It has been a turbulent off-season in the Major Arena Soccer League. While not a lot happened during the “free agent frenzy” in the spring, things have been picking up with teams signing players left and right. We have also seen the return of one team, the Monterrey Flash, and just recently saw the loss of the Dallas Sidekicks and Chicago Mustangs. Add those to nearly losing the Kansas City Comets and the near return of the Rochester Lancers, and you have drama and excitement at every turn. With all of these developments, there has been one thing that hasn’t changed. The East Division remains, in this blogger’s opinion, the best and most powerful division in the Major Arena Soccer League and possibly of all arena soccer. Don’t believe me, then let’s break this down. Baltimore Blast- There’s always one team in every sport that people love to hate. In baseball, it’s the Yankees. In football, it’s the Cowboys. In arena soccer, it is the Baltimore Blast. As much as this team makes my blood boil, you cannot deny that they are a dynasty of the arena soccer world. They have been to the past three MASL championships, winning the last two Ron Newman Cups over the Sonora Suns. In that three year run, the Blast have only lost a total of 12 games, which is impressive for any team in arena soccer. With talents of William Vanzela, Andrew Hoxie, Pat Healy, and Tony Donatelli featured in their roster, the Blast is loaded with talent that often overwhelms the competition. From reports this off season, it looks like the core members of the Blast are returning, meaning the rest of the MASL needs to bring their absolute all if they want even a chance at defeating them. Harrisburg Heat- The 2014-15 MASL season had the Heat finish with a 2-18 record. In the 2015-16 season, the Heat finished with an embarrassing 1-19 record and were pretty much the laughing stock of the MASL. That following post season, the franchise got a new owner in Carl Demont and a new goal to revitalize. With Stephen Basso and Val Texeria leading the charge, the Harrisburg Heat surprised the entire league, finishing 2nd in the East Division and keeping up with the Blast in the Divisional round of the playoffs. This Harrisburg Heat team is nothing to laugh at anymore, but should be feared as a team that can come in and run wild on offense and stand strong on defense, with talents like Marcos Chantel displaying great senior leadership. Florida Tropics SC- Florida was one of many expansion franchises that arrived in the MASL last season. Freddy Moojen led the team to a third place finish in the East Division, which they missed out on the playoffs in the second to last game of the season, losing to the Harrisburg Heat. This offseason, they have made several moves to challenge for the top position in the East Division, including signing superstar Mauricio Salles from the Ontario Fury, Tyrone Hall from Tacoma, and outdoor standouts Miguel Gallardo and Rafael Alves. With the talent they have brought in and the returning talent, Florida is a bigger threat and the MASL should be on alert. Syracuse Silver Knights- As a fan of the Silver Knights, it hurt seeing one of the most stacked rosters in team history finish last in the East Division this past season. They challenged for a playoff spot towards the end of the season, but fell short thanks to a series of losses to the Tropics and Blast. This season, the Knights are looking to rebound and get back towards the top of the East. Unfortunately, this will be without some key talents, including Moises Gonzalez and Antonio Manfut. They both signed on with Rio Grande Valley in the middle of the summer, taking their skills to the Southern Division. On the other hand, Ryan Hall is retuning as coach and the franchise locked down Kenardo Forbes, who gave the Silver Knights 21 goals and 21 assists during the 2016-17 season. As of this past Thursday, the team has confirmed to The Fair Cuse Sports Report that defensive leader Darren Toby has cleared to rejoin the Silver Knights. This, and some new signings that are yet to be announced, will hopefully lead to the Silver Knights back to their winning ways. Why the East Division Will Get Better: Toronto is Coming- Next season, Toronto is bringing a team into the East Division of the MASL. With this, the Canadian Arena Soccer Association is revving up and working towards growing into a power house in international arena soccer. Unlike in the past, soccer is growing fast in the Great White North and fans are buying in across the country. Adding this team to the mix will only grow the competition in my mind and make the East Division more exciting and powerful. Flower City Return- Let’s face it, “Soccer Sam” Salvatore Fantauzzo and Doug Miller did everything in their power to try and get the Rochester Lancers back in the MASL this season. Though they ultimately failed, it’s not going to keep them down, not at all. Sam is one of the greatest owners, promoters, and characters in the arena soccer game and is hell-bent on getting Rochester their arena team back. With soccer legend Doug Miller right alongside him, I will go all in to say that the Lancers will be back next season and will have a team stacked with talent. This will great for the East Division too concerning travel. Syracuse is playing this year without a relatively close opponent, and with Toronto coming in next season, Rochester would complete a trifecta of teams that only hours away from each other. This will save all three teams a lot of money and give fans more opportunities to travel to games with their respective teams. I expect to see the East Division once again reign supreme over the MASL this season, hopefully with Baltimore, Florida, Harrisburg, or Syracuse (please be Syracuse) holding the Ron Newman Cup at the conclusion of the year. While the rest of the league will try to compete, the East Division will provide the most exciting, competitive, and overall best quality of arena soccer fans will line-up and sell out arenas to see. Think differently? I’d love to hear your argument. BONUS NEWS: As many of you have realized this summer, the US Men’s National Arena Soccer team has competed and continue to compete in exhibition games leading up to the World Cup. However, all of the games have been played in the Central and Western regions of the country. With arena soccer being the most dominant in the Eastern Coast, I asked the organization why the team hasn’t played a game in the East and isn’t planning to. I got this response: “We looked into games in Rochester, Syracuse, and Muskegon. We could not wither get dates that worked in the schedule, and/or an enthusiastic local promoter.” This is very sad news for me and all the arena soccer fans in the East. Rochester couldn’t get an arena lease for this season, so I see why the US team couldn’t get a game there. Though, promoter wise, I think Soccer Sam would have worked his tail off to sell the game out if they did get one in the Flower City. Syracuse is also an interesting situation. Right now, Syracuse University is dominant with the start of football season. Down the street, the War Memorial is putting down the ice for the Syracuse Crunch hockey team. With preseason hockey coming to the Salt City in the coming days, I can see a conflict with trying to schedule an arena soccer game there. However, knowing the owner of the Crunch, he would be against anyone trying to mess with this team and “his arena” this close to the season. Muskegon is the unknown one for me. It’s by Grand Rapids, so a nice population to attract. I personally would have tried to work with Dominic Scicluna and the Waza Flo over in Detroit, but he seems to be taking that team down the Futsal path. No matter, it is very depressing news for the East Coast. I know a lot of fans who would be first in line for tickets if the National team came to the Eastern states. Hopefully, they will get a game in the future. |
Nicholas Episcopo
Broadcasting Graduate Archives
November 2018
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