early lead in the physical contest, with a well-placed corner from Winger Luke Boden finding an unmarked Dom Dwyer in the box for the header and goal in the eighth minute. Dwyer, who’s currently on loan from Orlando’s Major League Soccer affiliate Sporting Kansas City, whipped his conversion into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. 
Since January, Herrick has been training regularly with Seattle Sounders FC. Under the terms of the contract, he will continue to be based out of Seattle and train with Sounders FC.
Kickoff for the Copa LareDOS is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the Texas A&M International University Soccer Complex.
In 2009 Baldin made a huge life decision. With his parents moving back to Argentina, and having just signed a contract to play for Toluca's U20 team, he decided to stay living with his older brother in Mexico City, and pursue his dream of playing pro soccer.
The two former Berks County all-stars join an impressive array of local soccer stars such as Fleetwood's Troy Snyder and Keith Schlegel, Wilson's Travis Berger, Drew Kaufman, Ed Sep, Matt Wolf and Chris Arthur, and Conrad Weiser's Steve Thomas and Tom Auchenbach from the original Reading USL Professional team to the more recent PDL standouts like Geoff Pezon, Corey Hertzog and Tyler Witmer as local players who have pulled on a Reading jersey.
Gosse from Oakdale, N.Y., comes to the Flames after making 43 appearences over the course of three seasons with the Knights. Prior to joining the Knights, Gosse was a standout at Siena College. During his college years, Gosse played in the USL Super Y-League for the Long Island Rough Riders. After college, Gosse had an offer to play professionally in Serbia with FK Novi Sad, but was unable to secure a visa to allow him to sign with the club. Most recently, Gosse has been playing for Istria SC in the Long Island Soccer Football League, where he is the captain of the team.
"We are very happy to have Danae return to the Wildcats this fall, and she will play a pivotal role in how well we do this season," Head Coach Kevin McDermott said. "I have truly enjoyed watching Danae develop into an elite soccer player during her time with the Wildcats, and I know she will continue to have great success as she heads off to Chapel Hill to play for UNC in the fall."
The Dutch Lions enter VSI’s den after a dramatic victory in their home opener against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds last Saturday. Playing a man down for much of the match the Lions keeper, Matt Williams, made six saves to keep his team alive and earn himself a spot at the top of this week’s USL PRO Team of the Week. 
Sherrod assembled a standout PDL campaign in 2012, ranking among league leaders in goal scoring and being named to the PDL All-League team. Miller, a member of the U.S. U-20 National Team, along with Brenes and Foxhoven all helped lead their respective colleges to the NCAA tournament last season.
Los Angeles returns home after a three-game road trip that last weekend took it to Florida. The Blues, 3-3-0, most recently played VSI Tampa Bay FC in a 3-2 loss last Sunday. George Davis IV scored his third goal of the season, while the second goal was deemed a Tampa Bay own goal. Goalkeeper Carl Woszczynski made six saves on the night. The previous Friday, the Blues lost to Orlando City, also by a score of 3-2. Defender Conor Hearn scored his first goal of the season off a Rodrigo Lopez corner. Lopez, who leads the league in assists with four, later scored his first goal of the season off a penalty kick after being pulled down in the box.
Cummings, a native of Mechanicsville, Virginia and an inaugural member of the Impact in 2011, will return for her second season in 2013. In 2011, Cummings played in six games for the Impact, leading the team with 16 shot attempts. At East Carolina from 2008-11 she played 59 games while starting every game in her junior and senior seasons. Cummings graduated from the Pirates' program with 15 goals and 11 assists, accumulating 41 points in her four seasons.
“Let’s try and do something together: I’m going to say something and I want you to repeat it,” said Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias.
Wilmington found themselves down a man after only 18 seconds, when midfielder Paul Nicholson was sent off after a hard foul from behind on Los Angeles’ captain Allan Russell. Spitz opened scoring soon after, capitalizing on a cross by James Turner to give the Blues the lead in the fifth minute. 
Both sides had chances in the first half, with Dayton going close in the opening 10 minutes as Irakli Khutsidze shot over the crossbar. Tampa Bay also had chances, with Douglas Dos Santos having his header saved by Dayton goalkeeper Matt Williams in the 15th minute, and Tony Donatelli also being denied on a shot from distance later on in the half.
