KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Kingston Stockade FC reached a historic milestone this week as the club has released the first player roster in team history. Stockade FC has named 33 players to its preliminary & pre-season National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) roster.
The roster is comprised almost entirely of players who hail from the Hudson Valley, with nearly all of them having played collegiately in the area as well. This was part of the design when the club was conceived, according to club owner Dennis Crowley.
"When we first got the green light to put an NPSL team in Kingston, our hope was that we'd be able to rely almost entirely on local players," said Crowley. "Thanks to the hard work of head coach George Vizvary and his staff, we've been able to put together a squad that truly has its roots in local soccer, which we think should be a point of pride for all of the club's supporters."
When asked about selecting the first roster in club history, head coach George Vizvary said that the quality of the local talent will give Stockade plenty of options on the pitch.
"The Hudson Valley in general represents a good quality of soccer, and the 33 players that we've selected will give us a team that will be able to execute the style of play we'd like to exhibit," said Vizvary. "We will have the capability to play on the counter-attack, and a possession-based style as well. Overall, because of our speed and execution, we should be able to deny space and time against any opponent."
Vizvary also said that because the team is made up of local players, the connections to the local fan base will be strong.
"I have very high expectations, but so do the players," said Vizvary. "As they represent the Hudson Valley, they know that they are also representing the expectations of friends and supporters."
Ultimately, according to Vizvary, the team is just excited to start the season.
"The team is very anxious to start the season," said Vizvary. "Anxious to go out on the field and produce results."
A number of players on Stockade FC’s inaugural roster have played at the semi-pro and professional levels. Members of the club have been key contributors to sides such as the Brooklyn Italians, Queen City FC, Buffalo FC, Philadelphia Fury and Pontevedra FC as well as prestigious youth academies such as New York Cosmos, Newcastle United, Sunderland AFC, Boca Juniors and the Olympic Development Program.
In addition, a majority of Stockade FC's players played collegiately at local schools. SUNY Ulster tops the list with four players on the Stockade FC roster, while Marist College, SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Oneonta all have three players on the team.
As for the players' hometowns, five Stockade FC players come from Highland, while Newburgh and Poughkeepsie have contributed three players each.
The average age of the roster is 24 years and 11 months.
Below is the entire 33-player pre-season roster (photos can be found here), although the expectation is that the team will cut the roster to 26 players for the first official match.
Patrick Alvarez
Age: 24
Hometown: East Fishkill, NY
College: SUNY Dutchess
Academy & Post-College: Pontevedra FC
Matel Anasta
Age: 22
Hometown: Catskill, NY
College: Marist College
Academy & Post-College: New York Cosmos Youth Development Program
Anthony Barone
Age: 26
Hometown: Highland, NY
College: Manhattan College
Joseph Bogart
Age: 28
Hometown: Hyde Park, NY
College: Plattsburgh State
Daniel Cortez
Age: 19
Hometown: Newburgh, NY
Academy & Post-College: Olympic Development Program (ODP)
Michael Creswick
Age: 27
Hometown: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
College: York St. John Univ. (England)
Academy & Post-College: Newcastle United Academy, Sunderland AFC Academy, Copmanthorpe AFC
Matthew Daum
Age: 32
Hometown: New Paltz, NY
College: SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Cortland
Academy & Post-College: Queen City FC
Joseph Dolan
Age: 18
Hometown: Highland, NY
College: Mount St. Mary's College
Eric Fortier
Age: 24
Hometown: Pleasant Valley, NY
College: SUNY Oneonta
** 2011 SUNYAC Player of the Year
Juan Gatti
Age: 25
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
College: Mercy College
David Giddings
Age: 22
Hometown: Newburgh, NY
College: Saint Peter’s University
Academy & Post-College: Vermont Voltage
Darren Gomez
Age: 22
Hometown: Hopewell Junction, NY
College: SUNY Oneonta
John Iapoce
Age: 26
Hometown: Boiceville, NY
College: Wells College
Mateusz (Matt) Koziol
Age: 22
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
College: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
** 2014 Liberty League Player of the Year
Jamal Lis-Simmons
Age: 34
Hometown: Highland, NY
College: SUNY Albany, SUNY New Paltz
Ross Macklin
Age: 25
Hometown: Henniker, NH
College: Vassar College
Hayden Morris
Age: 26
Hometown: Armonk, NY
College: Seton Hall University
Michael Nastu
Age: 20
Hometown: Manhattan, NY
College: Stony Brook University, Dominican College
Academy & Post-College: Metropolitan Oval Academy
Charles Naula
Age: 22
Hometown: Wappingers Falls, NY
College: Wells College
** D3 National Team Member
Chris Nedwetzky
Age: 29
Hometown: Wallkill, NY
College: SUNY Ulster
Jeff Paine
Age: 30
Hometown: Highland, NY
College: SUNY New Paltz
Corey Phillips
Age: 27
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
College: Medaille College
Academy & Post-College: Houston Leones, Kitsap Pumas, FC Buffalo
** 2010 AMCC Defensive Player of the Year
Manuel Rodriguez
Age: 24
Hometown: Newburgh, NY
College: SUNY Dutchess
Norberto Sanchez
Age: 20
Hometown: Kingston, NY
College: SUNY Ulster
Academy & Post-College: Boca Juniors US Academy
Stephen Skonieczny
Age: 26
Hometown: LaGrangeville, NY
College: Siena College, Marist College
Tom Steigerwald
Age: 22
Hometown: Salt Point, NY
College: SUNY Dutchess
Aldo Tropeano
Age: 24
Hometown: Beacon, NY
Academy & Post-College: Brooklyn Italians
Pedro Velazquez
Age: 28
Hometown: Wallkill, NY
College: SUNY Ulster, Mercy College
Nick vonEgypt
Age: 23
Hometown: Hopewell Junction, NY
College: Misericordia University
Academy & Post-College: Philadelphia Fury
** 2013 First Team All-Freedom
** D3 National Team Member
Tyler Vona
Age: 21
Hometown: Highland, NY
College: Mass. College of Liberal Arts
Jarrad Vrydaghs
Age: 35
Hometown: Campbell Hall, NY
College: SUNY Ulster
Dylan Williams
Age: 22
Hometown: Monroe, NY
College: SUNY Oneonta
** 2015 SUNYAC Player of the Year
Scott Zobre
Age: 26
Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY
College: Binghamton University
Kingston Stockade Football Club is a men's semi-professional soccer team based in Kingston, NY. Kingston Stockade will play its first season at Dietz Stadium in Kingston, N.Y. starting in the spring of 2016. The club will be representing the Hudson Valley in the NPSL, which is the 4th division of the U.S. soccer pyramid.
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For more information on Kingston Stockade FC, visit http://stockadefc.com. You can also follow the club on both Twitter and Instagram at @StockadeFC and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stockadefc
