Bulldogs Commence on Capital Conference Excursion

By Steven A. Conn
Associate Athletics Director and Director of Sports Publicity
Yale University

The 3-6-0 Yale Bulldogs take their show on the road this weekend
with games in Upstate New York against RPI and Union.

NEW HAVEN—The Yale men’s hockey team will be looking for ECAC Hockey road points this weekend when they take a whirlwind trip through New York State’s Capital District in Upstate New York with a two-game road-trip to Rensselaer and Union. The Bulldogs take on the Engineers at Houston Field House in Troy on Friday before moving over to Schenectady for a game with Union at the Achilles Center on Saturday. Both puck drops are 7 p.m. and air live on host school website streams.

The Bulldogs and Engineers first played in 1908-09, and RPI has a 55-44-6 lead... Union is up 24-23-4 on Yale since the first game in 1991-92, the year the Dutchmen replaced Army in ECAC Hockey. Yale swept RPI last year, but got swept by Union in 2016-17. Last year, Yale completed its two games with the Capital duo by early December. The Elis beat RPI at Troy in November and then followed up with a 7-3 win at the Whale. The Dutchmen captured a pair of 5-3 victories in 2016-17.

The Teams

Yale ran into a hot goalie last Saturday at the Whale in a 4-0 loss to No. 13 New Hampshire. The Blue put 34 shots on goal and trailed just 1-0 heading to the third period. Sam Tucker, in net for the home team, made 33 saves.

RPI (2-9-3), coming off a pair of losses at the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland, skated against Clarkson in the first game before facing Maine in the consolation. The Engineers have wins over Quinnipiac and RIT with a pair of road ties at Ohio State on its slate.

Union, 8-6-1, is riding a four-game unbeaten string. The Dutchmen opened the season with five straight defeats and then rebounded with an 8-1-1 run that includes a win and a tie at North Dakota.

Meet the Bulldogs

Senior forward Ryan Hitchcock was voted captain by his teammates for the 2017-18 season. The Manhasset, N.Y., native has notched 16 goals and 55 points in his 81-game college career, which has been shortened by injuries the last two seasons. In 2016-17, Hitchcock, who was voted by his teammates as the top passer among the Elis, dished out a team-leading 16 helpers before a Jan. 14 injury derailed the remainder of his season. Prior to his time at Yale, Hitchcock was a member of the United States National Team Development Program, where he won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. U18 squad at the 2014 World Championships. Hitchcock followed up that international experience by helping Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF World Juniors in Finland. The U.S. team beat Sweden 8-3 to grab third place. Hitchcock, the third line left wing for the U.S. squad and the eighth Bulldog to play in this tournament, played in every game while becoming the first Eli to earn a medal at the world juniors.

Junior forward Joe Snively (Herndon, Va.) was one of five players selected to the Pre-season Coaches All-ECAC Hockey Team after netting 1.18 points per game in 2016-17, which ranked 21st in the nation. An All-Ivy League honorable mention from a season ago, Snively had three multiple-goal outings in 2016-17, including consecutive games against Holy Cross and RPI. Snively (75 pts, 74 career games) has already registered two multi-goal games and three multi-point outings this season.

Junior goalie Sam Tucker (Wilton, Conn.) has all of the Yale net time this season. Tucker made his collegiate debut on Nov. 12, 2016, in a relief appearance against Cornell, and eventually won his first collegiate game against UConn on Jan. 7, 2017. Tucker seized the starting job as the Elis headed into ECAC playoffs, where he stopped 68 of 71 shots in first round playoff action against Dartmouth. Tucker has been solid this season, recording a 2.91 goals against average and a .901 save percentage in his first nine games. His Nov. 18 effort at Quinnipiac was one of the best of Tucker’s career with 40 saves.

Freshmen Rule

First-year players are making significant contributions to the Eli's effort this season. Seven freshmen joined the team this year (4 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie). Two are from Canada and played junior hockey in the British Columbia Hockey League, while the other five come from around the U.S. and competed in the United States Hockey League last season. Yale’s freshmen have accounted for 7 goals and 11 points this season.

Freshman forward Dante Palecco had one of the best weekends for a Bulldog forward in recent memory against St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Nov. 10-11. In a 6-1 win over St. Lawrence on Friday, Palecco netted his first collegiate goal and added two more in scoring the first Yale hat trick since 2012. On Saturday Palecco chipped in Yale’s only goal in a 4-1 loss to No. 8 Clarkson. For his efforts, the Whippnay, N.J., native was awarded both the ECAC Hockey Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week.

Deee-FENCE!

The blue line is one of Yale’s major improvements from last season. Last winter, rookies Matt Foley, Chandler Lindstrand and Billy Sweezey were baptized under fire while Henry Hart ’18 was transitioned to defense after playing his first two seasons at forward. The Elis now have a seasoned group. Adam Larkin, Charlie Curti, and Anthony Walsh are veterans who are helping freshmen Phil Kemp and Brian Matthews with the transition.

Dreams of Gold

Yale head coach Keith Allain, an assistant for the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team, traveled to Augsburg, Germany, in November for the Deutschland Cup. He watched a roster of prospective Olympic players compete against Slovakia, Russia, and Germany. Several Yale alumni made a strong case to make the final Olympic roster. Broc Little ’11, Mark Arcobello ’10 and Brian O’Neill ’12 were reunited on a line together, while Sean Backman ’10 also skated for the Americans. Arcobello posted a goal and an assist in three games, while Little netted a goal. The XXIII Winter Olympic Games at PyeongChang, South Korea, begin on Feb. 9.

Survey Says

The superlatives survey among the Bulldogs produced the following leaders:

• Strongest Pound-for-Pound: Anthony Walsh
• Fastest on Skates: Ted Hart
• Hardest Shot: Dante Palecco
• Best Fore-Checker: Luke Stevens
• Best Passer: Ryan Hitchcock
• Best Hands: Joe Snively
• The Best Singer: Anthony Walsh and Will D’Orsi
• Most Unique Hobby: JM Piotrowski (Skateboarding)
• Best Sense of Humor: John Baiocco
• Biggest Appetite: Charlie Curti
• Best Dresser: JM Piotrowski
• Most Soft Spoken: Phil Kemp
• Most Talkative: Dante Palecco
• Most Likely To Become a Head Hockey Coach: Adam Larkin

Bulldogs in the Pros
One true measure of a college hockey program’s success is the number of alumni it has playing in the pros. This season, 19 former Bulldogs are playing in the pro ranks. They are:

• Jean-Francois Boucher ’08 – Kolner Haie, DEL – Germany
• Mark Arcobello ’10 – Bern SC, NLA – Switzerland
• Sean Backman ’10 – Eisbaren Berlin, DEL – Germany
• Broc Little ’11 – HC Davis, NLA – Switzerland
• Denny Kearney ’11 – Milton Keynes Lighting, EIHL – United Kingdom
• Brian O’Neill ’12 – Jokerit Helsinki, KHL – Finland
• Andrew Miller ’13 – Charlotte Checkers, AHL
• Antoine Laganiere ’13 – San Diego Gulls, AHL
• Kenny Agostino ’14 – Boston Bruins, NHL/Providence Bruins, AHL
• Gus Young ’14 – Florida Everblades, ECHL
• Ryan Obuchowski ’16 – Toledo Walleye, ECHL
• Matthew Beattie ’16 – Melbourne Mustangs, AIHL – Australia
• Rob O’Gara ’16 – Boston Bruins, NHL/Providence, AHL
• Alex Lyon ’17 - Philadelphia Flyers, NHL/Lehigh Valley, AHL
• John Hayden ’17 – Chicago Blackhawks, NHL
• Mike Doherty ’17 – Manchester Monarchs, ECHL
• Frank DiChiara ’17 – Worcester Railers, ECHL
• Chris Izmirlian ’17 – Knoxville Ice Bears, SPHL
• Patrick Spano ’17 – Knoxville Ice Bears, SPHL

Bulldog Bites

• Yale is very balanced in scoring this season with eight in the first period, seven in the second and eight in the final frame.
• The Bulldogs currently rank fifth in the ECAC in goals per game (2.88).
• The Bulldogs have four seniors, including two forwards, and two defensemen. There are seven juniors, nine sophomores, and seven newcomers.
• Yale defenseman Adam Larkin’s family has hockey in its blood. Larkin’s cousin Dylan skates for the Detroit Red Wings, while his brother Ryan is the starting goaltender for the Miami University Redhawks. Additionally, Larkin’s cousin and Dylan’s older brother, Colin was a Division III All-American for UMass Boston last season.
• Defenseman Henry Hart, who has been playing forward since his youth hockey days until this season, has worked with the Herb Brooks Foundation while also having an internship on Mike McFadden’s 2014 U.S. Senate campaign. His sister, Annie, was a five-time All-America skier at Dartmouth and is now a pro with SMS T2 ski team.
• Will D’Orsi’s father, Scott, played forward for the Bulldogs from 1986-90 and registered 70 points.
• Newcomer Phil Kemp comes from a family of athletes. Both his grandfather and great uncle played football for the Elis, while his brother played Lacrosse at Brown and his sister rows at Harvard. The Yale roster doesn’t have much of an international flair, but at least six languages can be spoken among the group.

On Deck

Yale has one game scheduled for the upcoming weekend—on Saturday vs. Sacred Heart at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. The Pioneers (3-9-2) have wins over Notre Dame and UConn, and are coming off a tie and a loss to Air Force. First puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

Bees Name Backman Manager

By Bob Phillips

Wally Backman's last managerial gig was with Las Vegas, the AAA
Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Mets.

NEW BRITAIN–The Bridgeport Bluefish have left the state which means the Atlantic League of 
Professional Baseball, widely recognized as the top independent league in the U.S., is left with just one team in the Nutmeg State: the New Britain Bees. And last week, the Bees announced that they will be adding a hefty helping of star quality to the team—not so much with the active roster, but with the manager. Last week, the Bees announced that former Mets star Wally Backman will be the team’s new skipper beginning in 2018.

This will be Backman’s 20th year of managing—many of them in the White Sox, D-Backs and Mets organizations. He has led three different teams to league championships: Tri-City Posse (Pasco, Wash.) of the Independent Western Baseball League in 1999, the Birmingham Barons (AA, White Sox) in 2002, and the South Georgia Peanuts (Conyers, Ga.) of the Independent South Coast League in 2007. The fiery former second sacker also managed two Mets’ affiliates, the Brooklyn Cyclones (Class A) and the Las Vegas 51’s (AAA) to regular-season first-place finishes in 2010 and 2014, respectively. Overall, the 58-year-old skipper has earned 1,066 career victories as a professional manager.

“Wally Backman is a proven winner,” Bees general manager Brad Smith said. “His ability to instill a winning atmosphere and put an entertaining club on the field are two significant factors in bringing him aboard. We look forward to a successful 2018 season working with Wally, and hope everyone joins us in welcoming him to the Central Connecticut community.”

A fierce competitor, the Bees are hopeful that
Backman can light a fire beneath a team that
finished dead last in the Atlantic League.

Prior to his managerial career, Backman played for 17 seasons—14 of them in MLB. He was the Mets’ first round pick—No. 16 overall—in the 1977 amateur draft. After breaking into the big leagues in 1980, Backman spent nine seasons with the Mets, most notably as the starting second baseman for the 1986 World Series champions. He moved on to the Minnesota Twins in 1989, and also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990), Philadelphia Phillies (1991-92), and Seattle Mariners (1993). Overall, Backman compiled a .275 batting average with 893 hits, 482 runs scored, 240 RBIs, 117 stolen bases, and a .349 on-base percentage in 1,102 Major League games.

Backman will succeed Stan Cliburn, the first manager in Bees history, and the only skipper the team had known since moving to New Britain from Camden, NJ, prior to the 2016 season. The former catcher was a long-time pitching coach in organized ball, and managed the New Britain Rock Cats for five seasons (2001-05), with his twin brother, Stu, serving as pitching coach. Last year, the Bees finished with the worst overall record in the Atlantic League, 58-81.

“I’m excited to get going in New Britain,” Backman said regarding his mission of re. “Atlantic League teams care about winning and helping players careers grow. Those are two things I am very passionate about. I look forward to working with everyone there. Our team will play the game with passion and give their best effort every day. We are going to put a great product on the field that fans will be proud of.”

—with staff reports

Wolf Pack Drop Three Over Holiday Weekend

The Hartford Wolf Pack experienced a challenging Thanksgiving
weekend, dropping three games in three days. (Photo by Chris Unger)

HARTFORD–While most Connecticut residents enjoyed a long holiday weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family, the Hartford Wolf Pack had a somewhat challenging time over this period, to say the least. The Pack dropped three games in three days in contests played in Bridgeport, Hartford and Springfield.

Bridgeport 7, Hartford 3

On Friday night, Adam Cracknell scored his first two goals as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack, but the Bridgeport Sound Tigers broke open a close game with three third-period markers to earn a 7-3 win before 4,326 fans at the Webster Bank Arena. Josh Holmstrom, Seth Helgeson, Casey Bailey and Scott Eansor all had a goal and an assist each for the Sound Tigers, who outshot the Wolf Pack 37-21. Indeed, Bridgeport doubled up on Hartford with a 26-13 advantage in shots on goal over the final two periods.

Steven Fogarty had the other Hartford goal, while seven different players found the back of the net for Bridgeport.

“I thought there was blocks of that game where we were able to create some offense, get our defensemen involved, in the first period,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said, “but the second period, spending too much time on our heels, in our own zone.  We get ourselves close in the game, 4-3 game going into the third period, and then they’re just at will getting to the front of the net and being able to bury those second-chance opportunities.  This is a divisional opponent that we see a lot of, and have seen a lot of.  We have to find ways to win these games.”

Leading by the slimmest of margins, 4-3, after two periods, Bridgeport iced the game with three unanswered goals in the third period stanza, including goals by Sebastian Aho and Travis St. Denis just 42 seconds apart at a little more than five minutes into the period. Aho’s goal came at the 5:44 mark, while St. Denis followed at 6:26.

Bailey completed the scoring with a power-play goal at 10:51. With Hartford’s Adam Chapie off for hooking, Hartford goalie Alexandar Georgiev stopped a shot from the top of the right circle by Michael Dal Colle, but, with winger Ross Johnston and center Scott Eansor occupying defenders in front of the goal, the rebound came to Bailey on the left side, and the 6-3 right wing from Anchorage, AK, buried it.

Christopher Gibson stopped 18 of 21 shots between the pipes for Bridgeport, while Georiev turned aside 30 of the 37 shots he faced. Hartford went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Bridgeport scored one time in two shifts with a man advantage.

Hershey 4, Hartford 1

On Saturday night, a goal by Adam Tambellini with 2:47 remaining in the game allowed the Wolf Pack avert a shutout, but Hartford fell to the Hershey Bears, 4-1, before 4,571 fans at the XL Center. Tambellini’s late tally allowed the fans to finally throw the toys they brought to the game for the Wolf Pack’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss”, which benefits Operation ELF and Toys for Tots. By then, Hershey had built a 4-0 lead on goals by Mathias Bau, Riley Barber, Zach Sill and Mason Mitchell.  Hubert Labrie had two assists for Hershey.

Bau put the Bears on top only 3:18 into the game, when he used Wolf Pack defenseman Ryan Sproul as a screen and fired about a 35-foot shot past Wolf Pack starting goaltender Chris Nell. Barber made it 2-0 Hershey with 1:33 remaining in the period by putting in a backhand shot after a bid by Lucas Johansen was redirected in front of Nell.

Sill upped the Hershey lead to 3-0 when he scored shorthanded at 7:08 of the middle frame. Mason Mitchell then ended Nell’s night at 15:04, when he beat Nell’s glove after a Wolf Pack scoring opportunity failed to click at the other end. Alexandar Georgiev replaced Nell and was able to hold the Bears off the rest of the way, but the Wolf Pack were unable solve Vanecek until Steven Fogarty set up Tambellini in front of the Hershey goal with just 3:47 remaining in the contest. It was Tambellini’s sixth of the year.

The Wolf Pack controlled much of the play in the third, outshooting the Bears 16-7, but it proved to be a case of too little too late after having fallen behind by four.

“We had a good push,” Hartford head coach Keith McCambridge said. “But at that point, the game [was] out of reach.”

Springfield 4, Hartford 2

On Sunday, Thomas Schemitsch’s early third-period goal proved to be the game-winner as the Springfield Thunderbirds stopped the Wolf Pack, 4-2, before 3,755 fans at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Schemitsch gave the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead at 4:46 of the third, on a shot from low in the right-wing circle that got past the glove side of Georgiev (35 saves), who had made a sparkling stop on Alexandre Grenier seconds earlier. That goal loomed large, as Ryan Gropp brought the Wolf Pack back to within a goal with 6:32 left, scoring from the slot off a sharp setup by Chapie.

The T-Birds ended the Wolf Pack’s comeback hopes at 18:21, though, when Denis Malgin scored into an empty net.

“I thought the guys did a real good job of trying to maintain their energy when they did have opportunities, trying to get traffic to the net,” said McCambridge.  “Our execution in the offensive zone, with the special teams, on the power play, wasn’t where it needs to be in games like this.  We know Springfield had a chance to sit idle [Saturday] night, and we had to do a better job of managing the game, and making sure that we’re executing at a high speed.”

After a scoreless first period, the Thunderbirds jumped on top 2:50 into the second frame.  Curtis Valk sent the puck toward the net from the left circle and Jayce Hawryluk deflected it on goal.  Hartford netminder Alexandar Georgiev made the save, but Francois Beauchemin pounced on the rebound and flicked it in.

The Wolf Pack tied the score at 7:38, three seconds after a Hartford power play expired.  Vinni Lettieri banged the puck up the slot and it caromed to Scott Kosmachuk, whose first bid was denied spectacularly by Springfield netminder Harri Sateri (27 saves).  Kosmachuk got his own rebound, though, with Sateri down and out, and Sateri had no chance on Kosmachuk’s second shot.
The tie lasted until there were only 58.3 seconds remaining in the period, when the T-Birds struck for a power play goal.  With Ryan Graves off for slashing, Malgin passed from the top of the left circle to Hawryluk along the goal line, and his backhanded feed found Blaine Byron alone on the weak side, and he easily put the puck in for a 2-1 Springfield lead.

The I-91 rivals will meet up again on Wednesday night, this time at the XL Center.  First puck drops at 7:00. Wednesday will give fans the opportunity to take advantage of a “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack,” which includes two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs for $40. Tickets for all 2017-18 Wolf Pack home games are on sale XL Center ticket office, online at www.hartfordwolfpack.com, and by phone by calling (877) 522-8499. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2017-18 AHL season can be found on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about the Wolf Pack’s ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.

                                                                                                    —Meghan O’Reilly contributed to this article

 

Three Teams To Join NPSL for 2018 Season

The  New Haven-based Elm City Express are the defending champions
of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL).

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the largest organized men’s soccer league in the United States with 96 teams competing in the 2017 season, has announced that three new expansion teams will be joining the circuit in 2018. All three are based in California and will compete in the NPSL's Golden Gate Conference.

Connecticut is well-represented in the NPSL by the Elm City Express, the league’s defending champions who play their home matches at Yale University’s Reese Stadium. To read more about the Express’s victory over Midland-Odessa (Tex.) FC to win the 2017 league championship, click HERE.

The league’s three new teams for the 2018 season are:

Academica

Turlock, Calif.-based Academica Soccer Club will compete in the NPSL’s West Region’s Golden Gate Conference. The club was started in 1972 when Portuguese immigrants from the Azores Islands created the Portuguese Cultural Center in Turlock in 1970 and started the team for the youth of the community. Since then, the club has become the most successful amateur club in area. Players from the club have gone on to compete at the collegiate level, both locally and nationally.

Academica joined the Central California Soccer League (CSSL) in 1977, where the club has competed for over 30 years and won three championships. The team then moved onto the NorCal Adult Soccer League in 2013. It reached the NCASL final match in both 2013 and 2016, and entered its first U.S. Open Cup tournament this year, advancing to the second round of Open Qualifying. Academia has also won numerous Portuguese club tournaments throughout the Golden State.

Sergio Sousa, Academica’s head coach, has been with the club for over 15 years. In addition to his duties with Academica, Sousa is an assistant men’s soccer coach at UC Merced. Michael Rocha, who will be Academica’s director of public relations, is one of the Portuguese play-by-play commentators with the San Jose Earthquakes.

“Academica Soccer Club has always made it a point to play in a competitive league since its inception,” Rocha said. “The NPSL is one of the fastest growing leagues in the U.S. and no one can doubt its quality. We are excited about the growth of not just the league but of the sport throughout the country. We want to be a part of that. We want to be part of something special.”

Home matches will be played at Academica Field.

For more information on Academica, follow the team on Twitter (@academicasc), Facebook (@academicasc), and Instagram (@academicaturlock).

 

FC Davis

Davis, Calif.-based Football Club Davis will join Academica in the Golden Gate Conference. Adam Lewin, a former standout soccer player and youth coach with a passion for soccer, business, politics, music, and community building, is FC Davis’s owner.

In 2014, Lewin had a vision of bringing a semi-pro team to Davis, a university town with international influence full of soccer devoted fan. Lewin considered Davis a severely underserved market, and one that could use a professional soccer team to call its own. Leveraging UC Davis Club players, UC Davis’s International Coaches Association (ICA) players, and former local area standouts who went on to enjoy solid college careers, the team became a hub for talented soccer players within the region.

“FC Davis applied to the NPSL since the league aligned with our mission, vision, and core values,” Lewin said. “From its league operations to the amazing team owners in our conference, it was a perfect match for our club. In addition, the league has a rich history with a growing national footprint.  Local professional clubs have to be part of the future of soccer in this country.  With the NPSL occupying so many important markets, the league's future looks brighter now more than ever.”

FC Davis will play at Aggie Stadium on the UC Davis campus. The 105,000-square foot stadium can host 10,000 fans in the bleachers and on the two grass berms behind each goal. Complete with a 720-seated VIP section and approximately 2,500 bleacher seats with back support, the stadium offers a variety of seating options. It is widely considered to be one of the premier NCAA Division I-AA facilities in the country.

For more information on FC Davis, visit the team’s website, www.footballclubdavis.com, follow the club on Twitter (@FCDavis_NPSL), Facebook (@FootballClubDavis), and Instagram (@fcdavis_npsl).

El Farolito

The third team that will begin play in the NPSL next season will call San Francisco home. El Farolito, founded in 1985 by Salvador Lopez, will join FC Davis and Academica in the Golden Gate Conference.

“Very exciting times are ahead for the club and players,” said Santiago Lopez, the team’s general manager—a position he has held for the past seven years. “The chance to travel to different cities in our region and play in stadiums in front of soccer fans we have never seen before really motivates us to work hard and present a competitive squad each game. We will be playing against teams full of talented, young and experienced players ready to defend their club to the fullest. We are looking forward to a real test for everyone in our organization.”

El Farolito derives its name from a chain of Northern California-based restaurants—“Taquerias El Farolito.” Two huge milestones for the organization were gaining promotion to the top division of the San Francisco Soccer Football League in five years and winning the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1993 were two major milestones for the organization.

“We are focused in not only to provide a professional environment to all players and staff being involved or interested in working with the organization, but we want to be another club open to connect with other clubs, players in the region and country to help grow the sport and transmit a positive and working environment,” Santiago Lopez continued. “We want to represent the league and sport locally, nationally, and internationally.”

El Farolito will play their home games at Boxer Stadium, one of the oldest soccer-specific stadiums in the country. The facility was opened in September 1953 as Balboa Park Soccer Stadium. It is now called Matthew J. Boxer Stadium in honor of the late president of the San Francisco Soccer Football League, a league that is over 100 years old.

“The NPSL has been growing and will continue to grow,” Santiago Lopez concluded. “They are surrounded by professional, experienced, and most importantly, passionate people who love the game. The league offers an excellent structure of competition for all types of players and organizations.”

“The NPSL is thrilled to add El Farolito as an expansion team for 2018,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone commented. “They bring a storied history, a passionate fan base, and an incredible gameday venue to our West Region and we couldn’t be happier to have them as part of the NPSL family.”

“We are proud to see our league continue to grow in the West,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone commented. “California has always been known as a hotbed for great soccer and we are excited to have the NPSL coming to [fans there].  We’re very confident that Academica, FC Davis and El Farolito will be tremendous additions to the Golden State.”

The National Premier Soccer League is a successor to the Men’s Premier Soccer League (MPSL), which was formed in 2002.  The NPSL is a member league of the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), and is sanctioned by U.S. Soccer, the governing body for soccer in the United States.  NPSL’s cooperative and turnkey ownership platform has led to its explosive growth, countless player development opportunities, and commitment to grow the game in the United States.  For more information about the NPSL, please visit npsl.com.

—Staff Reports