The USC Salkehatchie Indians men’s soccer team will feature a talented group of returning players who will be joined by an outstanding recruiting class to form the 2009 squad. “I am really happy with the way the team has shaped up for the fall,” according to Salkehatchie Head Soccer Coach Bill Glass.
The returning players are striker O’Neal Simpson who scored 5 goals for the Indians in 2008, defender LaQuinn Nimmons of Bamberg, forward Salvadore Torres of Barnwell, last year’s starting goalkeeper Richarde Anderson of Warrenville, 2008 Indians MVP Raul Melara-Beckman of West Columbia, his twin brother Marcio Melara-Beckman, midfielder Marcus Richardson of Columbia, midfielder Donald Condry of Gibsonton FL and midfielder Ryan Dickson of Portadown, Northern Ireland. Dickson won the 2008 Coaches Award and was named to the All Region X Second Team.
Two Brazilians will be joining the team, midfielder Itamar Filho of Fortaleza, Ceara and striker Marcelo Gerhardt who is from Novo Hamburgo in the state of Rio Grande do Sol. An exciting group of players will come from Florida including midfielder John Luka Joseph who is a native of Haiti but now lives in Oakland Park, Florida. Defenders Emir Begic and Adnan Osmanovic now live in Jacksonville, FL but are originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Forward Ahmo Ibrahimovic of Jacksonville also came from Bosnia originally. Goalkeeper Brian Sheffield and defender Gregory Egan are from Jacksonville as well, they played on the same club team with Begic, Osmanovic and Ibrahimov. Joining the Indians from neighboring Georgia will be Spencer Lauderdale a defender from McDonough and twins Ian and Jordan Foster of Pembroke. Lauderdale and the Fosters were standouts on their high school teams and played travel ball for Georgia Youth Soccer Association club teams.
As usual most of the Indians recruits will come from South Carolina. This year the team is happy to welcome goalkeeper Donald Stocker from Charleston, striker Walenda Raiford from Aiken, defender Myles James from Columbia, forward Josh May of Beaufort and forward Britton Gough from Rock Hill. Three players who grew up playing soccer here in the immediate area will also join the squad; Quame’ Dunbar who gained fame minding the nets for Barnwell High School over the last several years, striker Ken Padgett who helped with coaching at BHS and Cam Mixon a strong defender who was a standout player at Wade Hampton High School.
With such a large group of new players coming in Glass believes that the challenge will be getting everyone on the same page. “The players will have to learn to play together and that means everyone adopting the same tactics offensively and defensively,” said Glass, “that will be the key and that is what we will be working on in the preseason.”
Training camp for the team will fire up August 3, with the first preseason exhibition coming against USC Aiken, in Aiken at 5pm on August 19. The team’s first home stand will be against the Faulkner University JV on August 29 at 4pm. The 2009 Indians soccer schedule can be viewed on the USC Salkehatchie athletics website. It is always a good idea for Indians supporters to check the website (www.uscsalkathletics.com) for any last minute changes before heading out to a match.
The returning players are striker O’Neal Simpson who scored 5 goals for the Indians in 2008, defender LaQuinn Nimmons of Bamberg, forward Salvadore Torres of Barnwell, last year’s starting goalkeeper Richarde Anderson of Warrenville, 2008 Indians MVP Raul Melara-Beckman of West Columbia, his twin brother Marcio Melara-Beckman, midfielder Marcus Richardson of Columbia, midfielder Donald Condry of Gibsonton FL and midfielder Ryan Dickson of Portadown, Northern Ireland. Dickson won the 2008 Coaches Award and was named to the All Region X Second Team.
Two Brazilians will be joining the team, midfielder Itamar Filho of Fortaleza, Ceara and striker Marcelo Gerhardt who is from Novo Hamburgo in the state of Rio Grande do Sol. An exciting group of players will come from Florida including midfielder John Luka Joseph who is a native of Haiti but now lives in Oakland Park, Florida. Defenders Emir Begic and Adnan Osmanovic now live in Jacksonville, FL but are originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Forward Ahmo Ibrahimovic of Jacksonville also came from Bosnia originally. Goalkeeper Brian Sheffield and defender Gregory Egan are from Jacksonville as well, they played on the same club team with Begic, Osmanovic and Ibrahimov. Joining the Indians from neighboring Georgia will be Spencer Lauderdale a defender from McDonough and twins Ian and Jordan Foster of Pembroke. Lauderdale and the Fosters were standouts on their high school teams and played travel ball for Georgia Youth Soccer Association club teams.
As usual most of the Indians recruits will come from South Carolina. This year the team is happy to welcome goalkeeper Donald Stocker from Charleston, striker Walenda Raiford from Aiken, defender Myles James from Columbia, forward Josh May of Beaufort and forward Britton Gough from Rock Hill. Three players who grew up playing soccer here in the immediate area will also join the squad; Quame’ Dunbar who gained fame minding the nets for Barnwell High School over the last several years, striker Ken Padgett who helped with coaching at BHS and Cam Mixon a strong defender who was a standout player at Wade Hampton High School.
With such a large group of new players coming in Glass believes that the challenge will be getting everyone on the same page. “The players will have to learn to play together and that means everyone adopting the same tactics offensively and defensively,” said Glass, “that will be the key and that is what we will be working on in the preseason.”
Training camp for the team will fire up August 3, with the first preseason exhibition coming against USC Aiken, in Aiken at 5pm on August 19. The team’s first home stand will be against the Faulkner University JV on August 29 at 4pm. The 2009 Indians soccer schedule can be viewed on the USC Salkehatchie athletics website. It is always a good idea for Indians supporters to check the website (www.uscsalkathletics.com) for any last minute changes before heading out to a match.
