USIndoor's Official Magazine is a quarterly publication, dedicated to owners, managers, program administrators and other professionals, startups and providers involved with indoor recreational sports facilities.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/147741
Wave Looking Forward to New Rivalries wi th Sockers and Sidekicks W hile the MIlwaukee Wave has had long-standing rivalries with the Kansas City Comets, Cleveland Crunch, Baltimore Blast, Philadelphia KiXX, and Harrisburg Heat in the NPSL/MISL, the league's most storied franchise has never met the two other benchmark clubs of North American professional indoor soccer. They are the Dallas Sidekicks, and the San Diego Sockers. All that will change this season because of the recent merger between the Major Indoor Soccer League and the now defunct World Indoor Soccer League. "We're extremely excited to be playing Dallas and San Diego this season," said Wave Coach Keith Tozer, who has led the Wave to three league championships in the past five seasons. "You're talking about two of the most important teams in the history of indoor soccer. San Diego has won all those championships, and Dallas has also won its share. What makes it even more intriguing for me is that both teams play in the same buildings they always have, so I'm sure a lot of old memories are going to resurface when we go to Reunion Arena and the Sports Arena. Tozer, whose 503 victories puts him atop the all-time indoor coaching list, mentioned another item that has him looking forward to the match-ups: "With each team, you're also talking about two of the most significant personalities in the history our sport; Brian Quinn in San Diego, and Tatu in Dallas. I can r e m e m b e r battling both of those guys on the field. They were great competitors, and I can't by Tom Wynn wait to match wits with them on the bench." Of course, Tatu is a player-coach, so he'll be matching wits with Tozer both on the field and the bench. The Wave is scheduled to open the 2003-03 season in San Diego against the Sockers. Said Wave goalkeeper Victor Nogueira, "It will be rather nostalgic going back to the Sports Arena," said Nogueira, who starred for the Sockers from 198892. "It will be fun going up against my old teammates Brian Quinn and [Sockers Assistant Coach] Ralf Wilhems. Ralf and I used to be roommates on the road, so I'm sure he's got a few stories to tell everyone." Ironically, part of the intrigue of the Wave's matchups versus Dallas and San Diego is because Wave has seen very little of either team over the past few years. With little national TV exposure for indoor soccer, nobody has really seen much of anybody between the two former leagues. "In a sense, the only thing we know about these teams is what we've read or heard," said long-time Wave broadcaster Tom Wynn. "I think that adds to the mystique of this upcoming season. Dallas and San Diego are two teams that immediately come to mind when talking about indoor soccer, so it's great to finally have them in our league. I expect that these rivalries will be as intense as some of our others have been over the past 18 seasons. I'm definitely looking forward to these, and I know our fans are too." Tom Wynn is the Director of Media Relations of the MISL's Milwaukee Wave. San Diego Sockers' Alejandro Cardenas s his team prepares for its first season in the Major Indoor Soccer League, coach Brian Quinn will rely on much of the same talent that carried his San Diego Sockers to the top of the World Indoor Soccer League standings last fall. "We intend to bring back the key players who performed so well for us last year," says Quinn. Since the MISL/WISL merger means even returning players must sign new contracts, Quinn wasted little time in securing the services of defender Alejandro Cardenas, last season's team captain, and forward Carlos "Chile" Farias, the club's top scorer. "Alejandro is the type of player that every team needs," says Quinn. "He's professional, talented, and he sets the standard for our young players to try and strive for. He was the best leader I saw in our league last year." Cardenas, an all-league defender and captain of the 2000 WISL A champion Monterrey La Raza, was second on the Sockers with 39 blocks in 19 games last year. He also scored six goals and picked up 13 assists. He knows the transition to the MISL won't be easy. "I know what to expect," he says. "It's a very physical league that likes to play rough. I expect it to be a very competitive and hard-fought season. We have to prepare ourselves mentally as well as physically." Farias finished second in the WISL scoring race with 22 goals and 18 assists for 40 points. Ironically, he ended up two points behind the Sacramento Knights' Ato Leone, whose rights were traded by Quinn to Sacramento in order to get Cardenas. "Carlos has an uncanny ability to score goals and is one of the most exciting players in the league," says Quinn. "Getting him signed to play in the MISL gives us a great base to build our forward line around." GOAL Indoor • Aug.-Sept. 2002• 14 Crunch Juniors Qualify for National Finals T he National Championship qualifying Cleveland Crunch Juniors will be competing in Raleigh, North Carolina in what is equivalent to the Major Youth National Championships. In its inaugural season, the area select teams in the age groups of Boys U14, U15, U16 and U17 hope to be the first group to bring a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) sanctioned National Title to Cleveland. The Cleveland Crunch Juniors will be the first Super Y-League club to qualify all-four teams for the National Finals. The final games will be televised on Fox Sports World on August 24th. Coaches, Ali Kazemaini and Kia, credit the success of these teams to the cooperation of the area premier soccer clubs as well as the high school programs and their coaches in allowing the top players to participate in this year's National Finals. The Cleveland Crunch Juniors are a member club of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Super-Y League, which is a youth development program for identifying future National Team players.