I'm back again, after a short down time between columns and I know you're all excited. I know I am at least.
To start things off right let me just say congratulations to Paul Child and Bob Lenarduzzi for being selected to join the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. Both of these guys deserve it and it's great to know that they're being recognized for the roles they've played in North American soccer.
Both of these men have served in some capacity to also help along the USL which makes it an even bigger honor for the teams in the USL and the front offices and coaching staffs around the league. Lenarduzzi is a guy who has Whitecaps blood pouring through his veins as he's helped resurrect the club from their troubles in the last year and a half. Of course he was also greatly helped when Greg Kerfoot came in as the new owner but when Vancouver needed an experienced hand to guide them through rough waters it was Lenarduzzi that was there.
Child worked in Pittsburgh and now has a son that plays in the A-League at least as of the last reports I heard. Many of the fans in Pittsburgh still fondly remember Paul for his work with the Riverhounds organization. Many were upset when he was let go from the club but now hopefully most if not all of the fans in Pittsburgh will cheer Child's induction as much as they cheered him in the early years of the Riverhounds.
After all, it's also a nice bit of recognition for the USL to have both of these men go into the Hall as representatives of not only NASL history but also the present of the USL. The more positive recognition the USL can receive for pretty much anything can only help the league and hopefully at the actual induction ceremonies there will be favorable mentions from both men about the USL.
In other news that sort of got buried this week the Rochester Rhinos got a dose of good news. The news came in the form of an announcement that detailed further plans for the fabled PaeTec Park as well as designating the firm, which will undertake the building of the stadium.
LeChase Construction was chosen to undertake the $24.5 million project, which is being slated for completion in mid-June of 2004. Frank DuRoss described the process by which they chose the firm as "competitive" and also said that LeChase has a "proven track record." If nothing else it proves that this stadium is definitely making its way out of the land of A-League rumor and into the world of soccer fact.
Also in the world of facts and figures comes the bad news for the Rhinos and that came in the form of a pretty comprehensive 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the Virginia Beach Mariners on Friday night. The Rhinos appear to be running out of gas in the later stages of these early matches and its costing them goals. It appears that the club is not only struggling to get scoring from Commodore and Miller up top but that they are also hoping Schweitzer can return to his old form and that Demmin can heal quickly. At this rate Andracki's going to need the season of his life to keep this from being a season of ignominy in Rochester.
On the other hand the Mariners appeared to have established themselves as solid challengers to the Battery's throne by winning three out of their first four matches. This dominating win against the Rhinos will keep the pressure on the Battery to keep piling up points. At the same time it makes the James River Cup an even more exciting competition this season as it is rapidly becoming apparent that Richmond is going to be challenged all year by these Mariners.
So in short we've got a faltering Rhinos team, a rising Mariners squad, a PaeTec coming closer to being built, and a pair of USL gents being inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame. All in all, it's another interesting week around the USL that will only get more interesting as the matches kick off through the rest of the weekend.
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