Local Soccer Notebook 5/12/17

Junior Lone Star FC was seemingly everywhere this week in the soccer news ahead of their debut in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in Ocean City on Wednesday night. They fell to Ocean City Nor’easters 3-1 in a hard fought match that was every bit as enjoyable to watch as a cup match should be.

If you haven’t already, check out the video U.S. Soccer did and Matt DeGeorge’s story in the Delco Times.

That’s not the only news for the club from the past week. They also advanced to the Region 1 final of the U.S. Amateur Cup with a 1-0 win over the Rochester River Dogz. The final against Landsdowne Bhoys will be played on June 18. The Stars NPSL season begins at West Chester tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the first leg of the Kildare’s Cup. The match is West Chester United’s first in the NPSL.

Speaking of West Chester United, their roster has a lot of familiar names.

Villanova goalkeeper Will Steiner was a big reason why the Nor’easters are marching on in the Open Cup. Reading United also advanced to the second round with a 1-0 win over Clarkstown SC Eagles on Wednesday night. Reading will host New York Cosmos on May 17 and Ocean City will take on Harrisburg City Islanders at home.

Philadelphia Union Academy grad and Delaware sophomore defender John Schroeder recently attended the NCAA Inclusion Forum, which “brings together leaders in higher education and intercollegiate athletics with collegiate student-athletes who have the desire to improve the education and environment for student-athletes, coaches and staff.” The Houston, Texas native called the event “eye-opening.”

“I take pride in my community and I try to represent it well, whether it be on the field, in the classroom or elsewhere,” Schroeder said in a news release. “As student-athletes, we're brought into what is basically a family, and it's up to us as teammates and peers to maintain that community. It's important that we can all connect with a set of values that describes our community.”

The Temple News caught up with players from last year’s team who are playing professionally: Matt Mahoney (Bethlehem Steel FC), Carlos Moros Gracia (GIF Sundsvall) and Stefan Mueller (TB Upshusen) and noted that Jorge Gomez Sanchez, who was drafted by Vancouver Whitecaps but didn’t make the team, is back in Spain looking for a club home.

La Salle alum Jason Plumhoff recently signed with Indy Eleven in the North American Soccer League. He graduated from La Salle in 2013, finishing second in program history in assists with 26 and seventh in goals with 27. He’s played previously with Saint Louis FC, Jacksonville Armada, FC Edmonton and Harrisburg City Islanders and played for Reading United and Ocean City Nor’easters in the PDL prior to signing professionally.

St. Joe’s announced their summer soccer camps.

Continental FC defender Josh Dubost verbally committed to High Point for 2018. High Point already has two players with ties to the region in goalkeeper Pat Fallon (Swarthmore, Pa.) and Continental FC alum Chad Poarch (Middletown, Del. ).

Bowling Green will be playing a double header in West Philadelphia with a game on September 1 at Drexel and September 3 at Penn. Former Union Academy and PA Classics midfielder Robert Miller III (York, Pa.) plays for the Falcons.

Union Academy U18 midfielder Omar Ayala, who will be a freshman at Duquesne in the fall, will come to town with his team to play Temple on September 19.

Philadelphia native Ayotunde Ogunbiyi is returning home to work on Doug Hess’s staff at Drexel. The former Boston College standout, who played professionally in Denmark for three years, spent last season on the staff at UC Riverside.

Continental FC’s U.S. Soccer Development Academy teams had mixed results in a double header against New England Revolution and Boston Bolts at home. The U18s lost 3-1 to New England (goal by Alexander Hajj) and 3-0 to the Bolts, but the U16s won 3-1 and 2-1. Jeremy Rafanello had a hat trick in the first game and Garret Clauser and Jalen Weatherspoon scored in the second game. Raymond Fortebuono had the clean sheet against New England.

In other DA play, the PA Classics U16s lost 4-0 to New York City FC at home on Saturday.

What did I miss this week? Email me at matthew.r.ralph@gmail.com.