NSC Stars Team Roster – Player Notes – Released Players – Players Still on Trial
As of Friday April 10, 2010, 19 Stars players have been signed by the National Sports Center to contracts. The team is allowed 30 roster spots and Lagos stated earlier this year that he thought the team would end up with about 24 rostered players. Please see below for the roster and a list of players that have been released from trials and a separate list of those still on trail with the team.
Listed here is the current team roster with a few notes of my own:
DEFENDERS
Andres Arango D
A veteran defender who has proven he can play at this level. The team needs him to stay healthy as he is the main man in the center back line.
Kevin Friedland D
Still recovering from early season ankle injury but getting better every day. Kevin is always dangerous on corners as well as he has a great vertical jump. He needs to stay healthy.
Daniel Wasson D/M
Look for him to the be the Stars’ starting outside left back to start the season. The young player has spent time in Germany and he looks the part of a professional. He is very fit and will make runs up and down the flank all day long. He also has can put in good crosses.
Chris Clements D
Clements could be the guy asked to pair with Arango. His second year in the league should help, but he’s going to have to take it up a notch to be the Stars’ starting centerback.
Brian Kallman D
He claimed he calmed down this year and he has done so in the preseason. Expect him to start at right back.
MIDFIELDERS
Kyle Altman D/M
Listed as a defender but played holding mid or defensive midfielder all preseason and improved during that time. Assistant coach Kevin Friedland said early on that Altman looked good and would make an impact this season.
Andrei Gotsmanov M
Has still not played in a scrimmage after preseason injury but Lagos expressed confidence that he is ready to go. Known as very skilled but still untested in this league.
Leilei Gao M
Leilei is a guy I predict will be a game changer for the Stars. He’s the real thing with great skill and control of the ball as well as a great first step. His free kicks will make you forget the skill of the Thunder’s Ricardo Sanchez. He does have some history that he will have to prove with the Stars that he is under control and willing to work with teammates.
Two-Boys Gumede M
Lagos signed Two-Boys (greatest name in the league) without even seeing him play. This highly rated player is still young and is another player Lagos seems to believe has great potential. At 145lbs, he will get knocked around in the very physical D-2 league. The million dollar question is if he can adjust and improve his game to make an impact.
Ely Allen M
This team is full of midfielders. This is another player Lagos brought in on recommendation. This 23-year-old has had stints with DC United and the LA Galaxy, never getting much play time with either team. Can Lagos turn Allen into a starter for the team?
FORWARDS
Johnny Menyongar M/F
Expect the Tiny Ticket to start on Sunday evening. Word from the inside is Johnny has taken a vocal leadership role on the team with all the young guys.
Devin Del Do M/F
Still a lot unknown about Del Do but Lagos seems to like what he sees in him and he is very fast. If he continues what he did in the preseason, expect minutes for the young player.
Simone Bracalello M/F
Everyone that has seen this Italian play has had good things to say about him. The truth is, he has a lot to prove in league play. He spent time in Italy but never played above Serie C. With supposed explosiveness and tricky movement on his missile-like shots, he could be a young star in the making.
Brian Cvilikas F
Nice guy and works hard but perhaps not what you would call a true finisher. Needs to improve on his goal-scoring per shot percentage to see regular play time at this level.
Melvin Tarley F
Lagos curiously had Melvin out wide at times this preseason which he then played like a fish out of water. Melvin can frustrate you with his missed chances but he also averaged 8 goals a season with the Thunder. Any team at D-2 would love to have a player like that on their team.
Warren Ukah F
The team has lots of forwards but most are more of the type of player that plays facing toward goal and could even be called an attacking midfielder. Ukah is one of the few guys who can be a target player on the team so expect him to get plenty of minutes. Hasn’t looked too dangerous in preseason but has looked very good in doing unnoticed and yeoman-like work as a target player.
KEEPERS
Louis Crayton GK
A very experienced player who will most likely only make MN home for one year. He has looked good in preseason but have heard some talk from around the league that he may not have the first step he once had. He’s also known for wandering from between his posts at times. However, his commanding of the box and vocal leadership are crucial to this team.
Joe Warren GK
Warren is 35 and been out of football for 4 years. If Clayton goes down he has a lot to prove.
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Players that were in camp and released: Drew Lukas, Luc Harrington, Eric Berg, Jordan Raybould, Steffan Vroom, Ian Sarachan, Jordan Crasilneck, Garret Webb, Chris Sanders, Israel Sesay, Leon Abravanel.
Players in camp and still being looked at or being offered an amateur contract: Nelson Pizarro (new), Geison Moura (new), Scott Lorenz, Keido (KP) Pour, Geoffrey Myers, Kentaro Takada, Max Lipset, Lucas Rodriguez, Leland Wright, Matt vanOekel.
An amateur contract is a game-by-game contract paying players per game. More details on this in the near future.
Comments are closed.
As someone who is 35 years old, I am trying to figure out whether your comment about Joe Warren being 35 was a negative comment, or positive. To take a line from Ronald Reagan, “I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign for starting GK of the NSC MN Stars. I am not going to exploit, for soccer purposes, my teammate’s youth and inexperience.”
I do agree 100% with BQ’s comments about Leilei Gao. I thought his goal off of the free kick in the match vs. Marquette was very Sanchezesque. Certainly a player I will be watching this summer. (If you anyone missed the goal I reference–trust me, it was top-notch.)
I was not familiary with Menyongar up until he signed. I thought he was taking too many touches on the ball when scoring opportunites were presented–especially during one of the most recent intra-squad scrimmages. I know this is a point of disagreement I have with the Super Rookie.
Very predictable situation for the Stars. Keeping proven players over those that could be impact players. Lucas is a better finisher than anyone they are keeping. I’m not sure if this update is good or bad for the Stars. I feel like this team is only 8 or 9 players deep and are paper thin. With any injuries (including the current ones) could be a very disappointing season. They really need Andre and Johnny for 90 minutes for every game just to compete.
Soccer Boy, how many times do I have to tell you that they can do NOTHING wrong, and that includes Meyonger! My take on the team is that we are obviously thin in the defense, but our midfield is fairly impressive and we have a proven goal scorer in the Tiny Ticket. Time will tell, but we already know that the ownership of this squad deserves a ton of credit for getting us a team on the field for the start of the season.
Kudos to the National Sports Center and their leadership for saving professional soccer in Minnesota.
Thank You.
I want to see a story on the scoreboard, background on the great minds who have helped “create it,” and analysis from the peanut gallary. From what I have heard–I can hardly wait to see it.
Super Rookie, I agree that mega kudos goes out to NSC for the work they have done in a short period of time. As a season ticket holder, I am beyond pumped!
Your trepidation
expressed at USLDiscussions about my reaction to this team eval is, for the most part, unwarrented. I think you pretty much got most of it right.
However, this would not be a post of mine without some length to it, so…
I understand that the paperwork will cause his debut to be held up a bit, but I think you should have included Neil Hlavarty in your evaluation. I realize that he’s having paper problems, but those should be cleared up fairly soon and, to the best of my knowledge, he isn’t seriously injured and he is a signed player.
I think that his presence gives us a bit of back up in central defensive mid, although he is regularly more of a winger or offensive midfielder. He is a high energy player who can fill in most anywhere in the middle of the pitch and will be valuable as a utility player.
But this leads into the odd characteristic about this roster, in it’s current incarnation. The following includes anyone currently signed, but does not include unsigned players or players on amateur contract, except Van Oekel. Also, my use of the word maximum here will mean counting any player who has logged time at a particular position, which means I will be counting many players twice.
We have two keepers, maybe three if Van Oekel stays.
We have six defenders, maximum, including anyone who has any significant time in the back line.
We have seven forwards, maximum, including Ely Allen, who was a forward in college.
We have nine players, maximum, at midfield. Ten, if Tarley logs minutes there as he did in the preseason. Of those midfielders, only two have spent time on the back line (Wasson and Altman, neither at central defense) and only three have played any minutes at defensive mid (Hlavarty, Wasson and Altman). But, two of those three players (Wasson and Altman) are already projected starters and should only be moved about in case of emergency.
In essense, out of 17 signed outfield players, we have six who have training in primarily defensive rolls and eleven who are primarily offensive players.
So, What does that mean?
As it’s been said: Defensively, we’re very thin. Not so much in quality but in quantity. As opposed to the offense, where we have tons of bodies, talent and, in case of injury, an extrordinary amount of flexibility.
And looking at the remaining trialists, the picture doesn’t get any better. Out of all the outfield trialists left, only one (Takada) has experience as a defensive mid and there are only two defenders (Lipset, a central defender and Lorenz an outside defender being converted from a college forward) to look at.
If one were to speculate from the signings, it would appear that Lagos is going to rely on a highly charged offense maintaining lots of pressure and ball control, clogging the midfield with bodies to try to disrupt the opponents offensive flow, and hope that the defense can be organized enough to prevent the fast break counterattack.
It’s a risky strategy, but can work if we don’t suffer a rash of backline injuries and the team defense can remain organized when the opponents have the ball. Also, the organization of the defense in dead ball situations must be improved, since four of the six goals scored against the Stars this preseason came as the result of free or corner kicks.
Summing up; another excellent job of reporting, Brian. Your evaluation of the players was almost completely spot on.
Time for Warren to get tested?
I hope Crayton is okay.
What do you want to bet Joe is up to the task?
Looked shakey early but made a nice save on a 2 on 1.
God, I hope that is the real mtrain and not an imposter!
Good 1st half.
Bad 2nd half.
Saw some good chances from the boys, but the down and dirty truth of it all is that in just over 3 months the National Sports Center successfully saved professional soccer in Minnesota. Now, I demand a winning team.
Go Stars!
(I really liked how sharp our kits looked out there.)
SR, I agree with your match analysis, and kudos to NSC. I think they could have been better, and looked tired for second half. However, the Whitecaps are one of the better teams and our lads should do just fine.
Good fist half, bad second half = fitness
The midfield was not able to sustain pressure for the full 90.
Jeff, I think your analysis sums up my thoughts. I thought they were very strong the first half and was disappointed that they came out flat in the second half. I do note that the commentators mentioned numerous times that the Whitecaps had been training for the last four months.
I do think there are some bringht spots and I would consider the current team as being better than the MN Thunder last year. I am looking forward to the match Friday night.
Soccer Boy, just curious how you can make the assumption this team is better than last years team by only seeing them in only one highly competitive game so far this year? You may be correct and I do think we have some good young talent on the team, but I am in no position at this point and time to say they are better, worse or the same.
I personally think we will know more after their road trips and their home opener.
Not sure why you left Neil off of your list. He is under contract and is simply waiting for his international clearance to come back from Poland. I think that he is going to surprise a lot of people with his consistency and ability to make those around him better. You won’t see him commit unforced turnovers like we saw happen too often against Vancouver. He should definitely be included in this list. He was the forth player signed by the Stars.
Sorry everyone, it was a total accident that I left Hlevety off the list. It wasn’t on purpose.
hey,Brian I have read some of the thing you have wrote,do you have problem with Melvin Tarley? How much goals did the leading goal scorers had in the last two season in the usl? this guy had (11)goals 08 and (8) in 09,that’s (19)goals in two season. I watch some of the thunder games the last two seasons, he was one of the best player.You people should give him some respect.Do not write good things about people you like and write BAD things about people you do not like,All the time you put him down he always comes up on top,so watch out for him this season.THANKS.
Blamo-
I speak from experience and know that BQ does like Tarley as do the rest of us, but let us not forget how many times he has missed the easy tap in, only to score a wonder goal from 20 yards out!
Plus, Tarley didn’t just happen to have an amazing song just come out of thin air, it was created by all of us who are some of his biggest fans!
We’ll Win The Cup With Melvin Tarley!
I have no idea what you are talking about. I like Melvin. I have said he can be frustrating sometimes because he misses many chances, but he also creates chances that others are not able to create. I have also said that he has averaged 8 goals per season with the Thunder and what team wouldn’t want a player like that on their squad. There have been some others who have criticized Melvin but it hasn’t been me.
Signed,
You must have me confused with someone else.