[R] Queen City FC Official Thread 2008

[keem-o-sabi]

Since we've been moved, might as well start one here now as well.

[mutinywxgirl]

I'll be moving the other threads into here this weekend.

[keem-o-sabi]

Well hopefully people find us here now. Some updates from the 2 open tryouts we have invited 16 players to attend the pre-season to work into the players we are retaining this year. We did lose three players to professional sides (well all three are not officially on those teams yet, but one is now in Australia with an A-League side, and the other two are being looked at by USL 1 & 2 teams).

Other than that we are going to announce the re-signing of players from last year's national finalist and hope to have US Open Cup news for you.

Season tickets have been selling so that is good. We are still on the lookout for a camp sales and ticket sales director. So if you know of anyone in the Buffalo area that would like to work for the club please let us know!

People have been purchasing merchandise as well :) Yippie!

We will also be having a kit design contest starting in March with Select for 2009's kits. More details will be announced for that shortly.

That's all for now :)

[keem-o-sabi]

From Buffalo's Sports Beat
Queen City FC releases 2008 schedule By Richard W. Kozak, Jr.

“Are you ready for some futbol?”

The last time a “football” game was played at the venerable All High Stadium in Buffalo, New York; the McKinley Macks captured their third consecutive Harvard Cup Football Championship by dispatching a more than game Riverside Frontiers club.

Read the rest of the article (http://buffaloathome.com/dct/54/id/6272/mid/845/Queen-City-FC-releases-2008-schedule.aspx)

[keem-o-sabi]

QCFC has resigned a few players from 2007's National Finalist squad.

Goalkeepers Shawn McDonell and Bart Loos

Defenders: (Co-MVP) Andy Larracuente, Casey Derkacz, Jeremy Watson, Matt Romano, and Tony Tellez

Midfielders: (Captain) Al Franjoine, Cory Cwiklinski, and Christian Elizondo

Strikers: Rich Namulala

We are working on resigning a few other key players, Rudi Costa, Trevor Ianni, and Ali Montacer at the moment.

Like mentioned previously we have a pretty good squad going into our pre-season camp. Unfortunately we lost Mike Bobbie, Mark Howlett and Jeremy Jessup who were key members of our 2007 side. Howlett has been retained by the club though and is now our 1st Assistant Coach. We have 43 guys coming in that we've identified through our open try-outs and are looking forward to pairing the side down to about 35 guys. We could have a couple surprise signings in the next two weeks.....

Our reserve team will be playing in the U23 league here in Buffalo and will also be playing against local men's teams from Buffalo, Rochester, and Southern Ontario.

In other news we have hired a new Director of Scouting. Kevin Brenner is now taking over responsibility and is coordinating with coaches from around the country to bring players in. We definitely feel that we need to not only have local products, but also players from around the nation. We managed to do that in 2007 and feel it's a good formula. Hopefully this next year we can just purchase a house and rent it out to college students during the year and have our guys stay there in the summer as that's the biggest challenge...getting them a place to stay for the 3-4 months they are here.

We have also brought on board, Scott Viar as our new Director of Marketing and Sponsorship Acquisition. He is currently undertaking a corporate canvas and we look to have a couple more sponsors coming on board.

We also have a new Director of Ticket sales in Jeremy Watson. He is one of our key defenders, and now he is working in the club too. He wanted to take more of a role within the club so he is now part of the FO as well as on the pitch for City.

Prisco Houndanon has moved from the pitch to the FO as well, as he is now Director of Youth Training and is in charge of developing relationships with youth clubs in the area and coordinating training, camps and clinics for the clubs we are contracted with.

So needless to say we are getting there. We are looking to acquire one more investor to make this stay afloat for the next 5 years to get us out of our infancy stage.

[keem-o-sabi]

Pics of the stadium all refurbished as spiffy. We'll have more, these were just sent to me.

http://preview.myeliteclub.com/19/Files/Images/qcfcstadium/panarama_All_High_Stadium.jpg

http://preview.myeliteclub.com/19/Files/Images/qcfcstadium/8882_the_stadium.bmp

Yes I know it looks narrow, we are re-painting the touchlines and moving them out 2-3 yards on both sides (they originally painted it too narrow)

[darkhelmet66]

Is it really paint, or was it the different colored turf like UB put down on their new surface?

[keem-o-sabi]

it's paint....from what I remember, you have me doubting myself! I hadn't been out there since October (problem with living in another city!).

[keem-o-sabi]

Just a little something to get us thinking about next year and the excitement we had on our parts in our first campaign.



Buffalo's Sports Beat
Queen City FC Miss Taking NPSL Crown By Richard W. Kozak, Jr. www.buffaloathome.com


Queen City FC Blues soccerThe spirits were willing. The minds were strong and one will have trouble finding hearts as large as those that beat under the Queen City FC crest. Despite overcoming 3,000 miles of horrendous travel obstructions and nearly arriving late for the semi-final, the frailties of the human body and a few bad bounces led to the Blues capturing the runner-up spot in the team’s first ever National Championship appearance. Their drive seemed unstoppable as the final game approached.

Bathed in San Diego sunshine and poised with a new attack precipitated by fatigue and injuries, the Blues were on the brink of bringing home some silverware back to Western New York. Playoff heroes Cory Cwiklinski and Mike Bobbie were sidelined for injuries at the start of the game putting the spotlight on Christain Elizondo and Daine Merrin in a winner take all contest.

With home field advantage resting squarely on the shoulders of the SoCal Fusion, FC began a relentless offensive attack quite different from the team’s semi-final appearance. In the match’s fifth minute, Rudi Costa was sent in all alone against the Fusion keeper. Using his patented move, Costa beat the keeper only to see his shot end in the goal’s side netting. An early chance to take a lead may have haunted the Blues all match long.

With FC on the attack, the Queen City defense relied on its able keeper, Shawn Mcdonell, to thwart SoCal’s attempts. Time and time again Mcdonell turned away shots that seemed destined as sure goals.

The Fusion were awarded a free kick as time wound down in the first half. As had been the case during the regular season, the Blues have struggled defending set pieces like this in a half or game. With one chance to take the lead before the half, the Fusion would not be denied.

As Buffalo protested the foul call, the Fusion set up their play and in two quick strokes buried the sphere in the back of the Queen City net. The goal would stand up and FC went into the locker room one-nil at the match’s mid point.

City reorganized into a 3-5-2 formation to put pressure on the Fusion. Al Franjoine and Ali Montacer put pressure on SoCal but could not find a chance at the equalizing marker. As the game wore on, the Fusion seemed content to forgo any offense and put eleven men behind the ball to clog the pitch for the Blues.

Buffalo keeper Jeremy Jessup kept the score within reach, but to no avail. The Blues could not break through. As time continued to tick away, so did Queen City’s title hopes. At the final whistle, the SoCal Fusion earned the NPSL crown by virtue of the 1-0 score.

The Blues can still be proud of their effort. In the team’s inaugural year, they played more successfully than anyone might have imagined or expected. Queen City captured the regular season Northeast Conference title and moved on to win the Norhteast Conference playoffs, advancing through only to lose a national title by a scant one goal.

Though it may be old hat for a Buffalo team to capture runner up trophy in a Championship game, these boys in blue gave nothing but a first rate effort in the team’s first campaign.

[keem-o-sabi]

A couple articles on our new coach

Q & A with Queen City FC Head Coach By Richard W. Kozak, Jr.
From Buffaloathome.com
The most successful soccer team in the history of top level “footie” in the Western New York area won’t hit the pitch competitively until the end of May. One would think that would be plenty of time for new head coach Tom Cordaro to prepare his Queen City FC squad, but as each day ticks closer to kick off his “to do” list seems never ending.

The articulate and pensive Cordaro states, “I have many goals for the team this upcoming season. Certainly, I would like the team to return to the NPSL final, but this time with a different result. I would also like to get into the stages of the US Open Cup where we would have the opportunity to play against a professional team. In a more general sense, I want to build a team with good people, full of character players that we can be proud of when they wear our colors.” Read More (http://buffaloathome.com/dct/54/id/6589/mid/845/Q---A-with-Queen-City-FC-Head-Coach.aspx)

Kickin’ back with QCFC Cordaro Part Deux By Richard W. Kozak, Jr.


Buffalo's Sports Beat
Kickin’ back with QCFC Cordaro Part Deux By Richard W. Kozak, Jr.

The following is Part Two of a pre-season interview with new Queen City FC head coach Tom Cordaro. Cordaro looks forward to continuing the unprecedented success the team found in its first season of existence.

Now that soccer has a foothold in the States and is growing by leaps and bounds in the Western New York area, the team won’t have to educate its entire fan base. With that being said, Coach Cordaro is still developing the team’s style of play.

With a knowing smile, Coach grinned, “It may be a little too early to determine a specific style of play. That will mostly depend on the players that we sign. I feel that a system should be built around the players positive and negative attributes.” Read More (http://buffaloathome.com/dct/54/id/6601/mid/845/Kickin--back-with-QCFC-Cordaro-Part-Deux.aspx)

That's all for now. We've been doing a lot of interviews so hopefully we can get some more written on us. It's been fun.

[keem-o-sabi]

New Sponsor ~ Flying Bison is now the Official Beer of Queen City FC! There will be a press release shortly with the details of the new agreement, but I thought we'd put something up here announcing it. It's a great local brew and we're happy to have another local company supporting us.

[chillum]

New Sponsor ~ Flying Bison is now the Official Beer of Queen City FC! There will be a press release shortly with the details of the new agreement, but I thought we'd put something up here announcing it. It's a great local brew and we're happy to have another local company supporting us.

Hope your players don't get loaded up on free samples before your games!

I think it's really interesting to see someone go out there and start up a whole new football club. I really hope it all works out for you.

You don't really get new clubs being formed too often ( as far as I know) in Scotland & UK in general, probably because most things football is saturated here.

During my travels through the US, I happened to stop a couple of days in Buffalo (2002). My impression was that it was a small-medium sized town that had seen better days. At least the city centre.

Something I would like to ask, the Wikipedia page (I know, I know. Not the most accurate of sources) on NPSL suggests that the PDL, NPSL, PCSL are more or less the same standard. Given that the United States is such a large country area wise, would it not make sense to have a unified set up allowing more localised regions which would help reduce costs?

I realise you may have differences between the different leagues but my understanding is that all three leagues are amateur, probably have different roster / player criteria but will basically have more things in common than not.

Anyhow, on another matter, for a bit of fun in a computer game I have, Football Manager 2008, As Manchester United I played a few preseason friendlies in the US, one of which were against your lot. Sorry to say we won! In case you were wondering, the game doesn't come with most team logos. I just added them in to give the game a bit of colour.

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p283/thecallum/qcfc.gif

[keem-o-sabi]

Yeah my friend from Ireland is working on getting our team officially in the game for next season. There is an update that is being worked on right now with us in it with our players and what not. Thanks!

Believe me, I'm all for having all the amateur clubs merge, but that's not up to me. Our league broke away from the bigger league due to issues with the head people in that bigger league. So unfortunately, I don't see this being resolved anytime soon :(

[keem-o-sabi]

Countdown to ’08 begins for QCFC

By Richard W. Kozak, Jr. from Buffaloathome.com
February 29, 2008 is the worst day of the year for the Queen City FC general manager Christopher Keem. With the rest of the world playing "catch up" with its calendar to put the earth and its seasons in sync with the sun again, Keem must continue to wait.

The most successful local soccer team in history must wait one more day this year before the team hits the pitch for training and games in defense of its National Premier Soccer League Eastern Conference title. Who could blame Keem for being a little antsy, after all how many of our dreams get to come true right in front of our eyes?
Full Article (http://buffaloathome.com/dct/54/id/6731/mid/845/Countdown-to--08-begins-for-QCFC.aspx)

[keem-o-sabi]

Pre-season friendly result

QCFC posted a 5-2 victory of a Rochester Select XI side at the Total Sports Experience in Rochester last evening. The boys in blue fielded a very experimental side featuring mostly trialists with a few impressing and few players signed looking to be on the verge of showing the door.

New signee Steve Butcher delighted many with his hold up play at the top and then moving behind the strikers as the match wore on proved too much for the RDSL side to handle as he recorded a hat trick for the Blues. His first goal was hit with aplomb with a volley from about 20 yards out that crashed in off the underside of the crossbar. It was an amazing shot and the City faithful will be happy to see the former Rochester Rhino and Buffalo Blizzard starlet taking over the NPSL scoring charts this year.

El Capitan, Al Franjoine, showed again why he can be the class of the league running the midfield. He is the Xabi Alonso of the NPSL, not too flashy but really effective and can hit players with pinpoint passes all over the pitch. Really impressive stuff from the former Canisius star and local Buffalo product.

City is trying to sort through the hundreds of players that are still seeking a try-out with the club and are looking to have the squad down to 35 players by mid-april.

With the group we have signed now we are happy, but really need to get the best 35 we can. We need tough competition for spots and those we aren't featured in the 18 man game day roster will be playing in the reserve match immediately preceeding the first team matches on home match days. So now you'll get two games for the price of one!

[keem-o-sabi]

Former Rhino's and Blizzard Star Signs On

Queen City FC is pleased to announce the signing of the former Rochester Rhino and Buffalo Blizzard striker Steve Butcher. Butcher, a native of North Tonawanda, N.Y. played in the Major Indoor Soccer League with the Blizzard and storied franchise San Diego Sockers and also played for the USL 1 side, Rochester Rhino's.

Read More (http://queencityfc.myeliteclub.com//loadPage.asp?iPage=290-19)

[keem-o-sabi]

From Buffaloathome.com another preview article on the upcoming year.

Queen City FC traveled to Rochester’s Total Sports Experience for the season’s first exhibition match, and the Blues picked up where they left off in the Championship season of 2007.

Playing with what was billed as a “very experimental side” FC trounced Rochester’s Select XI by a score of 5-2. The newest club member, Steve Butcher, made his FC debut with a hat trick to lead the way for the Blues. Jeremy Watson also scored for City.

With nearly 250 players looking to crack a line up of eleven players and a total squad of 35, there will be stiff competition for players to make the club. FC will have plenty to live up to while trying to avoid an organization sophomore slump.

Read full story (http://buffaloathome.com/dct/54/id/6825/mid/845/Queen-City-FC-win-first-exhibition-match.aspx)

[chillum]

Just so you know, from the Queen City FC main page, the following links appear to lead to no valid page:

Teams/1st Team Roster
Teams/1st Team Profiles

[keem-o-sabi]

fixed, thanks for the heads up!

[keem-o-sabi]

We have decided to start a fantasy soccer division in a couple of the MLS fantasy games. The MLS Fantasy Challenge , the official fantasy game of Major League Soccer and in the Soccernet.com MLS Fantasy game . You can join both leagues and look for the "Queen City FC" division and come on in. It should be a good time.

The winner of the Fantasy Game will receive a free T-shirt, Hat, and Scarf as well as season tickets to the 2009 Season.

Runner up will receive a free Scarf and T-Shirt

3rd place will receive a free t-shirt.