Goal-scoring trio of Konig, Fondy and Vincent rewriting USL record books

USL Feature

Goal scoring is the lifeblood of the game, and the 2015 USL season has consisted of a flurry of memorable tallies. The USL record books are being rewritten heavily in this department with three players who have set themselves apart in their run to hold the single-season goal-scoring record.

OKC Energy FC’s Danni König (19 goals), Louisville City FC’s Matt Fondy (18 goals) and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds’ Rob Vincent (17 goals) represent the top tier of the goal scoring department and are within striking distance of the USL record of 20 goals scored by Orlando City SC’s Kevin Molino during the 2014 season. The remarkable part about this season is that all three players have already reached the top five in the single-season records in this category. They each have five games remaining in their regular-season schedule.

For more, visit USLSoccer.com.

Eclipse trio of Bosco, Gorzak and Redei called in for U.S. U-20 camp

Redei, Gorzak and Bosco

Eclipse Select News Release

Eclipse Select Soccer Club forwards Marissa Bosco (St. Charles, Ill.) and Zoe Redei (Highland Park, Ill.) and midfielder Alissa Gorzak (Naperville, Ill.) have been called in for a U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team camp.

The camp is running all this week through Sunday, Aug. 30, at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, Calif., with Michelle French coaching the 31-player group.

This camp is for pre-college club players as the women’s college season kicked off Friday. French is looking among this group to develop the pool of players who will next look at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

John Harkes eager for challenge at USL expansion side FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati's John Harkes

USL Feature

Former U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder John Harkes’ playing credentials are well known: first American to play in the English Premier League, two FIFA World Cup teams, two MLS Cups with D.C. United and 2005 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, just to skim the surface.

Now the 48-year-old New Jersey native is taking on a new challenge as he prepares for his first professional head coaching position. Harkes will take the reins of expansion FC Cincinnati when the club debuts during the 2016 USL season.

“It’s a special time to be a head coach in the USL and grow this team from the ground up,” Harkes said of the club, which was unveiled Wednesday as the league’s 26th franchise. “It’s an exciting challenge for everybody.”

In the past several months, Harkes grew impressed with the backing behind FC Cincinnati and knew it was an opportunity he wanted to pursue.

“In my initial conversations with Cincinnati, I saw the strength of the ownership group and thought this was an attractive opportunity,” Harkes said. “Over the course of a few months, I was able to get out to Cincinnati, meet with [FC Cincinnati President and General Manager] Jeff Berding and talk about the ownership group. We all know the USL is a rapidly growing league and a competitive league. Once those conversations started I just wanted to be a part of it and grow this product. This is a special time for the people here.”

For more, visit uslsoccer.com.

AZ United's Top hopes qualifying spurs global, club success

Jonathan Top

USL Feature

Arizona United SC’s Jonathan Top has not featured internationally for the past two years, but a call-up to Guatemala’s U-23 national team is providing the Texas native with a grand opportunity.

Top’s Guatemala side is among the seven Central American Football Union (UNCAF) teams looking to advance to the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, set to be held in the U.S. this October. The two UNCAF group winners earn a spot, and Guatemala was placed in Group B against Honduras (Aug. 13) and Belize (Aug. 15).

“I’m looking forward to this whole process to qualify for the Olympics,” Top said. “We’re going to prepare ourselves for the qualifiers and I’m excited to help out the team, take advantage of this experience and bring that back to Arizona.”

For more, visit uslsoccer.com.