FC Sonic - Lehigh Valley NPSL Soccer

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

We (FC SONIC 3-0-0 9pts – tied for 1^st with Erie Admirals) are heading into the heart of our season as we play 4 games in 10 days. The boys are looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd on Friday at Lehigh’s Ulrich Soccer Stadium. We have had our challenges the past couple of matches but good teams find a way to win and our boys have been resilient on the pitch. We haven’t been down in a match this year but we have had opponents play us very competitively and level the score on several occasions. However, our players have taken it upon their shoulders to do everything they can to earn the those most important 3 pts.

James Graf, Cody Antonini, Leslie Fraser, & Carlington Lamont have played very well (consistent) early in the season and Jordie Ciuffetelli & Ricky Mucelli have been on another level as they are both playing with a lot of confidence right now. Sam Bishop, Ryan Hess, & Jim Feimster have been steady and provided the veteran leadership, needed, while Ryan Wetherhold has provided a spark for us late in matches. Sam Feldbaum (Lafayette) & Matt Kosik (Lehigh) will start on Friday night for the first time this season.

I think Buffalo FC will be our best competition to date and they proved that last season as they beat us twice, home & away. We will need to play a cleaner game on Friday with making fewer mental mistakes. It should be a very entertaining match and I’m sure we’ll have a very good crowd behind us as it’s FC LEHIGH Youth Night. In addition, AYSC will also have a team or two at the game supporting our squad.

After the Friday game, televised “Live”on Service Electric Channel 50, it’s back on the road for 3 as we play Maryland on Tuesday & then travel to Buffalo and Erie next weekend.

* AJ Barnold & Luke Calvano will not be available for the match (2 players that started the past 3 matches) – AJ was “red carded” in the Ponoco Snow game on Sunday and Luke will be out of the country (Honduras) for his internship.

After the game on Sunday evening I went home and watched the game on TV, thanks to DVR & Service Electric I didn’t get much sleep.

Overall, I was very pleased with the teams performance. My concern going into the match was knowing that we had very little time as a full squad in training and I wasn’t sure if the boys would ever find the right chemistry needed to earn 3 points. To their credit, the hard work on the field paid off with a few fantastic goals from Leslie, Carli, & Ricky and I think we all witnessed the start of that all important team chemistry.

In addition, I thought Graffy, Leslie, Ricky, & Carli were fantastic on the night and I think the fans were wonderful to acknowledge their efforts. Quietly, Ryan, Jordie, Luke, AJ, Sam, Jimmy, & Cody went on the pitch and made plenty of contributions of their own.

I was also very impressed with our boys that came of the bench. I don’t believe that we ever stopped working on the field, from start to finish and we never skipped a beat. As long as this team stays focused, takes each game one at a time, works hard in training, & continues too play for each other we will hope to have a successful season.

Finally, thank you to all our FC SONIC supporters, our 12th-man.

Cheers

Weitie

As we get ready for the weather to break I am pleased to announce that we will have OPEN TRYOUTS for FC SONIC on Saturday’s April 3rd and 10th from 9 to 11am at the Iron Lakes Sports Dome in Allentown. The tryout registration form must be completed and returned along with the tryout fee to be considered for the 2010 team.

With several veteran players returning my hope is that we find a few new faces for the 2010 roster. The Lehigh Valley is such a hotbed for soccer especially with all its diversity I have little doubt that we will find a few new players that will contribute significantly to our team.

Call back tryout, late April or early May, dates will be announced.

If you have any questions or concerns with regard to the OPEN TRYOUTS please don’t hesitate to contact Dave Weitzman – Head Coach, FC SONIC at dgw004@aol.com

Download the Tryout Waiver

Download the Tryout Registration Form