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2010 Springfield Demize PDL Roster Released

SPRINGFIELD DEMIZE NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

SPRINGFIELD, MO – With the start of the 2010 Premier Development League (PDL) season less than a month away, the Springfield Demize roster will be stocked with local talent this coming season.

Of the 35 players who could see playing time for the Demize this summer, 25 of them have ties to Southwest Missouri, including six players from Missouri State, nine from Drury, and 12 players who graduated from local high schools will be playing with the Demize for the summer after wrapping up their college seasons. Headlining this group of local players when the Demize take the field for their home opener at 6 p.m. on May 12 at Harrison Stadium against the Des Moines Menace will be Missouri State’s Heath Melugin and Drury’s Stephen Conner.

Melugin was the Bears leading scorer this past fall in their run to the NCAA-I national tournament, racking up six goals and one assist. Melugin was also a 4-year standout at Kickapoo High School and one of the most highly recruited prep players to ever come out of Springfield. Melugin will be joined by Bears teammates Niko Markos, Chad Johnson, Edin Sabic, Mark McGahee, and West Plains native Justin Scicluna.

Conner is just one of several all-American standouts from last fall’s Drury squad that made a run to the NCAA-II Sweet 16 that will be joining the Demize for the summer, a list that includes Ben Taylor, Micah Whorton, Andrew Bordelon and Peter Higgins. Conner, a goalkeeper who played his prep career at Glendale, posted new school records for shutouts, goals against average, and save percentage this past fall for the Panthers. In all, the 2010 Demize roster will have representation from 12 different NCAA soccer programs and six different countries including England, Scotland, Ireland, and Liberia.

2010 Springfield Demize Master Roster

Position Name School/Recent Club

GK Stephen Conner Drury Univ.

GK Niko Markos Missouri State Univ.

GK Nick Ciliberti Kansas Wesleyan Univ.

D Ben Taylor Drury Univ.

D James Neighbors Virginia Commonwealth

D Connor McClellan Drury Univ.

D Zack Hay Missouri S&T

D Will Peppard Newman Univ.

D Alex Palmer Drury Univ.

D Michael Langford Incarnate Word

D Anthony Lenon Bournemouth

D Austin Bates Springfield Demize

D Chad Johnson Missouri State

M Peter Higgins Drury Univ.

M Justin Scicluna Missouri State Univ.

M Edin Sabic Missouri State Univ.

M Justin Ferguson Belmont Univ.

M Andrew Bordelon Drury Univ.

M Robbi Curtis Lincoln Memorial

M Konstantine Pyankov Saint Leo Univ.

M Taylor Stacy Drury Univ.

M Brendan Langford Drury Univ.

M Jared Smith Springfield Demize

M Bryan Simpson Drury Univ.

M Oscar Narvaez IPFW

M Dean Gray Springfield Demize

M Adam Peterson Drury Univ.

F Heath Melugin Missouri State Univ.

F Mark McGahee Missouri State Univ.

F Micah Whorton Drury Univ.

F Michael Gow Springfield Demize

F Luis Martins Benefica

F Joey Ekstam Springfield Demize

F Emmanuel Adewole Drake

F Sam Saydee, Jr. Fulham

Former Demize Players Catch Up

Where are they now?

With the 2010 Premier Developement League quickly approaching, the Springfield Demize looks back on former athletes that have used the USL experience to push themselves to greater heights. The Springfield Demize offer’s their players the chance of a lifetime, to play at the highest level over the summer, with a chance to shine at the 2010 USL Player Combine, where they have the chance to get scouted and make the next step to professional soccer.

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Total Demize Soccer Club announces customized gear

Check out the Custom Soccer Balls and Scarves

Total Demize Soccer Club has partnered up with Ruffneck Scarves and Baden to bring you TDSC’s very unique soccer gear! Wrap yourself up in your very own Springfield Demize/Total Demize SC Soccer Scarf while juggling your brand new custom TDSC soccer ball.

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Springfield Demize announces new Head Coach

Logan Hoffman takes PDL position

Springfield Demize News Release

Friday, February 26, 2010

SPRINGFIELD, MO – Local collegiate and youth soccer coach Logan Hoffman has been named as the new head coach of the Springfield Demize for their upcoming season in the USL’s Premier Development League.

Hoffman becomes just the third head coach in franchise history, and will look to bring the Demize to a new standard after two consecutive seasons at the bottom of the Heartland Division table.

Hoffman has had success as a coach at both the youth and collegiate levels, and hopes these experiences and the connections he’s made will help raise the bar for the Demize.

As an assistant coach with both the men and women at Drury University this past fall, Hoffman served as one of three coaches working with a men’s team that posted the best finish in school history, won the school’s first Great Lakes Valley Conference title, and qualified for their first NCAA-II tournament berth, finishing the season with a top-10 ranking from the NSCAA. As the primary coach for the men’s and women’s goalkeepers, Hoffman coached both to new school records for goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts. Both goalkeepers for the Men’s and Women’s program earned First Team All-Conference and All-Region honors, and Stephen Conner garnered All-American honors from Daktronics.

At the youth level, Hoffman serves as the Director of Coaching for the Fair Grove Soccer Academy, a club he has grown from just 70 recreational players to over 150 and four competitive teams in just over two years with the club. He also serves as the head coach for Nixa Soccer Club’s U14 and U15 boys teams and Xtreme Soccer Club for Girls’ U16 team.

“My personal connections with many of Springfield’s collegiate players and their coaches should help the Demize draw a much stronger local player pool than in year’s past, and hopefully the Springfield soccer community as a whole will come out and support us and provide a great atmosphere for both players and fans,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman also hopes to bring a new level of communication and organization to the Demize both on and off the field; something he believes will improve his players’ experience and their level of commitment to the team.

“Commitment and hard work will be an expectation of our players this year,” Hoffman said. “The Springfield Demize is looking to become an organization that provides a great experience for players and fans, and we are committed to that goal. We expect that same commitment from our players.”

Hoffman, a graduate and 3-year letter-winner at Drury University, also brings 20 years of playing experience at both the youth and collegiate levels with him. Born in Denver, CO, Hoffman played youth soccer with nationally prominent clubs Colorado Rush and Littleton United and played as a U-23 with Real Colorado. He was a member of the Colorado Olympic Development Program and won a high school state title in 2002 with Columbine High School.

As a goalkeeper at Drury University, Hoffman was a two year starter and amassed a 19-6-3 record over his final two seasons. He also served as team captain for the first Drury squad to ever qualify for Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason play.

Upon graduation, Hoffman’s name was in the top five in school history in five different goalkeeping categories including the school record for best single season goals against average (0.88), second in career goals against average (1.00), and third in minutes played in goal (2,215).

"As an organization the Springfield Demize is very excited to finally have the ability to hire a head coach for the Demize, that has no other commitments or distractions throughout the PDL season, Logan’s sole focus will be to help us maintain the high level of play on the field, that our team has show glimpses of over the past four seasons. Logan brings a lot of energy and passion to the table that I believe our players will feed off of this summer, and with his ability to recruit top notch local talent throughout Southwest Missouri, I believe Local soccer fans and Heartland opponents a like will be surprised by the depth that the Demize will be able to put on the Pitch this summer ", General Manager Chris Hanlon

The Demize hosts Open Tryouts

You must attend at least one weekend of Tryouts, consisting of three sessions. For more information click here.

Date Time Location

WEEKEND ONE

March 13 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Harrison Stadium

March 13 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Taco Bell Fields (MSU)

March 14
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Harrison Stadium

WEEKEND TWO

March 20 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Lake Country Soccer

March 20 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM Lake Country Soccer Dome

March 21 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM Harrison Stadium

Preseason Exhibition games include April 10th vs STL Lions, and another April match vs Drury Panthers.

Coaches for USL Showcase named

Chris Hanlon and Armen Tonianse amongst six PDL coaches to manage 90 players at annual combine

USL News Release

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues announced the six coaches participating at the 2010 USL Men’s Showcase being held in Charleston, SC at Blackbaud Stadium February 4-6. Managing the professional prospects will be Premier Development League coaches Paul Baber, Dave Dixon, Tony Glavin, Chris Hanlon, Mark Spooner and Armen Toniase.

Glavin (left) returns as a USL Showcase coach “We are thrilled to have these six coaches actively involved in presenting the talented players at the USL Men’s Showcase,” said PDL Director of Operations Lee Cohen. “As PDL coaches, they will have a good working knowledge of many of the players’ best abilities and will be able to provide insight into how to present themselves on the field as well as accentuate their best attributes during the event. As USL PDL coaches, they spend every day working on creating an environment that will help develop players and send them to the next level, and the USL Men’s Showcase is an extension of those efforts.”

Returning from last year’s USL Men’s Showcase as coaches are Tony Glavin of the St Louis Lions and the Springfield Demize duo of Chris Hanlon and Armen Toniase.

“This year’s mix of coaches will be great for the event,” added Cohen. “Having three coaches familiar with the event will help everyone in their preparations, while having three fresh faces will provide new philosophies and ideas.”

New to the event this year are Dave Dixon of Mississippi Brilla, Mark Spooner of the Kalamazoo Outrage and MPS Portland Phoenix coach Paul Baber, who has a long involvement in the league with former side Cape Cod Crusaders.

Among the 70 players that have been announced to date are 59 players with experience in the USL Premier Development League, 39 of which have played at least two seasons in the league. Leading the list of players are former PDL All-Conference selections Anthony Dibiase (Forest City London, 2009), Richard Martinez (Long Island Rough Riders, 2009) and Jake Stacy (West Michigan Edge 2006), who played for the Michigan Bucks the past two seasons.

USL has helped to establish the professional playing careers of 109 players through the USL Player Combine since 2006.

PDL Team of the Week

Menace's Armin Mujdzic named Player of the Week

USL News Release

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

TAMPA – United Soccer Leagues announced today the Premier Development League Team of the Week for the eighth week of PDL action honoring Des Moines forward Armin Mujdzic for his two goal, one assist performance in two matches against defending PDL Champions Thunder Bay Chill last weekend.

Mujdzic began the weekend by setting up teammate Samuel Asante in the 73rd minute of the side’s 1-1 draw with Thunder Bay on Friday night. The next day, Mujdzic was the hero, scoring the winner and insurance goal in Des Moines’ 3-1 defeat of the Chill.

Out west, Los Angeles Head Coach Brent Whitfield suited up for his team and bagged a hat-trick for the Legends in the team’s 7-1 rout of Fresno. The hat trick is his second of June and the second in as many games - he scored his first in a 6-1 rout at Lancaster on June 5.

"Brent would rather let the players play but he plays if we are short a player," said Legends General Manager Carlos Earragan. "He has helped the team on and off the field so far this season."

In Springfield, goalkeeper Cesar Cereijo backstopped the Demize to their first win in nearly two years, making eight saves in his side’s 2-0 defeat of Kansas City on Thursday, June 11. Two days later, Cereijo made three saves and earned another shutout in Springfield’s 1-0 victory over Rochester.

In the northwest, Seattle’s Tyler Klein replaced Wolves’ injured captain Daniel Scott on the backline and was a dominant presence in the club’s 1-0 victory at Abbotsford on Friday, June 12.

"The match was won by the performance of our backline against a tough Abbotsford team," said Wolves General Manager Andrew Opatkiewicz. "Tyler was a standout in this effort."

Pos	Name	Team	Highlights
GK	Cesar Cereijo	Springfield	2 SO wins, 11 saves in 2-0-0 week for Demize
D	Barry Rice	Chicago	180 MP, 1G in 2-0 win over Toronto
D	Tyler Klein	Seattle	1A in 1-0 win over Abbotsford
D	Chris Williams	New Orleans	2SO week for 1-0-1 Jesters, 6 game winning streak
M	Ben Sippola	Cascade	2G in 2-1 win over Victoria
M	Ben Arikian	Long Island	1G, 1A in 3-1 win over Rhode Island
M	Frimpong Evans	Reading	2G, 1A in 1-0-1 week for Reading
M	Jesus Mireles	RG Valley	2G in 5-2 win over DFW
F	Brent Whitfield	Los Angeles	3G in 7-1 win over Fresno, coached team to 1-0-1 week
F	Armin Mujdzic	Des Moines	2G, 1A in 1-0-1 week at Thunder Bay
F	Zak Boggs	Bradenton	2G, 1A in 2-0-0 week for Academics
Honorable Mentions
F	Micah Whorton	Springfield	2G in wins over KC, Rochester
F	Vini Oliveira	Yakima	3G in 4-1 over Tacoma
F	Tom Oatley	Kalamazoo	2G, 1A in 3-1 win over Indiana

Springfield Demize Team Up With Local YMCA

The Springfield Demize PDL team is reaching out to the Springfield Area YMCA youth sports programs, in an effort to build a strong community partnership, helping youth soccer grow in Southwest Missouri. Demize players spent four hours, in the soccer basin at the Pat Boone YMCA, picking up rocks and filling in holes with dirt, making the fields safer. The fields recently underwent renovations and the recovery time has been slower than expected. The highlight of the event was when the players began to dig up a rock from one of the fields, only to find it was a boulder. Determined to, “Never give up” as Demize player Michael Gow stated, the players remained longer than planned to finish the job right. Keeping this theme in mind the players agreed to come back next Wednesday to complete the portions of the field they were unable to attend to.

President for the Springfield Demize, Eric Cantu said, “We want to be a very community oriented organization and I hope this is the start of a long lasting partnership with the YMCA and the tip of the iceberg of our community involvement.” The Springfield Demize will also sponsor the YMCA’s soccer camps this summer by providing high quality soccer coaches. The camps are scheduled for June 15 -17 and July 27-29 The Demize are also in the process of developing a year-long volunteering program with the YMCA to help other youth programs. YMCA Sports Director Jen Griest said, “There are several times throughout the year when we need volunteers to prepare for upcoming seasons and having consistent volunteers would really help.”

The Springfield Demize are currently preparing for their upcoming season, which kicks off on Wednesday, May 13 at Lake Country Soccer Complex, against the Des Moines Menace. For more information about the Springfield Demize, visit their website at www.DemizeSoccer.com.

Springfield Demize Send 5 to the USL Combine

Hanlon and Tonianse Represent Demize as USL Staff Coaches

Nikola Katic (Western Illinois University), Daniel Foerster (University of Central Arkansas) Daniel Knop (University of Memphis), Patrick Gritz (Western Illinois University) and Eishun Yoshida (Illinois Central College) will be participating in this years combine showcasing there talents to USL 1, USL 2 and MLS coaches and scouts.

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