NOTE: I'm gonna spam this on three different forums because I don't know which one is the best place for this query. I'm trying to track where various US Youth National Teamers are playing PDL ball this summer. So far, I've only been able to track down a few so if anyone knows of any others, please post them. (And don't post guys who are like 26 and "used to" be in a YNT pool - that isn't what I mean!) Here are the few I have so far. U18 Hunter Freeman D Virginia (So.) Texas Spurs U20 Knox Cameron F Michigan (Jr.) Mid-Michigan Bucks Stephen Shirley D Mobile (So.) Des Moines Menace Ford Williams GK North Carolina (So.) Raleigh CASL Elite U23 Adolfo Gregorio M UCLA (Sr.) Orange County Blue Star Chris Wingert D St. John’s (Sr.) Brooklyn Knights
Shirley transferring Stephen Shirley is transferring to VCU I hear. Looks like a good pickup for them. They will be very strong again in Fall 2003. Playing a tough schedule again and bringing in some prime time players. Good attractive soccer. Fun to watch.
Re: Shirley transferring Some of these games were real strong in 2002? Right? An overated Virginia, Howard...hasn't been good for over a decade, watch out for Richmond, UNC-W? JMU was real tough this year, don't forget Towson and the Hens! Cmon, way too many paddie cakes on that schedule. Look at who Maryland, UCLA, Creighton and the other big boys play and you can't even come close to putting VCU in their class. vs. Virginia L, 1-4 vs. Maryland L, 1-4 vs. Howard W, 3-0 vs. Lehigh W, 2-1 (ot) at American L, 2-4 vs. Richmond W, 2-0 vs. UNC Wilmington W, 4-1 vs. North Carolina W, 1-0 vs. Drexel W, 3-1 vs. Hofstra W, 3-0 vs. George Mason T, 0-0 (2ot) vs. James Madison W, 2-1 vs. Old Dominion L, 0-1 (2ot) vs. William & Mary W, 3-2 (ot) vs. Towson W, 3-0 vs. Delaware W, 3-0
I'm not going to get into the schedule debate but Shirley joining VCU is intriguing news. I know he wanted to go to a D-I school originally but his grades weren't in order, which is why he ended up at Mobile. Glad to see he finally got his wish and glad to see he'll be local (for me) so I can see him play a few games. VCU, with the Costa Rican right back (whose name I just forgot) should have as good a combo of wing backs as any team in college soccer. They should be fun to watch. As for Shirley, playing close to where Thomas Rongen lives will give him some extra chances for exposure and if he does well he may earn another shot to grab the U20 team's starting left back. Between playing PDL and transferring to a good program - remember, VCU was seeded in the NCAAs last year - Shirley is making some good career choices.
LdB - VCU is not a school to write home about. It has one of the lowest qualifying standards of any public school in Virginia.
Shirley to VCU Hey, a thread about VCU. Cool. I don't think VCU has the academic reputation of UVa, William & Mary or Tech, but it's not a bad school. I do know that there are a number of athletes who are excellent students at VCU, including last year's leading scorer Matthew Delicate (3rd team Academic A-A, 12 goals, 26 pts). Anyway, glad to hear about Shirley coming to VCU. The Costa Rican Sandon mentioned is Gonzalo Segares, who has played left back the past two seasons. Is Shirley strictly a wing player or can he slide to the middle? The Rams need to replace Milorad Djordjevic at center back, and I think ideally they'd like to move their returning center back, Cristian Neagu, up front. Although they haven't officially announced their recruiting class (I'm not sure if they're done) Helmis Matute is transferring from George Mason and will play in the midfield. He was all-CAA last year (2nd team I think) and played with the Rams this spring. They have an all-state guy from Kearny (NJ) High coming (Hubie McDonough?) plus another Costa Rican and a Frenchman coming in. Should be another strong team and fun to watch, but it'll be tough to top last season. Interesting that Rongen's name came up here. His step daughter, Nicole Megaloudis of Potomac Falls, Va., will play for VCU's women's team this fall. Her dad Nick played for NASL's New York Arrows. Maybe Rongen will be making that trip down 95 to Richmond a few times this fall. I'd like to hear what type of player Shirley is from those of you who've seen him play or know about him.