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FC Fredericksburg Gunners announce 2008 PDL roster

8 May, 2008

The FC Fredericksburg Gunners announced their 19-man roster for the upcoming 2008 campaign.  The team will play its first game on Sunday, May 11th, at 5 o’clock at the Fredericksburg Academy Athletic Complex against the Rhode Island Stingrays.
 
Five players return from the 2007 squad that saw the team go 7-7-2 in their inaugural season.  Matt Lacey (4 goals, 1 assist in 2007) will Captain the team and once again serve as the team’s attacking midfielder.  Lacey recently accepted a scholarship from Winthrop University after earning NCAA Division II All-American honors at Lees-McRae College in 2007.  Also returning is Daniel McGarry, a stalwart defensive midfielder for Liberty University who was one of the team’s leaders in minutes played during the 2007 Gunners campaign.  Other returning veterans include defender Cameron McCarthy, forward Tyson John, and goalkeeper Dylan Lawrence.
 
“I expect all the returning players to have a key role in improving our performance from last year,” said Gunners Head Coach Cristian Neagu.  “They will all contribute to this year’s squad.”
 
Joining Lawrence from Lees McRae are goalkeeper Sean Paradise, defender Johnny Bownes, and forward Berin Boracic.  
 
Lacey brings two of his future teammates from Winthrop with him in defender Henry Kalungi and forward Stephen Nsereko, who led the Big South Conference in 2007 with 7 assists.  Both players were named to the Big South All-Conference team.
 
The Gunners are also excited to be joined by University of North Carolina’s Ryan Johnson, Loyola’s Tennant McVea, Binghamton’s Justin Leskow, and Lemoyne College’s  Klajdi Lika.  
 
Duke-bound Graham Oxley, one of the more heavily recruited players in the country while playing for Langley High School in northern Virginia, also joins the team, as does Cameron Petty, who plays for American University.  Tony Prisco, from Woodbridge, Virginia, joins the team after spending the 2007 season playing for Tusculum College.
 
Rounding out the roster are Fredericksburg natives Ken Manahan and David Sanford, both of whom play at James Madison University.
 
“We’re excited to see what these new players will bring to the team, especially the younger players who will be exposed to a really high level of soccer,” said Neagu.  “I think they’re ready for it and I know our fans will really like the team we put on the field this year.”
 
The team will hold an intrasquad scrimmage scrimmage at Hotspur Park on Friday evening, beginning at 6:30.
 
The FC Fredericksburg Gunners are a part of the Mid-Atlantic Division, which contains the Richmond Kickers Future, Virginia Legacy, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Reading Rage, and the Northern Virginia Royals.  They will play a 16-game season.  The schedule is augmented by participation in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and various exhibitions.  In the PDL Eastern Conference, the three division champions and the top-seeded second-place club (wild card) advance to the conference championship tournament, to be held July 25th-27th. The number one seed will play the lowest seeded non-divisional opponent in the conference tournament semifinals. The winner of the conference championship advances to the PDL Semifinals, August 1st-2nd. The PDL Championship will be determined Saturday, August 9th. All playoff hosts are determined via a bid process.

Players have the ability to compete in the PDL throughout the summer months in a professionalized setting while maintaining their collegiate eligibility. The league is the proving ground for players that aspire to reach the highest-levels of the game, while providing affordable family entertainment within their city.

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