This thread is to keep track of OKC's roster moves ahead of the 2018 season. To start with, let's have a look at the roster as it existed on the final day of play in 2017. Players are listed alphabetically within position group, as given 22 Nov 2017 on the Energy's team website* (NB: positions can be fluid). All stats are from Transfermarkt, and are listed like this: For goalkeepers -- (appearances / starts / minutes) (conceded / GAA / shutouts) For field positions -- (appearances / starts / minutes) (goals / assists) OKC ENERGY FC 2017 FINAL ROSTER G - Cochran, C.J. (12 / 11 / 1101) (11 / 0.92 / 4) G - Laurendi, Cody (26 / 26 / 2289) (35 / 1.35 / 7) G - Lissek, Jacob (0 / 0 / 0) (Not applicable) D - Andrews, Coady (26 / 25 / 2148) (1 / 0) D - Daly, Mickey (28 / 27 / 2404) (1 / 0) D - Dixon, Richard (28 / 23 / 2154) (0 / 2) D - Fink, Sam (19 / 17 / 1558) (0 / 0) D - Harris, Michael (12 / 12 / 1035) (0 / 1) D - Hyland, Kyle (35 / 34 / 3097) (2 / 3) D - Wallace, Anthony (34 / 34 / 3120) (0 / 0) M - Barril, Jose (34 / 30 / 2547) (2 / 3) M - Bond, Chad (16 / 6 / 649) (0 / 0) M - Brown, Jonathan (12 / 5 / 588) (1 / 2) M - Craft, Coy (10 / 5 / 435) (1 / 0) M - Dixon, Alex (35 / 32 / 2715) (7 / 2) M - Gonzalez, Daniel (29 / 10 / 1069) (3 / 0) M - Guzman, Juan Pablo (27 / 24 / 2172) (2 / 0) M - Martinez, Luis (7 / 0 / 74) (0 / 0) F - Angulo, Jose (19 / 16 / 1488) (11 / 6) F - Craven, Andy (16 / 7 / 728) (5 / 2) F - Gonzalez, Miguel (32 / 30 / 2636) (8 / 7) F - Rasmussen, Philip (14 / 13 / 1128) (1 / 1) F - Wojcik, Wojciech (21 / 14 / 1379) (6 / 1) Obviously, there have already been re-signings, so I'll give a brief rundown on that soon. * The one exception is Jonathan Brown, who is still not listed on the Energy's roster for whatever reason. Per his Transfermarkt description, he has been placed with the midfielders.
November 21, 2017: Seven players return to Energy FC for 2018 season The players: Coady Andrews: Re-upping for his fourth season with the club. Mainstay at center back for most of the season. Solid player, good defensive instincts. Jose Barril: Started the season out left with mixed results, before finding his place in the center of the park. Deft ball-handler, clever passer. Jonathan Brown: Late-season signing who spent most of his field minutes at right midfield or forward on the wing. Veteran of lower English levels. Miguel Gonzalez: Dangerous attacker, especially on the wing. Team's second-leading scorer. Had last year's goal of the season against SRFC. Juan Pablo Guzman: Usually found distributing the ball from center mid. Good possessor, underrated passer. With Barril, a dangerous combination. Kyle Hyland: Second on team in minutes. Plays a hassling style of defense, very aggressive in pushing forward and crossing. Ink him in at left back. Philip Rasmussen: Spent time at center mid for the first half of the season, before going down with a cruciate ligament tear. To sum up: Five first-choice starters down the stretch (Andrews, Barril, Gonzalez, Guzman, Hyland) among the seven signings means that the Energy already have a solid returning core in place. A good start to the offseason. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, Hyland M - Barril, Brown, Guzman F - Gonzalez, Rasmussen Not returning:
December 5, 2017: Energy FC Re-Signs Dixon Duo The players: Alex Dixon: Third-most goals on the team last year. Saw most of his time at right mid, though he often pushed up into the wing. Good scorer and creator. Richard Dixon: First-choice man last year at right back. Like Hyland on the other side; tends to be an offense-minded defender, aggressive with the ball. To sum up: Two more regular starters return. I loved watching them push forward in combination on the right side last year, and my guess is we're in for more of the same this coming season. The Energy continue to bring back their best men, and 2018 may just pick up where 2017 left off...which is great continuity for the club. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland M - Barril, Brown, A. Dixon, Guzman F - Gonzalez, Rasmussen Not returning:
First loss of the offseason. December 5, 2017: Fresno Reveals Cazarez, Daly as First Signings A bit of a shame, this. Mickey Daly was a tough, aggressive center back who really gave his all on the pitch. I was looking forward to trying to get my section to join a "Hey, Mickey" cheer this season. But I'm sure we wish him the best of luck in Fresno. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland M - Barril, Brown, A. Dixon, Guzman F - Gonzalez, Rasmussen Not returning: Daly
December 7, 2017: Kimura Leads Four New Nashville Additions Another real blow. CJ Cochran has signed with USL expansion side Nashville FC. He was, of course, the man in the net during the Energy's incredible stretch run this season, and the hero of the playoff match against San Antonio. I'm sure he'll be starting for Nashville. I was pretty sure he would be starting for someone. Fact is, there are too many goalkeeper spots in USL right now for one club to be able to keep two starting-caliber keepers on its roster, and Cochran definitely proved himself to be that this year. We'll miss you, CJ. Good luck. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland M - Barril, Brown, A. Dixon, Guzman F - Gonzalez, Rasmussen Not returning: Cochran, Daly
December 7, 2017: McLaws Heads Home, Joins Energy FC Today, the Energy announced the signing of Edmond native Shawn McLaws. McLaws appeared in 29 games for USL's Harrisburg City Islanders (now Penn FC) last year, starting 28 of them. He has also seen time with NYRBII. Most of his minutes last year were at right back, but he was switched to center back late in the season for several games. So it wouldn't be a surprise to see him contending for Mickey Daly's old spot. All in all, the addition appears promising. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, McLaws M - Barril, Brown, A. Dixon, Guzman F - Gonzalez, Rasmussen Not returning: Cochran, Daly
December 13, 2017: Fink Returns to Saint Louis Sam Fink took a long time to make his Energy debut last season -- he basically only played in the back half of the year. But he was a regular starter when he did play. He'll probably be most remembered for taking a bottle to the head from an unruly Battle Born Brigade member following the Energy's playoff road win in Reno. Hey BBBers? Still haven't heard about any punishments on that one, by the way... ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, McLaws M - Barril, Brown, A. Dixon, Guzman F - Gonzalez, Rasmussen Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
December 28, 2017: Angulo Re-Signs with Energy FC Now this is a wonderful late Christmas present for Energy fans! Despite not playing in a game for the club until July 15 of last year (after being transferred from Saint Louis FC), Angulo led the Energy in scoring with 11 goals, and was second in assists with 6. He was USL's Player of the Month for October, with six goals and three assists in just three matches. Angulo's signing means that the Energy will return their top three scorers, and most of their regular starters, from last year. New manager Steve Cooke has quite a bit of continuity in his squad, and quite a bit of late-season development to build on at the start of the next campaign. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, McLaws M - Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink (Brown and Rasmussen switched per the content of the linked article)
January 2, 2017: Callum Ross added to Energy FC Roster Ross comes to the Energy from the Charlotte Independence, where he was a regular starter last year at defensive and center mid. He had one goal and one assist in 29 matches and over 2000 game minutes during his 2017 campaign. We already have a very stacked roster in the midfield, but a good DM (Charlotte had seven wins and three draws in ten matches with Ross playing that position) is always an asset. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, McLaws M - Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
January 5, 2017: Goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel Added to Energy FC Roster Van Oekel's last stop was Real Salt Lake, where he had a bad season last year -- one draw and six losses in seven games with the MLS side, and a ton of goals conceded. But the season before, he was stellar in the NASL with FC Edmonton. He posted 16 shutouts in 30 league matches for the team while conceding only 17 times, good enough for the league's Golden Glove Award. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, McLaws M - Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
January 15, 2018: Energy FC Inks Ibeagha to Deal Christian Ibeagha was born in Nigeria, but has 405 ties -- he played for Deer Creek High School. His most recent stop was North Carolina FC, where he played center back for every minute of 29 NASL regular-season and playoff matches last year -- and all but nine minutes of NCFC's three-game Open Cup run. He has also seen time with Colorado Springs, the defunct Puerto Rico Islanders, and the since-merged FC Suduroy of the Effodieldin (first-tier league in the Faroe Islands). ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
Sorry for being away so long. We have a lot to catch up on, so here we go! January 25, 2018: Bryan Byars Returns to Energy FC Byars had a rough season with Tulsa (boo, hiss!) last year. He lost six of seven starts in goal during the regular season, conceding 18 goals and posting just one shutout. Based on the preseason to date, he appears to be the third-choice keeper, behind Cody Laurendi (still no official word on him, BTW) and Matt Van Oekel. Byars has spent his whole pro career in Oklahoma, getting no playing time during his first stint with the Energy in 2015 and winning both his starts with the now-defunct Rayo OKC in 2016. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
February 6, 2018: Energy FC Adds to Attacking Options with Siaj Siaj arrives from the Charlotte Independence. He spent much of his time last season coming in off the bench as a sub, but a string of longer uses in the last two months of play saw him have some solid success, as he notched three of his four goals and all three of his assists (including a helper on the lone goal in Charlotte's playoff loss to Rochester) during that span. He spent some time in the Real Madrid academy system, and was a team leader for his college side at Pfeiffer, where he won a DII national championship. Siaj's bio lists him as a striker and a left wing, so I would expect to see him sub in for a flagging forward late. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj
February 15, 2018: Ghana U20 Team Member Joins Energy FC There's not a lot of data on center back Joseph Adjei. He was a member of the Cape Town City FC squad that won the South African Cup last season, but he only played in a handful of games and was a late, late sub in about half of those. He was also a member of the Ghana U20 team that impressed at the 2015 U20 World Cup. The Energy's website has him listed as a midfielder. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Adjei, Barril, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
February 23, 2018: OKC Native Chavez Joins Energy FC Justin Chavez returns home coming off a three-season stint with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, where he logged two assists in eighteen matches last year. He played two seasons for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers before that. Chavez spends much of his time as a defensive midfielder, having transitioned to that position from center back over the course of his career. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Adjei, Barril, Chavez, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
February 28, 2018: U23 Alum Added to 1st Team Roster Max Gunderson has loads of previous USL experience, having played as a defender for San Antonio FC (2016), Austin Aztex (2015 and 2013), and the Energy (2014). Last season saw him play far more late in the season; San Antonio won three and drew three of the ten games he played in. Before that, he was a regular starter for Austin in 2015, and saw the field in half the games of the Energy's first campaign. He also has PDL experience: last year with the Energy U23 team, and several years ago with the Laredo Heat. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Gunderson, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Adjei, Barril, Chavez, A. Dixon, Guzman, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
March 1, 2018: Juan Niño Signs Contract with Energy FC Niño typically plays central midfield. He split his time last year between two teams. For the first half of the year, he was under contract to San Antonio FC, but played only twice, frequently not even being selected to the matchday squad. He saw more of the pitch from August on with FK Lovćen, currently a mid-table team in Montenegro's second-tier Druga Liga. He began his professional career with the Charlotte Eagles of USL before playing a couple of years for Atletico Huila in his native Colombia's top-flight league, Categoría Primera A. ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Gunderson, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Adjei, Barril, Chavez, A. Dixon, Guzman, Niño, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
March 2, 2018: FC Dallas Assigns Two Players to Energy FC What look like our final two roster players of the season -- their presence brings the roster to 22 men -- come to us on loan from our pro affiliate. (Given that Cody Laurendi is still listed on the roster at the team's website, and that we currently have only two keepers announced under contract, I assume he will be #23, and his signing will be made public when he is healthy. Until that time, though, I will not list him here as part of the squad.) Francis Atuahene and Ema Twumasi have a lot in common. Both are from Ghana, both are forwards, both played collegiate soccer in the US, and the Energy represent the first chance at the pro pitch for both men. I'll avoid recapping their college stats here (you can click through to the article if you're interested in that), but I will note that Atuahene also played a bit for the perennially dominant Michigan Bucks of the PDL, scoring two of the club's three goals during their U.S. Open Cup run this last season -- which saw them bow out in the third round to the USL's Saint Louis FC, thanks to two goals from former Energy great Sebastian Dalgaard. American soccer is a small world... ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Gunderson, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Adjei, Barril, Chavez, A. Dixon, Guzman, Niño, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Atuahene, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj, Twumasi Not returning: Cochran, Daly, Fink
As of today, ten of the Energy's roster from the close of last season have been announced as re-signed. I knew of three that had departed for other pastures. (I can't say GREENER pastures, can I?) But that still left ten players about whom I knew nothing definitive, including Cody Laurendi. Such is the maddening world of lower-division soccer. So I investigated, and came up with further information on two of the ten. At this point, anyone not already on the roster (except for Laurendi, as I stated in my above post) seems like a lock not to return. I am updating the list accordingly. February 15, 2018: Penn FC Signs Jacob Lissek Lissek was with the Energy for two years -- I'm counting the time we had him out on loan to FC Dallas. He never saw the field with us. Indeed, he wasn't often even on the gameday squad until Laurendi went out with that injury at Reno. Hopefully he'll have some playing time with Penn. March 5, 2018: Miami FC 2 Solidifes Inaugural Roster with 10 Additions One of those new additions is Coy Craft. He spent parts of the past two seasons with the Energy as a loaner from FC Dallas. During his first year, he notched three goals for the Energy in nine matches. This last season, however, he had almost no impact in seven appearances, none of which came after mid-July. Perhaps he'll have better luck with Miami, though with all that's gone on there -- NASL collapsing, the team participating in three lawsuits that I know of -- it might not prove to be the most stable landing spot. Still, all the best, Coy! ******************** 2018 ROSTER TO DATE (positions tentative, new players in italics): G - Byars, Van Oekel D - Andrews, R. Dixon, Gunderson, Hyland, Ibeagha, McLaws M - Adjei, Barril, Chavez, A. Dixon, Guzman, Niño, Rasmussen, Ross F - Angulo, Atuahene, Brown, Gonzalez, Siaj, Twumasi Not returning: Cochran, Craft, Daly, Fink, Lissek See him soon?: Laurendi Probably gone: Bond, Craven, D. Gonzalez, Harris, Martinez, Wallace, Wojcik
Nice set of posts OnTheGrid. I know that it can get "lonely" making posts when no one else replies or participates. As I mentioned in another OKC thread, I just recently started watching USL matches after being transferred over from MLS Live to ESPN+. And I like what I see with the development of the USL. I have family living in Oklahoma City and visited 3 years back for a wedding. I liked what I saw from up in the Devon Energy Center and enjoyed Bricktown. I'll be back, and hopefully can attend an OKC match or two.