NSC Stars Travel to Vancouver with Unknown Starting 11

The NSC Stars flew out to Vancouver on Saturday, April 10,  to play their inaugural game against the Vancouver Whitecaps. However, as of early Saturday afternoon, Manny Lagos still did not know who he would be penciling in as his starting 11. Coach Lagos, contacted late Thursday afternoon, was reluctant to name his starting lineup feeling he needed all the advantages he could conjure up against the talent-loaded Whitecaps roster at Swangard Field. On top of that, visa issues were plaguing the team as they played their first game away in Canada.

The Stars, still only with 19 rostered players under contract and some of those not eligible for this game, will surely have their hands full going up against last year’s runner up in the USL-1 Championship. USSF D-2 teams can roster up to 30 players.

Vancouver has gone about the offseason loading their team with more talent as they have stated they would like to bring at least a half dozen players with them next year when they move to MLS. Some of the additions this year are Ricardo Sanchez, last year’s top point-getter for the Minnesota Thunder, and Jonathan Steel, former USL MVP and former Puerto Rico Islanders stalwart. Add to that players like keeper Jay Nolly, defender Wes Knight and midfielder Martin Nash, the Whitecaps have few weak spots.

The Vancouver team will test Minnesota’s back line that even coach Lagos admits is a bit thin. Lagos thought he had his man to pair with centerback veteran Andres Arango when they signed 32-year-old tough-as-nails Vorgen Less. But three days after signing the South African he went down with a ruptured achilles tendon which required surgery the next day. Less is out now for the season.

IMS has also learned that the Stars have lost out numerous times this season on experienced central defenders being outbid by other teams. Lagos has brought in several players that can fill in at the outside back roles, but believes Minnesota is still looking around the league for out of work defenders that fit the role and the payroll.

Leilei Gao was cleared at the last minute to make the trip to Vancouver.

As of Friday afternoon, four players looked like they would not be making the trip to Vancouver because visa details could not be arranged in time. They were Neil Hlavaty, Simone Bracalello, Two-Boys Gumede and Leilei Gao. However, Barclay Kruse, spokesperson for the team, contacted IMS early Saturday afternoon and said that Bracalello received last-minute clearance to play. Two-Boys and Leilei successfully got an appointment at the US Consulate in Vancouver. NSC personnel were working to get tickets for those two players so they could travel even if on another flight. Neil Hlavaty had paperwork issues with the Polish Federation, left over from his stint playing with a Polish team last year, so for now he is ineligible to play.

“It’s a huge challenge this weekend to play the first game in the history of the club at Vancouver,” said Stars head coach Manny Lagos. “A team that’s going to be in MLS next year and has a very good roster. They are probably one of the favorites in the league to win it all.”

“It’s going to be an uphill battle,” continued Lagos. “I think there are some parallels here to the NSC the last 3 or 4 months to get this team up and running.” Lagos was referring to the very short amount of time that the National Sports Center has spent putting a team together in time for the USSSF D-2 Pro League season. In fact, when the team steps on the field on Sunday it will be 3 months and 4 days exactly since the non-profit organization announced they would field a team in the league for 2010. An amazing feat and one only possibly because of the basic infrastructure already in place at the NSC.

“We had a couple of good weeks of preseason,” concluded Lagos. “The effort and energy of the guys was good and I was really pleased with it. I just hope to carry that into the season.”

The game on Sunday will be carried live and a portal can be found at the NSC Stars team site where Stars supporters can watch all the games this season.