FC Sonic – Lehigh Valley NPSL Soccer

FC Sonic Lehigh Valley announced the signing of four starting players from last year’s Northeast Conference Championship team. Central midfielder Ryan Hess (3 goals), defensive midfielder Dan Odenwelder, outside back Jordie Ciuffetelli, and center back AJ Barnold have all made commitments to step on the pitch for the 2011 FC Sonic season. “Having four players of high caliber such as Ryan, Danny, Jordie, and AJ gives us a tremendous amount of veteran leadership and flexibility in our lineup,” said Head Coach Dave Weitzman.

Also returning from last year’s squad are brothers Joe and Charlie Sales. Joe, a forward, came back from a serious knee injury to score two brilliant goals during his campaign. His second goal came in the final minutes of regulation against the NY Red Bulls that propelled the Sonic to the NPSL Semifinals in Alabama. As the backup keeper to former pro Sam Bishop, Charlie Sales posted 14 saves and earned two shutouts, including a key 1-0 victory on the road against the Erie Admirals.

Other FC Sonic signings include forwards Ryan Wetherhold (2 goals) and Eric Miller (1 goal), and defensive midfielder Schuylar Rimmelee. “All nine of these players know what kind of commitment must be made to be successful. I have a lot of trust in them,” said Weitzman

This past Sunday’s tryout session, at the Iron Lakes Sports Dome, included a vigorous 25 minute warm up with and without the ball, followed by spirited small-sided games. Seven teams played four fifteen minute games that allowed Head Coach Dave Weitzman and newly appointed Goalkeeper Coach Kyle Grim a full opportunity to evaluate all participants. After assessing the more than 60 candidates, Coach Weitzman has selected 27 field players and 4 goalkeepers to invite into preseason training.  Coach Weitzman is excited to open camp. “Assuming we get commitments from the selected players, I’m convinced that we will put a very competitive team out on the field,” said Weitzman.

FC SONIC will begin preseason camp on April 10, followed by practices scheduled through late April and an exhibition match at Muhlenberg College on April 30. The team will have its first match of the year on its home field, Lehigh University’s Ulrich Soccer Stadium, on Monday, May 16 against the NPSL New York Red Bulls. Kickoff is at 7pm.

FC SONIC, the defending Northeast Conference Champions, got the ball rolling this past Sunday with nearly 50 players attending the first of two Open Tryouts.

Coach Weitzman stated the following, “We had the majority of players from the 2010 team return and a bunch of fresh faces. The level of competition on Sunday was fantastic and without question there will be some very difficult decisions to be made with regard to selections. In addition, we’ll have next Sunday to take a second look at some players and then decide which players we want to bring in for pre-season training in April.  I think that the most challenging part of the season is this time of year. Trying to put pieces of the puzzle together and putting the best team on the field by mid-May can be a struggle. Some players are juggling their academic commitments and some their work commitments – so, getting them on the pitch at one time can often be complex and difficult. We’ll just do our very best and hope that we can unite the boys heading into the regular season. It should be a lot of fun.

Forever FC SONIC!

Weitie

FC SONIC is on the verge of its open tryouts for the 2011 campaign.  Tryouts will be held on Sunday, March 6^th and 13^th from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the Iron Lakes Sports Dome in Allentown, PA.

There should be a strong core of players returning from the 2010 NPSL Northeast Conference Championship team, but plenty of room for new talent. Head Coach Dave Weitzman is ready to find the new final pieces to complete the team puzzle.

“With Sam Bishop and Jim Feimster leaving, having decided to spend more time with family, we have lost two veterans in the defensive third who knew what it took to win championships, so there are needs right there.  If we can find even three to four players that can come right in and contribute to the team, like a Carlington Lamont or a Jordie Ciuffetelli from last year’s tryouts, that would be terrific.  We’ll also be looking for some new young talents, such as last season’s Hunter Norton or Ryan Wetherhold, who will help us in the future, and get a good taste of the championship tradition to which we are accustomed.”

“We have our work cut out for us this year since many of the teams in our league are stronger and they will bring their best against us, night in and night out, trying to knock us off the top of the table.  I don’t think our core of players will ever shy away from the challenges that are ahead, and I’m confident that those players can continue to steer the ship down the right path – that path starts this Sunday.”

Cheers

Weitie

FC Sonic Lehigh Valley, the area’s minor league soccer team, announced today that it has re-signed head coach, Dave Weitzman, as well as several returning players from the 2010 squad, for the 2011 NPSL season. The Sonic also announced that Kyle Grim, an assistant coach at Emmaus High School, has been retained an assistant coach/director of goalkeepers for the upcoming year.

“We are pleased to have Weitie return and take another run at the NPSL championship,” said club president Fred Stellato. “We also understand that Kyle is an up and coming young coach who should bring some youthful enthusiasm to the squad,” stated Stellato.

The team has also signed five players from last year’s national semifinalist Sonic side.  Team captain, Ryan Hess, has committed to return, along with forwards Leslie Fraser and Sky Rimmele, defender AJ Barnold and goalkeeper Charlie Sales. Coach Weitzman said, “We are very happy to have a returning core of fine veterans. We are hopeful of signing a few more of the Sonic players from last year in the near future, and are excited to see what the upcoming tryouts will bring us in terms of new talent.”

FC Sonic will hold open tryouts at Iron Lakes Sports Club at noon on both March 6 and March 13. For further information, candidates should refer to the club website, www.fcsonic.org.