Keeping Up With the Cobras: Part I

Okay so first off let me apologize to all of the people who read my blog for the updates on the Central SC Cobras, because honestly I haven't been posting much about them lately. So with that said onto these updates on the Cobras:

• The Cobras Will Officially Play in the W-League: In a press release, the USL announced that the Cobras would officially join the USL W-League for the 2012 season and will be the 28th team in the league.
• Three Friendlies Were a Huge Success: A home and home series with the Charlotte Lady Eagles along with an inter-squad scrimmage gave the Cobras their first few tastes of the pitch. The crowds came out to support the team, and the Cobras have their foot in the door on making an impact on the sports scene in Columbia.
• Meet the Cobras: In three press releases in a four part series, the Cobras started introducing their players to the soccer world: http://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/543070.html hhttp://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/541739.html ttp://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/541137.html

The Cobras will continue to develop the women's game in South Carolina and to keep up with all the news on the Cobras, check out their website, Facebook, and Twitter.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com. Also follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/#!/scsoccerblog.

Charleston Adds Two and Central SC Cobras Online Store Launched

Today the Battery came to terms with two midfielders, JC Mack and Alex Caskey. The two come to the Battery after successful preseasons.

JC Mack will be playing his first professional season this year with the Battery. Mack comes to the Battery from the Chicago Fire's Academy, having played with Chicago Fire PDL squad, and the Chicago Fire Super 20's.

Mack has played well in this preseason. He played in the Carolina Challenge Cup, as well as the 3 preseason matches; against Clemson, the Carolina Railhawks, and Cof C. In all of his appearances he scored 1 goal, in the match against College of Charleston.

Alex Caskey, a native of Georgia, comes to the Battery after a four year career at Davidson University in North Carolina. He never missed a match at Davidson, and was a four year starter. Last year he played with the Atlanta Blackhawks in the PDL, scoring 1 goal in 22 appearances.

These are two good young players and add depth to the midfield. I think that Mack could possibly play up front, or be in the front of the diamond in a diamond 4-4-2, or just as a forward.

Central SC Cobras FC has launched their online store. They look to have a lot of nice products for both men and women so make sure to check it out here.

If you need to contact me, e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Lamar Neagle Goal Video, Central SC Cobras Open Tryouts, and No NASL Teams in the Open Cup?

Okay so if everyone has settled down about this whole NASL-teams-not-in-the-US-Open-Cup thing, let me explain to you why: You can't create controversy and then expect to be rewarded for it.

Now I like the NASL, I like the teams, I like the fans, I like the friendly rivalry it creates with the USL, but you can't cause all of this controversy and expect the USSF to say, "Hey the NASL has been such a problem, but let's let them participate in the one thing we can hold over their heads to make them do what we want anyway." Now if you understood the message being conveyed in that run-on sentence, you should understand that the USSF is dealing with the NASL like they would a child. They're shaking their finger in the NASL's face and saying bad boy. You don't give your child a lollipop right after they have done something bad right? But it is the right thing to do. I'm not saying it best for the growth of soccer right now, but in the long term it will have been the right decision. If they had not punished the NASL, this could lead to the leagues having more power than the federation, which is definitely not a situation we want to find ourselves in.

In the NASL's defense, they did not punish the USL for the whole ordeal went on last year, but then again it wasn't as much of the leagues' faults as it was the teams that left the USL. And also the USSF did "provisionally sanction" the NASL for this season. For those that don't know about the controversy last year between the NASL and USL here's a summary from Wikipedia:

"The USL has issued several press releases questioning the legality of the teams choosing to break away, suggesting that litigation to protect its interests and those of the USL-1 teams from any breach of contract is imminent.^[19] The USL has also claimed that the NASL and the TOA ownership group "is tortuously [Sic] interfering with USL-1 team owners that are contractually obligated to participate in the 2010 season" and "has made several misleading statements in a variety of press releases to taint the reputation of USL and its long history of developing the sport of soccer in the United States and Canada".^[20]

The NASL disagrees with the USL assessment, and the USL has not filed suit against the new league as a whole. The USL sued three of the constituent teams (Crystal Palace Baltimore, Tampa Bay, and Rochester) for breach of contract, claiming that the teams had committed to playing in USL in 2010.^[21][22] However on December 21, 2009 the suits were dropped in favor of binding arbitration.^[23]

In January 2010, after announcing that it would not sanction either the NASL or the USL First Division for 2010, the USSF announced that it would be running a second-tier league in 2010, putting the NASL on hold for at least a year. The USSF Division 2 Professional League includes teams from both the NASL and USL-1.

Controversy has continued to surround both the NASL and the USL through the 2010 temporary USSF D-2 Pro League season and in the lead up a 2011 compromise on Tier 2 and Tier 3 soccer in the United States, as the leagues have fought for the loyalty of various clubs. Most recently, USL's Puerto Rico Islanders joined NASL, while a founding member of the NASL, the Rochester Rhinos, returned to the USL in October."

Well now that my rant is over, on to some news:

In one of my posts a couple of days ago, I mentioned that former Charleston Battery player, Lamar Neagle, scored a goal in a scrimmage with Real Salt Lake. Here's a recap of the match, and the goal that Lamar scored is included.

Today Central SC Cobras FC held open tryouts, and also announced that their first practice will be held on March 1st, and that more open tryouts are to come. After all of the open tryouts, a list of players who have accepted roster spots will be announced.

Sorry about the rant today guys, but what do you think about the NASL not being allowed to play in the Open Cup? Leave a comment in the comment section below.

If you need to contact me, you can by e-mailing me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Charleston Battery: US Open Cup, Charlie Davies Visiting Charleston, and More

Besides the upcoming USL Pro season, the Battery have the Carolina Challenge Cup in early March, a pair of mid-season matches against local colleges in mid-March, and now the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup to play.

Today it was announced that the Battery's first round match in the US Open Cup will be against a team that qualifies for the tournament from the  USASA (United States Adult Soccer Association). The Battery will play at home on June 14th against one of these teams. The tournament will consist of 40 teams; 8 from the MLS (6 automatic bids, and 2 for the winners of a 10 team playoff), the 11 U.S. based USL Pro teams, 9 from the PDL, and 12 from the USASA. Seattle Sounders FC will be the returning champs and are going for their 3rd straight US Open Cup championship.

The Battery have had success in the US Open Cup (see the 2008 tournament), as well as against MLS teams. Last year the Battery got to the quarterfinals, with wins over the USASA's Capital Area Soccer League Elite (CASL Elite), the USSF D2's Carolina Railhawks (who happen to share a stadium), and the MLS' Chicago Fire on PK's, before losing to the Columbus Crew. The two games against the CASL Elite and Carolina Railhawks were played at Blackbaud Stadium while the two games against Major League Soccer teams were played away.

The US Open Cup is my favorite part about soccer in the United States, due to its similarity to the FA Cup, and I'm excited as always to the see the Battery playing in this great tournament. Hopefully we'll see good first and second round match-ups so we can face an MLS side in the round of 16 like last year. The Carolina Challenge Cup could give us a look to future matches in the US Open Cup. Toronto FC can't play in the US Open Cup because, well they're a Canadian team. DC United and Chicago Fire are not automatic qualifiers for the Cup, but are playing for 2 of the berths, and with the addition of Charlie Davies, DC should have no problem qualifying.

Speaking of Charlie Davies, we're gonna be seeing him in the Carolina Challenge Cup! A couple of days ago it became official that Davies will be playing for United next year. I can't begin to explain how excited I am about DC signing Davies. Though having USMNT players playing against the best over in Europe is great, it's also nice to be able to see them play here in the US, and when they're coming to Charleston, that quadruples the excitement.

On the women's side, the Central SC Cobras have been very busy. This Saturday, the Cobras will be holding an open tryout from 9:00-4:00 at North Springs Park in Columbia. Good luck to all that will be trying out, and hopefully in a while they'll be competing for a W-League championship. They also have been releasing videos on a YouTube page called OPP2434. Make sure to check that out as well as this page where they are selling shirts, and keep giving support to the Cobras as they make the transition into the W-League.

Also check out this article on The Shin Guardian. The article talks about the possibility of an MLS expansion team in the Southeast.

If you have any questions or if you need to contact me, you can e-mail me at SCSoccerblog@gmail.com.

Central SC Cobras Official Website Launced

The newest team of the United Soccer League's W-League, Central SC Cobras FC, has launched their official website. The website includes information on the staff, sponsors, as well as news on the team. Hopefully the women's club can be successful and advance the growth of soccer in South Carolina. The Cobras will represent women's soccer in South Carolina, which until the upcoming season, has been the only state on the east coast not represented in the W-League.

Here's their website:
http://centralsouthcarolinacobrasfc.com/

Make sure to check out their Facebook page also:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Central-SC-Cobras/128341960518197

Top Ten South Carolina Soccer Stories of 2010: 6-4

Yesterday we reviewed  the 10-7 soccer stories in South Carolina this year. Here is 6-4:

• 6: Columbia Gets a Women's Team: This year Columbia, South Carolina got a USL W-League franchise in the Central SC Cobras. The Cobras are set to start play in 2011. The official announcement is expected to come in February. The team has already had some tryouts and hopefully this team will be a great addition to the  growth of the game in South Carolina.
• 5: Lamar Neagle Comes to the Battery and Leads the Team: In 2009 Lamar Neagle played for the MLS side, Seattle Sounders FC, came to Charleston for the 2010 USL Second Division season. He lead the Battery with 14 goals in 24 appearances. Neagle also won the Scoring Champion and Goal Scoring Champion for the USL Second Division. He was named to USL All-League First Team and was the USL-2 MVP. He became an integral part of the Battery's USL Second Divison Championship. But we'll get to that later.
• 4: Carolina Challenge Cup Returns to Charleston: In 2010 the seventh edition of the annual Carolina Challenge Cup returned to Blackbaud Stadium, bringing in three Major League Soccer Sides. This year the tournament was highlighted by 2009 MLS champions, Real Salt Lake, coming to Charleston. They came along with Charleston's MLS rival, DC United, and Canadian side, Toronto FC. The tournament was a success with the average attendance being 4,326 spectators per match. DC United took home the title.

USL W-League Coming to Columbia

The 2010 W-League season consisted of 29 teams, and now they're adding a 30th in Columbia,  South Carolina. The team, named Central SC Cobras, will start play in the 2011 W-League season in the Eastern Conference. The team's home field has not been announced, but open tryouts have been held. With a successful USL-Pro franchise in the Charleston Battery, will the Central SC Cobras be able to be a long-lasting staple in Columbia?

With Columbia being one of the largest metropolitan areas in the state, attendance should be steady if the team can be successful and play their cards right. Stadium selection is the key. If the Cobras can find a stadium on either the Charleston side or the Greenville side of Columbia, the attendance will be maximized as many people would not be as willing to drive into the heart of Columbia. USL has created many opportunities for soccer growth and the women's side of this is just as important. The youth leagues in South Carolina are bursting at the seams with new teams every year, and the chance to see professional soccer will help the development of soccer in South Carolina.

Hopefully the support will be there for this new women's team, and they can be as successful as the other women's franchises in the southeast. Soccer is still in its infancy in SC, but signs of hope have been here since 1993. The Battery have proved that soccer can work in South Carolina, and the Cobras could drive the point home.

You can find out more about the Central SC Cobras at their website.