Club also seeks match day staff and volunteers
Bremerton, Wash. – The Kitsap Soccer Club today announced that it has reached agreement with four players. They are midfielder Matt Friesen, forward Stephen Phillips and defenders Max Lipset and Leon Abravanel. (Read facts about the new Pumas and talk about the signings here.)
Friesen is just returned from a professional stint in Belgium with Royal Racing Montegnee. There, he notched six goals and three assists in ten appearances with the club. He is also a PDL veteran having played last year with the Spokane Spiders.
“Its great for me to be here at the start of a new club. We are aiming to create a standard at this club, for this league, and for soccer in the Northwest and on the Peninsula. It is up to us to start the tradition at this club, on and off the field and that is exciting,” said Friesen.
“With the organization behind us and the talent on this club, I have set lofty goals for both for myself and the team, obviously I would like to win the league and believe we have the strength and depth to do that,” he continued. “But I would also like to do well in the post-season and see our way into the Open Cup. This is always going to be difficult being an expansion franchise, but I think with the effort the club has put into the player and team development so far we have a great chance to succeed and meet these goals.”
Matt Friesen hopes his Belgium playing experience leads to success in Kitsap. (David Falk)
“He’s a creative player who can get up and down the field “said head coach John Wedge. “He’s got a powerful shot.”
Phillips, just off a training junket with two English Premier League clubs is a freshly minted graduate of Whitworth College.
“Right away I could tell that this was a really good team. I am going to enjoy playing and getting better with them this year,” said Phillips. “I think, with how American soccer is set up, that there are a lot of talented players that get missed, so this team is providing some of those players that would have slid through our system a chance to make soccer a career and possibly jump to the next level.”
“The first time I saw Stephen, he came on the field and scored a beautiful goal after riding in a car for three hours to get to the tryouts,” said Wedge.
Lipset and Abravanel – made their first impressions having traveled to the club’s third invitational tryout from California.
6 foot 5 inch center back Max Lipset is an imposing figure for the Kitsap Pumas. (David Falk)
“It is a great honor to be with the Pumas,” said Lipset. “This is certainly a great group of individuals including the staff, players - and the community itself. The idea of starting not only a team, but building a soccer community is more then I could ever ask for. This year’s team is the foundation for a generation of players. It’s a great responsibility and an exciting privilege.”
“First things first, I want win the PDL championship!” said Abravanel. “Along with that, it is essential to create a "Kitsap soccer culture" where we have a following of fans. When those two are accomplished, all of the little things will fall into place.”
“Max is an intelligent player and very strong in the air. Plus he loves to get forward and he’s physical,” said Wedge with a smile. “Leon has good technical skills, defends well and loves to overlap,” said Wedge.
Others, previously signed are Stephen Mohn (defender), Jesse Wheelock (midfielder), Dustyn Brim (goalkeeper), Mark Lee (defender) and Spencer Schomaker (forward).
Kitsap Soccer Club In Two Fundraising Matches
Pumas to provide impetus for NK, SK youth soccer clubs
starting next weekend
Bremerton, Wash. – The Kitsap Soccer Club will play its first-ever pre-season matches as fundraisers for two local youth soccer clubs the club announced today.
The first match will be held next Saturday, April 18, 2009 at North Kitsap High School. The match will be hosted and produced by the North Kitsap Soccer Club. The Pumas will take on the Tacoma Stars professional indoor soccer team. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for children 12 and under. All proceeds will go directly to NKSC.
The club has finalized a nearly identical arrangement with the South Kitsap Youth Soccer Club. The team will play its final pre-season match Saturday, April 25 at South Kitsap High School Stadium against Seattle Pacific University. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.
Ticket prices for South Kitsap match have yet to be finalized, but again, all proceeds for the match will go to the club, as per the first match.
The organization is also jointly exploring an on-line tickets sales option with each of the clubs. This has yet to be finalized.
KSC Season Ticket holders, as part of their 2009 packages already have entry to these matches. Notification for the holders will be doubly forthcoming via private means.
Match-Day Positions Available: The club also seeks applications for the following match-day positions (submittal deadline is Friday, April 17, 2009):
- Stadium Announcer
- Official Statisticians
- Ushers
- Greeters
- Match-Day Volunteers
All positions will receive training and require prior experience. Regarding the statistician and announcer positions, knowledge of the game is an absolute must.
Also, Season Tickets for the 2009 season are now on sale. Packages start at only $45 and include pre-season matches and other exhibitions.
For further information please contact Ben Pecora, Executive Director, at 360-377-6008 at the Pumas offices. www.KitsapSoccerClub.com
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