Thursday, May 8

New York Magic

With great optimism, the New York Magic is ready to embark on their 11th season under the USL banner. After winning their opening match of the 2007 campaign, the Magic failed to find consistent results and fell towards the bottom of the league standings by year’s end. However, with returning stars midfielder Robin McCullough and defender Eleri Earnshaw, the 2008 season looks very promising.

Joining McCullough and Earnshaw are an influx of new talent that is ready to succeed under head coach, Nino DePasquali, who is entering his 10th season.

“We are looking to have a strong and competitive year,” DePasquali said. “Our goal is to make the playoffs.”

The Magic are hoping a blend of international players is the right recipe for success. Kanae Haneishi, a former Japanese world star, Noelle Meeke, a former Irish National Team member, as well as players from the England U19 National Team all look to make impacts on this year’s squad. Also added to this year’s team is University of Virginia standout Alli Fries.

“A lot of work and effort has been put in to make this year successful,” said team president Lyndelle Phillips. “We are looking forward to having a strong year.”

Connecticut Passion

The Connecticut Passion is one of nine expansion teams looking to make an impact on the upcoming 2008 W-League. Leading the way for the Passion is head coach, Dave Clarke, who is also entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Quinnipiac women’s soccer team. Clarke, a Licensed Instructor for the United States Soccer Federation, has also coached and played in the USL.

Team president and founder Steve Coxon is very excited to begin the season and see where his team stacks up.

“It will be interesting to see where we fit in,” Coxon said. “Being an expansion team we are not quite sure where our level of play rates with the other teams.”

Connecticut is also taking a different approach to filling out their roster, relying on local talent to lead the way.

“We are going about things a little differently,” Coxon said. “If you look at the rosters of other teams you will see that they are loaded with international talent, we are hoping the talent in our area can match that.”

Headlining the local talent is goalkeeper Nikki Weiss who came up through the Connecticut Passion youth system and is currently playing for Notre Dame.

By Patrick Nobbe for USLSoccer.com