Reeves' Army

They told us we were getting big news, and this is big.

Orlando City S.C. has acquired controlling interest of the Central Florida Kraze. As a result, they will be renamed Orlando City U-23. Joe Avallone, who has been the Kraze head coach since 1999, will remain its head coach. Terry Garzon will continue as general manager. For his part, Avallone called the move a “no-brainer”.

As part of the plans, the U-23s will get their own section on the Orlando City website. Hopefully this will mean better updating.

Elsewhere, other people are latching onto the idea of Orlando getting an MLS team. Chris Singer of Global Football Today, has this write-up.

Phil Rawlins conducted an interview with the Seminole Chronicle, a small newspaper and website based in Oviedo. Here are some highlights, as I understood them:

• Rawlins believes economic realities within MLS at the time aligned against Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny when they were contracted, and the league is now ready for a new foray into Florida in general.
• Orlando City is in talks about options for future accomodation with the City of Orlando and Orange County. They are discussing the possibility of a soccer-specific stadium, which Rawlins imagines would be 20,000 seats, but they are also observing the plans for the redevelopment of the Citrus Bowl. Rawlins is bullish about how they’ve been able to adapt the Citrus Bowl for a more intimate soccer experience.
• Orlando City has signed a non-disclosure agreement with Major League Soccer, and talks with them are serious. They are going over financial requirements for an MLS team, and MLS executives will make their first visit to Orlando in February 2012, roughly coinciding with the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic.
• Orlando City and Disney have a working relationship, and Disney welcomes both the local team and its supporters.
• This is what MLS wants from Orlando City specifically: further growth of the fan base and season ticket base, nature and growth of corporate sponsorship, and our stadium options.
• Rawlins believes a lot of City’s early support success can be tied to its fast start and early on-the-field successes, and that it coincides with a desire for a greater professional sports identity for the area. He also thinks that was bolstered further by the EPL friendlies in July.

The team said on Facebook that they have a major announcement in store tomorrow. (They did preface that it had nothing to do with MLS; they’d have teased that kind of announcement a lot longer.)

Orlando City has some sweet Thanksgiving sales going on.

Any youth soccer player can get a season ticket in any section for $99. There is no expiration on this, so I would guess this would go through Christmas. Current adult prices are $150 for the supporters section, $199 for sideline ends, and $259 for the midfield.

All season tickets bought on Black Friday get a 2011 Orlando City championship T-shirt.

Season tickets can be bought online at http://www.orlandocitysoccer.com.

The field and schedule for the 2012 Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic has been finalized.

All of last year’s teams–Orlando City, Houston Dynamo, Toronto FC and FC Dallas–plus BK Häcken, who played only a friendly with Orlando City that was included under the Classic umbrella last year, will play in the 2012 Classic. Earlier, Sporting Kansas City was added to the field. On Monday, it was revealed that Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps will round out the field of 8 teams.

Vancouver Whitecaps had an inauspicious start to their MLS existence last year. Despite great crowds at Empire Field and the newly-rebuilt BC Place, they only managed a 6-10-18 (W-D-L) record, good for the MLS Western Conference’s wooden spoon. Montreal Impact is rising to MLS after being the high-flying superstars of minor-league soccer for nearly a decade, but dug themselves a very deep hole that a late-season rally couldn’t extricate them from this past season in the NASL, finishing 7th out of 8 teams.

Häcken improved on their 2010 performance in the Allsvenskan by finishing 6th in 2011. They also won matches in the 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds of the 2011-12 UEFA Europa League before falling to Nacional de Madeira of Portugal.

The most hay right now is being made of Houston Dynamo, who return to the tournament after making it to the MLS Cup final.

The eight teams will be cordoned off in two groups of four, each of which will play World Cup-style single ties within their groups. Group 1 will have their games on February 24, 26 and 29. Group 2 will have their games on February 25 and 28, and March 1. February 27 and March 2 will be break days. The consolation game and championship games will be on March 3. Match times for all days will be 6pm and 8pm, except February 26, which will be 1pm and 3pm.

In addition to all these events, Orlando City will be holding its Fan Day at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on Saturday, February 25.

Each day of games is $15.50, which is $1 over the regular price of admission for the complex. That gets you into the complex for both games each day. There will also be an all-tournament pass available for $69. These tickets will be on Ticketmaster, but are not on there yet.

Travel arrangements for out-of-town fans can be made through Anthony Travel for U.S. fans, or Toronto FC Travel for Canadian fans.

UCF women’s soccer rose to the occasion in Gainesville last night, beating #2 seed Florida, 3-2. The Knights are in the women’s Sweet 16 for the first time since 1986.

Goals were by Madison Barney (6′), Kristina Trujic (34′) and Nicolette Radovcic (72′). Aline Ries had five saves.

UCF will now play #3 seed North Carolina tomorrow in Gainesville at 1pm. If you want to make the trip, tickets are $7 a piece. This is a rematch of the very first NCAA Division I women’s soccer championship in 1982 in Orlando, which UNC won, 1-0.

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Meanwhile, the UCF men play a second round match in the NCAA tournament at USF tomorrow at 6pm at Corbett Field on the USF campus. The Tampa Bay Sports Commission is covering all admission fees, so everyone gets in free. I know The Ruckus plans on being there in force.

UCF men’s soccer beat Florida Gulf Coast in double OT last night, 1-0.

It seems everyone but the goalkeepers were on a break. Knights goalie Sebastian Evers had seven saves. Kevan George finally got the breakthrough with the golden goal at 107′ to avoid a penalty shootout.

UCF will head to USF for the second round on Sunday. Game time is 6pm. They beat the Bulls 3-0 at home in the first round last year.

UCF men’s soccer opens their NCAA run tonight when they host Florida Gulf Coast. Game time is 7pm. Admission is $5. Free parking in Lot F behind UCF Arena. The winner will play at USF on Sunday.

UCF women’s soccer plays at Florida in the second round tomorrow night at 7pm.

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In a rare bit of off-the-board news, hockey in Orlando is coming out of hibernation.

ECHL and the City of Orlando announced today that the Orlando Solar Bears will return in 2012.

ECHL announced they had awarded Orlando an expansion franchise a couple weeks ago after an ownership group secured a lease agreement at the Amway Center. But preparations for their arrival began long before the agreements were signed.

In September, ECHL filed to register the Solar Bears identity at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. That trademark was previously owned by RDV Sports after the IHL folded, but lapsed in 2008. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Rich DeVos gave his blessing for using the team name.

ECHL is the third tier of hockey competition in North America. They typically market as a “AA” league, and have affiliations with NHL teams as well as the American Hockey League, which is “AAA”. Originally the “East Coast Hockey League”, it has since gone nationwide, with teams as far-flung as Anchorage, Alaska.

There are teams in the league that will be familiar to fans of the old Solar Bears. Our former rivals now in the ECHL are the Utah Grizzlies, the Kalamazoo Wings (formerly the Michigan K-Wings)  and the Cincinnati Cyclones. There is also potential for local rivalry. One of the teams in the ECHL is the Florida Everblades, based in Estero, south of Fort Myers and home of Florida Gulf Coast University.

There’s no immediate word on affiliations. The Tampa Bay Lightning are already affiliated with the Everblades. But the Florida Panthers, who play outside Fort Lauderdale in Sunrise, are affiliated with the Cincinnati Cyclones at the AA level. They share this with the Nashville Predators, so it’s altogether possible that they could switch their ECHL affiliation to us.

I won’t venture to guess who we would affiliate with in the AHL, but there are three teams that lack ECHL affiliation, including the Eastern Conference’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers. It’s also possible that a team that shares an ECHL team with another AHL team could jump. One of these: the Grand Rapids Griffins, who are owned by Rich DeVos. But this is all pure speculation.

UCF Knights women’s soccer will head up to Gainesville on Friday night to play Florida in the second round of the NCAA Division I soccer tournament. The winner of that match will play either North Carolina or Baylor in the third round on Sunday.

The men’s soccer team will find out who they play in the first round on Thursday night.

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Orlando City posted today on their meetings with Major League Soccer. Among the things mentioned include “soccer stadium options”, future MLS executive visits to Orlando, and “a potential ‘high-profile’ international friendly” next summer.

So at the very least, MLS is beginning to look at Orlando seriously. 2012 will be the year when Orlando can really wow MLS with its soccer support.

Two things I am interested in. First, what are the “soccer stadium options”? I’ve heard rumblings late last season of the possibility of building a soccer stadium, though nothing concrete. Second, who will Orlando City pick up for an international friendly next year?

UCF Knights women’s soccer opened their NCAA tournament run with a 2-0 win over FIU last night.

Goals were by Tishia Jewell (14′) and Emily Grider (77′). Aline Ries had two saves to register her ninth shutout of the season.

The second round in the D-I women’s tournament will be on November 18. Who and where we play is dependant on the result of the Florida/Florida Gulf Coast match tonight.

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The UCF men were eliminated in the semifinal of the C-USA Championship by UAB, 1-0. Currently ranked #20, they are expected to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. The bracket will be announced on Thursday, November 17.

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The Rollins Tars men were shocked in the first round of the D-II men’s tournament last night, falling 3-1 to Barry.

Matt Bauchle had the Tars’ only goal at 80′. Keneil Baker picked a bad time to have a bad night, giving up two goals and making one save before being pulled in the 71st minute.

The men finish the season as Sunshine State Conference champions. Ironically, they beat Barry for the title. Now they have the ignoble duty of hosting the second-round match between Barry and Lynn tomorrow afternoon.

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The Rollins Tars women finished the regular season as runners-up in the SSC after falling, 2-0, to Tampa in the title game last Sunday.

Still, they finished 14-2-2 for the season. They are ranked #11 in the country, and earned a #2 regional seed in the Division II women’s tournament and a first-round bye.

Tampa beat North Alabama last night, 1-0, in the first round. Rollins will host Tampa in the second round tomorrow, November 13, at Noon.

Yesterday, Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber stated during his State of the League address that, while a second team for New York City was still the focus of expansion team #20, he was also looking toward other markets, and had a meeting later in the day with “an ownership group in Florida”.

Later in the day, Orlando City confirmed via Twitter that they were that ownership group.

Now is the time for the supporters to make their move.

It is our responsibility to ensure that 2012 builds on Orlando City’s successes in 2011. But the disunity in our supporter culture is not helping that effort.

At some point, we all need to get together, cast any issues aside, and resolve to work together to unify the shoe end of the Citrus Bowl. If we get our supporters cheering as one, it will further enhance the gameday experience and draw yet more fans to the Citrus Bowl.

We need to become a force the soccer world cannot ignore. Like Timbers Army. Like Sons of Ben.

In addition to a better coordination of the gameday supporter experience, I would like to see a group mass trip to the MLS Cup in 2012, wherever it may be. If we can get a strong showing, at least enough to take up several rows, then we can show MLS that we are worthy of the effort to bring a team here.