Category Archives: PDL Soccer League

Professional Development League

Cody Reinberg And Harrisburg City Islanders Begin Open Cup Play Tonight

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us open cup logoDating back to 1914, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest cup competition in United States soccer and is among the oldest in the world. Open to all affiliated amateur and professional teams in the United States, the annual U.S. Open Cup is entering it’s 95th tournament in 2008.

In a nutshell, the U.S. Open Cup is very similar to domestic cup competitions popular throughout Europe, South America and the rest of the world. Cup competitions, which usually run concurrent with a country’s league season, are open in the early stages to any club that can qualify, giving local amateur teams a chance to compete against the best teams a country has to offer. First round games are being played this evening, with the winners advancing to the second round next Tuesday. MLS squads who qualified will join the competition in the 3rd round.

This year, I’ve got two teams I’m watching. The first is the Harrisburg City Islanders who include Cody Reinberg (Drury 2008/Des Moines Menace/Springfield Demize) on their roster. The other is the St Louis Lions who will once again represent the PDL Heartland Conference.

Reading Rage (PDL) at Harrisburg City Islanders (USL2)

Harrisburg reached the quarterfinals in their Open Cup debut in 2007, defeating D.C. United in the third round.. Harrisburg comes into the match atop the USL-2, although their last match was a shocking 5-0 loss to Richmond on June 6.

Reading has steamrolled through their early PDL schedule, winning three of their six games by three goals or more, posting a 5-0-1 record. They should be well rested, having not played since May 31.


St. Louis Lions (PDL) at Cleveland City Stars (USL1)

The Lions finished 1st in PDL Heartland Division qualifying with a 3-0-1 record. After posting a 3-0-1 record to claim the Heartland Division Open Cup berth, the Lions have only won once in their last four matches (1-2-1). The Lions have faced the Springfield Demize once this year, a 5-0 win in the Demize home opener. They return to Springfield next Thursday, June 18th.

The Lions have made one previous cup appearance, a 4-1 loss to the Minnesota Thunder in last year’s tournament. While the Lions are the lone team from St. Louis to make a cup appearance in the Pro Era, St. Louis clubs have won 10 Open Cup championships, the most recent being Busch S.C. in 1988.

KC Brass Shut Out Springfield Demize

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Springfield Demize – 0
KC Brass – 6
KC came out fast, getting goals in the 1st and 4th minute before adding a 3rd midway through the first half. Three more in the second and the Brass had their second win of the season, both over the Demize, and are now 2-5-1 after getting a tie against the Des Moines Menace in the 90th minute in their previous game.

Photos later, it’s been a long weekend with State Cup already beginning as well.

The Brass will be back in town next Thursday for a game at Cooper, followed by 1st year program Rochester Thunder who will be in town on Saturday.

St Louis Lions Shut Out Springfield Demize

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PDL Soccer: St Louis Lions Shut Out Springfield Demize
St Louis Lions – 5
Springfield Demize – 0
A pair of goals in the first 8 minutes effectively sealed the Demize’s fate this evening as GLVC Offensive Player of the Year Stephen Beattie scored in the third minute (pictured), assisted by fellow front runner Steven Brocks, who scored one of his own in the 8th.

Three more goals, 2 from the spot by Martin Clayes (Truman State asst Coach) and the Lions keep pace in the Open Cup chase.

The Demize came out fast this evening, looking to get the early goal with the home field advantage. The Lions made them pay with a gloriously conceived counter-attack. Clayes, the midfield general, collected a loose ball at the top of the box and with a simple pass sent Brocks racing down the right side from the midfield stripe to the endline. His cross found Beattie waiting and he reliably buried his shot for the first goal in the 3rd minute (pictured above). Brocks got his when a communication breakdown led to a thru ball that sent him in alone.

The Demize continued to attack and came close a few times. The best was a shot by #7 who put a shot off the crossbar. Not enough when Tony Glavin’s boys are hitting on all cylinders.

PDL Soccer: Springfield Demize Host St Louis Lions Tonight

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Demize LogoOne game under their belt already, the Demize host the St Louis Lions tonight at Cooper #1. The team will be looking to rebound from Wednesday’s difficult loss to the Des Moines Menace.

Head Coach Chris Hanlon and Technical Director Brett Thomas will look to add some additional firepower with the end of classes at Drury. Both Micah Whorton and Andrew Bordelon played significant roles for the Demize on Wednesday, with Bordelon providing the most reliable work in the midfield and Whorton (#9) scored the Demize goal. They’ll be joined by Blake Wilson, Peter Higgins, Conner McLellan and Marco Charismo, who played for the Menace last year but is staying in Springfield for summer school this year and brings his offensive firepower to the front line.

PDL Soccer: Des Moines Menace Get Past Springfield DemizeThere are also a number of local players who will see playing time. Robbie Curtis (Ozark 2008) played defensive midfielder the first half and played an important role in keeping the Menace off the scoreboard with his work rate and intelligent play. Michael Gow (MSU/Lebanon 2005) centered the defense, won the majority of the high balls in the box and saved at least one goal Wednesday when he blocked a shot on the line with his rear end (pictured). His brother Matt (MidAmerica Nazarene/Lebanon 2007) was in goal for the opener and played a strong game. Adam Legg (Hendrix/Kickapoo 2008) will also see time in goal as he moves up from the Demize Reserve this year. Others to watch for are Andrew Vorce (MSU/Demize Reserve) and Daniel Ortega.

There are three HS players, including Kaleb Romero (Nixa 2010) who came on for 5 minutes Wednesday along with Willis Zirsky (Marshfield 2009) and Lane Chapman (Kickapoo 2009) who are also 2009 All-Stars (the game is June 15th!)

The international contingent comes from Europe, the Middle East and Central America. Emanuel, Ryan Trudgeon and Kash are from England, Higgins is Irish, Abini Yousef is Egyptian, Tarc is from Kuwait while Jose Hernandez comes from Honduras, Mario from Argentina and Marco Cherisma is a Haitian national.

So come out, see some high level soccer with representatives of the world’s game from many points on the globe. See you there!

Springfield Demize Open Tonight Against Des Moines Menace

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PDL Soccer: Springfield Demize press conference
The Professional Development League (PDL) opens yet again in the Springfield market this evening as the Springfield Demize host Des Moines Menace. The game this evening will be played at 5:30 pm, a special concession to the owners of the Menace which is the Kum and Go gas/food chain. The local management and staff will be enjoying the game, it will be interesting to see how many of them cheer for the Menace or the Demize.

The roster isn’t available but there will be the usual supplement of local players, including 4-6 from the Drury Panthers and others such as Mike and Mathew Gow (Lebanon/MSU/MidAm Nazerene), Adam Legg and Quincy Conduff (Kickapoo/Hendrix) and Preston Bates (Kickapoo/Crowder). The photo is from Monday’s press conference, also attended by KOLR10. You can see video here.

I’ve update my Soccer calendar with the Demize schedule as well as the KC Brass and St Louis Lions (who visit Friday) for those of you who might be interested in attending a game. It’s my favorite outlet during the summer as the quality is always good.

The Menace come into the game 1-0, after defeating the Rochester Thunder, a new team associated with a USL-1 team in Minnesota. Des Moines took the lead in the 18th minute, when Ben Taylor (Drury Panthers) scored off an assist from Tim Crone. Taylor played the entire 90 and we can expect to see him tonight.

Final Week Of The Regular Season Arrives

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The final week of the regular season has arrived and there are a few teams scrambling to make up games but I think the Class 3 seeding discussions should be fairly straight forward this week.

Monday evening the Jefferson City Lady Jays visit to play against the Kickapoo Chiefs. JC, newly added to our mix by being the Central MO squad that remained in District 10 now populated by Camdenton, Rolla, Waynesville and Lebanon, can probably claim the #1 seed in the District with a win over Kickapoo. I’ll be out there to see how things play out. I may split my time between that game and Camdenton’s visit to play Glendale, we’ll see how industrious I’m feeling. A win by the Falcon’s would give them their first outright Ozark Conference title since 2003.

Thursday evening Glendale will host Catholic which is always an entertaining game that brings out fans from across the city. Cooper #2 is the site.

Otherwise it’s wrap up the season and prepare for the playoffs. There is a bit of controversy brewing in Class 2 as the Wildcats of Harrisonville aren’t feeling the love of the recent seeding. Warrensburg doesn’t seem to be surprised by Harrisonville’s response. Harrisonville’s attitude wasn’t improved by the game against Pembrooke, despite winning. Should be a barn burner in Bolivar beginning Friday night, continuing until Wednesday. Oh, you did note that Harrison has themselves moving all the way to the final, right :)

Meanwhile, in Arkansas the girls season has ended. The Bentonville Lady Tigers captured its second Class 7A state title in three years Friday with a 2-0 win against Fayetteville at Razorback Field.

The Lady Tigers do lose seven seniors, including All-American Cortney Sanders, who’s scored 63 goals in the past three seasons. She’ll leave the team as Bentonville’s second all-time leading scorer behind Arkansas sophomore Kelly O’Connor, who scored 104 career goals. Sanders signed in April to play soccer at Missouri Southern State University.

UPDATE – Coach Schmitt sent a link noting that the Mountain Home Lady Bombers also won a state title this past weekend, defeating 2-time defending champions Searcy. The Lady Bombers struck first with a goal by freshman Hannah Osmon and an assist from Brooke Rogers. Kirsten Peterson, who was named MVP of the game, put the Lady Bombers up 2-0 on a penalty kick.

Two minutes later, the Lady Lions scored to cut the lead to 2-1. A few minutes later, the Lady Lions put the ball in the net again, but were called for offsides which negated the goal. 12 more minutes of defense and the Bomber’s had their first title.

Springfield DemizeWednesday evening marks the opening game of the season for the Springfield Demize. Game time is 7:30 pm at Cooper #1. There is also a game at 5:00 pm between the Reserve squad and SpringHigh Select. I’ll have more information on the upcoming season Tuesday or Wednesday in advance of the game.

This Week in Springfield Soccer

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Short week for me as I’ll be in Ft Worth TX celebrating the marriage of Timothy Erick Watson (Glendale Falcons 2003) to Brittany Wang on Saturday. Family obligations mean I’m out-of-town Wed-Sun. I’m setting up the daily game reports in advance so that you can continue to report game results, which I really appreciate as do the many readers of this small regional blog. Thanks in advance!

It’s a pretty good week for soccer. Between the rising temperature gauge and the fact that we are now more than half way through the season (playoffs begin May 16th) it’s time for some teams to establish themselves and send a message. That’s especially evident after the weekend games at Kickapoo where 4 of the 6 members of District 11 competed.

Speaking of District 11 (Class 3), there are several games that will begin the winnowing process, or at least the seeding.
Mon – Glendale visits Nixa, Parkview hosts Branson
Tue – Glendale hosts Parkview
Thu – Kickapoo hosts Glendale
At the same time, District 10 will have a better understanding of who the team to beat is as well with
Tue – Rolla visits Waynesville
Thu – Camdenton hosts Rolla, Lebanon visits Waynesville

The Ozark Conference features the usual suspects but with nine games this week, we’ll learn something new.

Monday will also feature a pair of Class 2 games that point to District 5 seeding. Bolivar hosts traditional rival Warrensburg while Marshfield, coming off their Tournament win in Branson this weekend, will hope to continue their winning ways against West Plains. On Tuesday, Marshfield will host Bolivar and we’ll have a very good idea of who will control the District from this side of the state. The Harrisonville Wildcats have beaten Warrensburg 5-0 and Sedalia Smith-Cotton 1-0.

The KC Wizards will be part of the MLS national broadcast on Thursday when they host the NY Red Bull. I’ll be tuning in from Ft Worth, the rest of you will need to tape it (ESPN2) since I suspect you’ll be at the Kickapoo vs Glendale game. There’s another game on Sunday, as KC travels to Toronto. Consult the TV Guide.

The Drury Panthers will be playing a pair of games on Saturday. During the afternoon at 1pm, they’ll host Benedictine. They’ll follow that with a game at 7 pm that evening against the Springfield Demize who will have the local portion of their PDL roster in town for the game.

Some additional high quality soccer will be played this weekend at Lake Country Soccer. You’ve seen my coverage of the Springfield SC as they compete in the Midwest Regional League. Well, Saturday and Sunday there will be half a dozen games in the U18 bracket hosted by Springfield SC. Their boys will play the Croation Blue Eagles (WI) and Scott Gallagher squads. Check the calendar page for details later this week.

PDL Soccer: Springfield Demize Hold Spring Tryouts

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PDL Soccer: Springfield Demize Spring Tryouts

Ah, March weather. Despite the rain, I was able to track down our local PDL franchise as they held Spring tryouts for the second weekend in a row. I heard numbers as high as 74 mentioned in terms of overall registered participants. There was a crowd out on Saturday afternoon as evidenced by the photo above (missing all of the Drury Panthers who were part of the scrimmage). Some familiar faces, with local MSU students including Mike Gow (Lebanon), Andrew Vorce and … A number of other familiar faces, including Adam Legg (Hendrix/Kickapoo) from their PASL and Reserve squads, Robbie Curtis (Lincoln Memorial/Ozark), Quincy Conduff (Hendrix/Kickapoo), Matthew Gow (Mid America Nazerene/Lebanon) and others.

As you may have noticed, I’ve also been capturing more video to share with you and Saturday’s visit was no different. Here are a couple of short videos to give you a feel for how the afternoon was progressing and the attendees. They are both in HD so be certain to click that HD button for the best quality views.

Weekend College Soccer Opportunities

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There are some Spring college games being played this weekend for the aficionado’s out there.

The Drury Panther’s offer several opportunities:
Saturday – Men’s Alumni game
Saturday 7:00 pm – Women are hosting cross-town rivals Missouri State

The Missouri State men are playing at home as well:
Saturday 2:30 pm – MSU vs UCA – Plaster Stadium

The Springfield Demize are holding the first of their two weekend tryouts. This weekend, they have three sessions scheduled, all of them are at Lake Country Soccer, Field #2
Saturday 1:00 – 3:00 pm – Demize Tryouts
Saturday 7:00 – 9:00 pm – Demize Tryouts
Sunday 1:00 – 3:00 – Demize Tryouts