Thursday, January 21, 2016

Eclipse Select College Commitment update: Tamae Douglas, UIC

Eclipse Select Release

Eclipse Select Soccer Club will have a pair of players competing for the University of Illinois-Chicago this fall. One member of the Flames’ program, which will be entering just its third collegiate season, is forward Tamae Douglas (Chicago, Ill.).

Douglas made her verbal commitment to UIC last year, and for a fledgling collegiate program, she has the potential to play an immediate role at the next level.

“When I was searching for a college, sports-wise I knew what they were doing and that it was a good foundation,” Douglas said. “There is a bright future, and they said to me that I could be a difference maker coming into a new program.

“They hit on a lot of what I was going to expect coming into school academically,” Douglas said. “They really convinced me about their program and their high standards. They want a team where everyone is setting goals for themselves and not just coming in to play.”

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Longstanding Crocketteers Hold Fort in San Antonio

USL Feature

San Antonio is beginning its chapter in the USL for the 2016 season, and the expansion club has well-established support already in its corner.

The team, operated by Spurs Sports & Entertainment, officially became the league’s 31st franchise on Thursday while introducing its first head coach, Darren Powell. One face of San Antonio’s fandom heading into the upcoming campaign will be built around the Crocketteers, an independent supporters group that was founded in 2009, before the city even had a team to support.

“Myself and a bunch of close friends were hanging out at a pub in the summer of 2008, the Euro Championships, enjoying the atmosphere we were creating in the bar, and we joked around about how we didn’t have anything in San Antonio,” Crocketteers founder Michael Macias said. “We started a movement without a team to show our support for the idea of professional soccer in San Antonio.”

For more, visit uslsoccer.com.