San Antonio Scorpions Announce First Player Signings

On Wednesday the San Antonio Scorpions announced their first player signings in preparation for the 2012 season. The NASL expansion team have brought former Vancouver Whitecaps players Kevin Harmse and Greg Janicki, both 27 years old,  into the fold. Scorpions coach Tim Hankinson also announced that Alen Marcina and Juan Lamadrid will join the club as assistant coaches.

Greg Janicki is a native of Michigan who played his college ball for the Michigan State Spartans, while spending his summers getting additional experience with PDL sides the Michigan Bucks in 2006 and the Western Michigan Edge in 2007. The 6’3″ defender turned professional in 2008 with the USL-2 Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and after their season ended went on loan to DC United, making his debut in the nation’s capital against Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League. Janicki appeared in 10 MLS matches with DC United in 2008-2009 before heading to Vancouver for their 2010 USSF D2 season.  His performance in Vancouver led to being awarded the 2010 USSF D2 Defender of the Year and Janicki was also named to the USSF D2  Best XI squad.  Janicki stayed with the Whitecaps for their inaugural MLS season, making 10 appearances for the club in 2011.

Kevin Harmse was born in Johannesberg but grew up in Vancouver and has made nine appearances with the Canadian national team.  The 6 foot midfielder/defender first signed with Norwegian club Tromsø in 2003, but made only a couple of appearances before signing with the Whitecaps in 2004, where he played in 36 games over two seasons.  After a year playing in Slovakia, Harmse signed with the LA Galaxy in 2007 and has played in 48 MLS matches since then with the Galaxy, Toronto FC and the Whitecaps, where he played in three matches last season.  Harmse’s career in recent years has been slowed by recurring injury.

“Kevin and Greg were terrific defenders for the Vancouver Whitecaps, and they bring experience and toughness to the Scorpions,” said  Hankinson. “Very shortly, we’ll be announcing the names of other players for our roster, but it’s great to start with two strong anchors.”

Assistant coach Alen Marcina, 32, is a native of British Columbia who had a lengthy career as a striker for such teams as the Whitecaps, Montreal Impact, Puerto Rico Islanders, the Rochester Rhinos and Minnesota Thunder. Marcina attended Barry University and also has experience playing for lower division clubs in Germany, Iceland and Denmark, and spent a season with the New Zealand Knights.  Juan Lamadrid is a former professional goalkeeper who turned professional at the age of 17 and played two seasons with the famed Chivas de Guadalajara in the 1990s along with another nine seasons with lower division Mexican clubs.  He most recently has been goalkeeper coach for the men’s and women’s teams at Trinity University and has previously been involved in coaching with the Chivas USA Youth Development system and at Los Angeles Valley College.

The Scorpions kick off their 2012 debut season on the road against the Atlanta Silverbacks before playing their first league home match against the Puerto Rico Islanders on April 15.