Claim structural changes make competing impossible for college-reliant amateur clubs

Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

As a result of changes made by U.S. Soccer to the U.S. Open Cup schedule, several qualified USL League Two clubs are planning to withdraw from the competition entirely, citing a lack of available players in the early spring.

The shift in schedule placing the first three rounds of the annual tournament in March and April, combined with the NCAA’s athlete release date of May 1, creates significant difficulties for many USL League Two, NPSL and some UPSL teams that rely on collegiate athletes in the summer offseason. The issue has been well covered, but now some of the consequences are coming to bear.

Among those forced to withdraw are USL2 Eastern Conference champions Reading United AC, which released a statement outlining its intent and issues with the new structure:

“This abhorrent scheduling decision forces the top USL League Two and NPSL teams, who afford an Open Cup playing opportunity to NCAA and U23 players in the USA, to completely modify how they structure a team, or worse, forces them to relinquish their deserved spot to a lower ranked team. The lack of consideration for such a large player pool is astonishing. We are very concerned this is another example of the public perception of the ‘tone deafness’ that exists within US Soccer. We truly do not understand why US Soccer would essentially eliminate the playing opportunity for what is truly the best soccer player pool, outside of the professional ranks, in the United States.”

Soc Takes has learned that additional qualified clubs are set to follow suit in the coming days for similar reasons, including the USL League Two champion Flint City Bucks. The Bucks are among the most successful amateur clubs in USOC history, amassing a 10-10-1 all-time record against professional opposition and a 2-4-1 record against MLS teams — again, heavily featuring collegiate-based players.

It’s largely agreed that the top amateur talent in the U.S. consists of NCAA athletes, particularly those in Division I. Barring a major change to NCAA regulations on release dates, the USOC schedule change likely eliminates future contention for college-reliant clubs without a major restructuring of one of the nation’s oldest amateur leagues.

Soc Takes reached out to the United Soccer League, which declined to comment.

Follow Colton on Twitter: @cjcoreschi.

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Image credit: Coyotes FC

Coyotes FC has become the latest expansion club to join the NPSL, the league announced Tuesday.

The Temple, Texas-based side will compete in the Lone Star Conference in the league’s South Region beginning this year.

“We are pleased that Coyotes FC have decided to join the NPSL,” said NPSL director of membership development Dina Case in the release announcing the addition. “The NPSL has seen tremendous growth in the state of Texas over the past few years. It was a goal of the league to continue its strategic growth in the state of Texas by penetrating more centralized markets. Adding a strong ownership group in Temple will help the league achieve this goal and we look forward to Coyotes FC experiencing great success in the NPSL.”

Coyote FC’s home pitch is Holy Trinity Catholic High School in Temple. Integral figures at the club include founder and general manager Manuel Velasquez and director of coaching Rolando Gonzalez.

“We believe the NPSL has participated in many successful club stories and beginnings,” Gonzalez said. “We also believe that this platform will give our local players a wonderful opportunity to expand their talents in a higher level and may even open other doors for them.

“Our team will bring good competition and experienced players to the conference. We will also bring the community of Central Texas that supports local soccer.”

The NPSL Lone Star Conference, as one might infer from its name, features an all-Texas lineup. Coyote FC joins the ranks of Midland-Odessa Sockers FC, Laredo Heat SC, Denton Diablos FC, Fort Worth Vaqueros FC, Austin United FC, Katy 1895 FC and FC Brownsville.

The NPSL boasts 90-plus teams for the 2020 season.

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Photo credit: Robbie Mehling/Soc Takes

Per the Gold Cup’s provisional 40-player rosters submitted by participating nations, the Gold Cup could have as many as 31 current or former players from the lower divisions of U.S. Soccer. Twenty-six of 31 currently play in the USL Championship, four in USL League One and one in the NPSL.

The teams potentially most affected by call-ups are the OKC Energy (five), Charlotte Independence (three) and Charleston Battery (three). Eleven members of the Trinidad and Tobago team hail from the lower divisions of US Soccer, while another eight wear the yellow and black of Jamaica.

Final rosters will become available in the first week of June. Here is the provisional list:

Mexico – (none)

Canada – Noble Okello & Ashtone Morgan (ex-Toronto FC II), Mark-Anthony Kaye (ex-Louisville City FC, current LAFC)

Martinique – (none)

Cuba – (none)

Costa Rica – (none)

Haiti – Mechack Jerome (El Paso Locomotive), Jems Geffrard (Fresno FC), Bicou Bissainthe and Ronald Damus (North Texas SC), Christian Francois (Ottawa Fury)

Nicaragua – (none)

Bermuda – Zeiko Lewis (Charleston Battery)

Honduras – (none)

Jamaica – Shaun Francis (Louisville City FC), Kevon Lambert and Junior Flemmings (Phoenix Rising), Jamoi Topey (Bethlehem Steel), Jordan Scarlett (New York Red Bulls II), Je-Vaughn Watson and Owayne Gordon (OKC Energy), Maalique Foster (Rio Grande Valley FC Toros)

El Salvador – Tomas Heesch (Miami FC in NPSL), Joaquin Antonio Navarro (Saint Louis FC)

Curacao – Michael Maria (Charlotte Independence)

USA – Andrew Gutman (Charlotte Independence)

Panama – Michael Amir Murillo (ex-New York Red Bulls II), Ernesto Emanuel Willis (LA Galaxy II)

Trinidad and Tobago – Leland Archer and Ataullah Guerra (Charleston Battery), Cordell Cato, Mekeil Williams and Alvin Jones (OKC Energy), Kevan George (Charlotte Independence), Neveal Hackshaw (Indy Eleven), Tristan Hodge, Leson Paul and Duane Muckette (Memphis 901 FC), Nathan Lewis (Lansing Ignite FC), Greg Ranjitsingh (ex-Louisville City FC)

Guyana – Jordan Dover (Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC)

This story will be updated when the final rosters become available.

Follow Nipun on Twitter: NipunChopra7.

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Photo credit: Chicago Fire Communications

Well, the wait is over. Will all of the Chicago Fire’s changes pay off and get the club some results?

One match in, the jury says dropping a 2-1 decision Sunday to defending MLS Cup champion Seattle wasn’t horrible. Chicago showed signs of life, but there is still plenty of work to be done.

“I think overall it was a very exciting,” Fire head coach Raphael Wicky said. “From our side, there were a lot of positives. There are a lot of positives to build on. But obviously we’re very disappointed to have lost.”

Chicago held Seattle scoreless in the first half. However, the Fire didn’t score either, technically. The Fire had two goals called back in the first half due to offside calls. On the other end, Chicago goalkeeper Kenneth Kronholm and the defense secured the back line, keeping the Sounders in check.

But in the second half, the Fire got on the board just one minute in, when Robert Beric broke the scoreless deadlock. Alvaro Medran sent a long ball into the box. Djordje Mihailovic chested it down toward Beric, who buried a right-footed shot into the net behind Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei for the 1-0 advantage.

In the 46th minute, Jordan Morris entered the match for Seattle. He would be the difference maker, tallying two goals in just over 30 minutes. In the 62nd minute, Morris kicked the ball over Kronholm and into the top netting to even the score. On the final goal, Morris was in the right place at the right time, heading a cross behind Kronholm for the 2-1 advantage at the 90’+3′ mark. Seattle held on for the win.

“We are a good team,” Beric said. “We have to believe in this. I think we showed everybody today that it’s going to be tough to play against us. We have good players. We are one compact team. Today we lost but hopefully in the future things will turn around and it will be better for us.”

Statistically, Seattle outplayed Chicago. But you would expect that. The Sounders outshot the Fire 16-12, sending six balls on target compared to three for Chicago. Kronholm made four saves on the afternoon, while Frei was credited with two. Chicago pushed hard, collecting seven offside calls.

“The team that was here today, they had a great fight, they had a good performance, they had a lot of chances,” Wicky said. “We created a lot of things. I’m happy about that. Now it’s about us continuing to work, taking the positives into the next week and getting points.”

It’s fair to say the passion and excitement are there. Let’s see what they do with the next outing. Chicago will return to action Saturday at New England with a 1:30 ET kickoff.

A LOOK BACK AT PRESEASON

A rebuilt Fire squad finished the preseason with a 3-2-1 record. The Fire topped Nashville SC (3-1), Orange County SC (2-0) and Toronto FC (2-0), while drawing even with the LA Galaxy (1-1). Chicago dropped two decisions to Philadelphia (3-0) and Colorado (4-2).

Elliott Collier, who inked a new contract Feb. 6, led the attack with five goals. Collier, originally selected by Chicago in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, made 17 appearances for the Fire over the last two seasons. Collier split his play with Indy Eleven and Memphis 901 FC. The Fire secured him through 2022. If preseason is any indication, the New Zealand native might eventually earn himself a starting spot.

2019 leading scorer CJ Sapong wrapped up preseason with three goals. 2020 marks Sapong’s 10th season in the league. In his first nine seasons, Sapong tallied 69 goals, including 13 with the Fire last year. Does this veteran striker still have what it takes to lead the club up top? Or will new faces spark the offense? Nicholas Slonina and Michael Azira added to the preseason scoring with one goal apiece. Both players should see some playing time this spring.

As for goalkeeping, all ‘keepers saw quality time during the six preseason matches. Veteran goalkeepers Bobby Shuttleworth and Kenneth Kronholm saw the most action. Kronholm started between the posts in 2019, recording 58 saves in 20 matches. Will he pick up where he left off? Only time will tell. Shuttleworth is new to Chicago but not MLS, with previous stints in New England and Minnesota.

STRENGTHENING THE DEFENSE

Defender Wyatt Omsberg joined the Fire and is under contract through 2022. The Fire traded Raheem Edwards to Minnesota United FC for Omsberg. The Dartmouth College graduate has seven appearances under his belt in MLS. He spent parts of the last two seasons on loan with FC Tulsa and Forward Madison FC.

Slovakian international Boris Sekulic signed a deal with Chicago that also keeps him around through 2022. The 28-year-old defender spent his playing career in Serbia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Poland before joining MLS. The latest international signing most recently played with Gornik Zabrze in the Ekstraklasa League, where he started all 36 matches he played in and tallied two goals.

ADDING OPTIONS TO THE MIDFIELD

Argentine Ignacio Aliseda became a Young Designated Player for the Fire via transfer on Feb. 19. The 20-year-old midfielder spent two seasons playing with Defensa y Justicia in the Superliga Argentina. Aliseda also made two appearances for the Argentina Under-23 national team during the team’s championship run in the 2019 Pan American Games.

The Fire acquired Serbian midfielder Luka Stojanovic on Feb. 20. He’s appeared in 186 professional matches, playing in Portugal, Greece, Belgium and Serbia. Stojanovic spent the last three seasons with FK Cukaricki in Serbia’s first division. During the last two campaigns, the Stojanovic tallied 23 goals.

Argentine International Gaston Gimenez joined the Fire via transfer from Atletico Velez Sarsfield on Feb. 22. At 28 years old, the midfielder adds experience to the center of the pitch, with 225 appearances on his resume in 10 years of play. Gimenez spent the last six seasons in the Superliga Argentina. Gimenez also represented the Argentina National Team in a friendly against Mexico in 2018.

It’s fair to say the 2020 Chicago Fire have some international flare.

WELCOME TO WGN-TV

The Chicago channel known for being the home of baseball for decades, mainly the Chicago Cubs, has now broadened its repertoire. WGN-TV will air 24 Chicago Fire matches this season. The remainder will be aired via national broadcasts. The Fire’s WGN-TV debut will be the March 7 match at New England Revolution (12:30 p.m. CT). The network also produced a special entitled “Chicago Fire FC: Homecoming,” which will premiere March 20. The partnership will include monthly specials.

Follow Kathryn on Twitter: @Katknapp99.

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