NASL News: San Antonio and Atlanta Announce New Player Signings
The NASL expansion San Antonio Scorpions recently signed four new players culled from combines and invitational tryouts, while the Atlanta Silverbacks added another defender to their roster. In addition, two members of the 2011 champion NSC Minnesota Stars will be playing in this year’s Maccabi games held in Brazil.
Scorpions Sign Four
Following up on their initial signings of MLS and D2 veterans Greg Janicki and Kevin Harmse last week, the Scorpions added Walter Ramirez, Karsten Smith, Dominic Papa and Jeff Jennings to their roster. Coach Tim Hankinson is glad to have the quartet on his team. ”We’ve added experience and depth with these four new players,” said Hankinson. “They join our first two signees, Kevin Harmse and Greg Janicki, in forming a strong nucleus for a tough, exciting team. The team-building process will continue with more player signings in the next few weeks prior to the start of training camp in February.”
Defender Walter Ramirez, 28, is probably the new signing most familiar to D2 fans, as he played in 75 matches for Miami FC between 2006-2009. The 5’9″ player most recently played in the Liga Nacional de Honduras for CD Vida in La Ceiba, which finished tied for 3rd in the 2011 Apertura with traditional Honduran powerhouse Olimpia. Defender Kartsen Smith is a 23-year-old New Yorker who played his college ball at American University. Smith saw over 1500 minutes of action in 18 games as a rookie in 2011 for the USL PRO FC New York club.
Right back Dominic Papa attended the NY Red Bulls camp in 2011, and played semi-pro ball for FC Tuscon this past season, and also played indoor for the AZ Heat. The Indianapolis native also served as an assistant coach of South Mountain Community College, and played his college soccer as both a forward and center back at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. Jeff Jennings is a 6’1″ midfielder who played under Coach Hankinson for the high-caliber Fort Lewis College Skyhawks.
Silverbacks Sign Rilla
Last week the Atlanta Silverbacks announced the signing of Brazilian central defender Rilla. The 29-year-old defender, whose given name is Lindomar Ferreira da Silva, is a veteran of lower division Brazilian soccer. Signed from Brazilian club EC Rio Verde, the 6’3″Rilla has been employed by seven other clubs since signing his first pro contract in 2003, including SEV Votuporanga, Gremio Catanvudense, SEV Hortolandia, Trindade AC, Batatais FC, Novo Horizonte FC, and Rolim de Moura EC.
“We all know how much soccer talent there is in Brazil, and Rilla is a great example,” said Silverbacks head coach Alex Pineda Chacón. “He is a big, strong defender, who will be a great addition to our team. We’re very happy that we’ve been able to bring him to Atlanta.” In addition to signing Rilla, the Silverbacks recently added former Fort Lauderdale Strikers defender Martyn Lancaster to help shore up the NASL’s worst defense for the upcoming season.
Stars’ Friedland and Altman to Play in Pan American Maccabi Games
Kevin Friedland, NSC Minnesota Stars defender and assistant coach, will be joined by teammate Kyle Altman to represent the U.S. in Sao Paulo for the Pan American Maccabi Games which kick off on December 26. Both members of the 2011 NASL Champions have been previously involved in the Maccabi games, a competition featuring Jewish athletes representing their nations.
For Friedland, prior participation in the Maccabi Games provided the meeting that brought him to play professionally in Minnesota. “On my second Maccabi Trip, I met Amos Magee,” Friedland said. “I had just finished my first year as a pro in Kansas City and was looking for a team. He was in Santiago coaching the U-16 team and ended up playing with the Men’s Open team because we had some injuries. He knew that I was looking for a new pro team and mentioned that Minnesota was looking for a wide left-sided player. And that’s how I ended up here.”
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It is good to see the silverbacks doing something to improve their “team.”
Two of those young men came out of the USL Pro. I like seeing this, it means the soccer pyramid in the United States is finding its league and fiscal models for the three Divisions to be working as they should. This will go a very long way in burying the hatchet.
Daniel, beside Smith, who else came out of USL PRO?
Also, why would you feel that the league (USL PRO) who states they will: “present the highest level of competition in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean outside of Major League Soccer (MLS)” be happy about players leaving their league and going to another league (NASL) that is supposedly in their eyes inferior?
If players leave USL PRO to go to NASL I just don’t see USL being happy about that and I think it would possibly aggravate them more than help to bury the hatchet.
Sorry, I missread the article on the NASL website. The one guy played gor Maima FC when they were in the USL. So only one from the USL Pro in FC New York. When did the USL claim to be the second best in Canada? Those imbeciles don’t exist in the form of USL Pro here. We have the CSL which team to team is probably a stronger league. Considering the Canadian U17 that did so well this year came out of the CSL.
@ BQ
Where does USL ever state that the USL Pro division “presents the highest level of competition… outside of MLS”?
This is simply not true.
USL states that the are the most professional league below MLS. That is a considerable different standard.
Frankly, this type of misrepresentation of the facts is very disappointing.
Bart, this is the USL press release announcing the new USL Pro set-up.
“Team owners and league officials are meeting in Tampa, Florida today to lay the groundwork for the 2011 debut of USL PRO, which will be governed by team owners and present the highest level of competition in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean outside of Major League Soccer (MLS).”
http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/464018.html
Thank you, Stephen.
@Bart, Come on sir. While I will certainly admit I have made an occasional mistake with my own phrasing or trying to paraphrasing someone else, I would never make a quote unless it was solid. I do recall that some of the original USL statements in this regard were very strong and they did eventually ratchet things back a bit later and went with the “the most professional league” statement as you have posted.
Also, to the point of my comment, you know as well as I that USL would never write a story or promote a player who has risen up from USL PRO (D3) to NASL (D2). These two leagues are in serious competition with each other and there is no love loss between them.
Lastly, I can almost guess where you will go on this one. Yes, at the time of the press release there was MLS and there was no official NASL for 2011….Yet. And the USSF had already stated they would not run the league in 2011. So was that statement from USL accurate? It depends.
USL where holding their cards from everyone, NASL and USSF, even though everyone knew the large majority of their teams could not make the USSF new qualifications for D2 and word was leaking from some of their teams that USL had planed on revamping their D3 league. When the USL did announce USL PRO, the USSF D2 Pro League was still in progress and NASL was working to get sanctioning but had not yet been sanctioned for D2 in the U.S. We all know what happened after that.
Obviously, my bad. USL folks were saying that this was the most professional league below MLS, I did not catch the incredulous statement that they were the highest level of competition.
Now, if they had said that they were the largest level of competition below MLS, then that would have been a true statement.
In any event, Merry Christmas!
I missed the blub about Coach Kevin and Captain Kyle Altman. Great info on how Kevin ended up in MN. I am going to be following his blog on the Stars WWW site.
I hope IMS has a merry Christmas and a happy new year. Great soccer coverage in 2011. I am looking for more action packed soccer stuff in 2012.
It cuts both ways. Alan Russell left the Carolina RailHawks(NASL) to join the LA Blues(USL-Pro) this year. With the Hawks losing so many players, he would of been an important piece to keep.
There seems to be no real difference between the minor leagues in pay and level of play. It comes down to the individual clubs. The NASL and USL are at war and we won’t know the winner for a long time. Ironically, both might end up losing.
I can assure you NASL is not at war with USL. USL likes to make outlandish claims regarding their sophistication and professionalism. Doesn’t make them true.
Anon, while war may be a strong word it certainly seems to be from the perspective of an organization trying to place D3 franchises in places where there are already D2 teams.
From a league perspective, please tell me then why the NASL will not allow any player loans to or from USL PRO teams? To me this is just silly. If the league is truly interested in improving their product they shouldn’t hinder their teams will silly rules that look like tit for tat with USL.
As I see it, USL places D3 franchises in places where both they and the team owner believe there is a market that will work for them. It is really that simple. I don’t see where USL has any obligation to “bow” to NASL if NASL is either in a particular market or has identified a market NASL wants to be in.
As I see it, NASL does not want any player loans from USL Pro teams, as it would dilute the already obvious talent that is on each and every NASL team. Why would NASL want to go backwards?
Each unto their ability and each unto their own…..
@Bart – Even at Christmas time you’re a pill. LOL Any half-wit can figure out that there is no way any market is going to support two lower level pro soccer teams. Just not going to happen. I challenge anyone to step up and clearly explain a plan that would make that work.
So if the NASL has it’s team established there first, what is the logical conclusion to draw about the USL’s intentions? It’s a numbers game, and anyone who can count to 8 can see it. Right now the NASL cannot afford to lose ANY teams. USL Pro showed last year that losing three, even in the midst of a season is no sweat off their back. So what’s the harm for them if they bring in a team in a market where the NASL already has one? Worst case scenario for them is the USL Pro team flops, and they’ve collected another in a long line of expansion fee checks for a team that went nowehere fast. Best case scenario – the competition for the fanbase divides the market and neither franchise can survive. Again, numbers. USL Pro doesn’t NEED a Tampa, San Antonio, or Ft. Lauderdale franchise to meet the minimum for sanctioning. NASL however needs all three right now.
Why try to contrive excuses Bart? Being a USL apologist shouldn’t completely blind you from simple logic. The only thing you can say that fosters this bad blood from the NASL perspective is the stupid no loaning with USL Pro teams. That’s just dumb. You need look no further than Mulholland for the Stars last year to see NASL is shooting themselves in the foot with that policy. The USL on the other hand, they’ve gone out of their way on multiple fronts to make a war out of the situation. Not that it’s done them a lot of good so far, but that doesn’t seem to stop them from continuing to try.
No one likes us, no one likes us,
No one likes us, we don’t care
We are Silver, super Silver
Silverbacks, from Atlanta
@Dave “With the Hawks losing so many players, he [Allan Russell] would of been an important piece to keep.”
Uuuhhhhhhh……I think my brain just exploded at that comment…
@BQ – “From a league perspective, please tell me then why the NASL will not allow any player loans to or from USL PRO teams?”
Far be it for me to question your info, BQ, but is this correct? I ask b/c I believe the RailHawks sent Sallieu Bundu on a season-long loan to Charlotte last season and signed Gareth Evans to a short-term loan from Wilmington after the Hammerheads’ season ended.