Utah's first indoor soccer franchise kicks off its inaugural season today as the Freezz open training camp in Lafayette, La.
Freezz head coach Dave Poggi is no stranger to the Lafayette area as he led the Swampcats of the Eastern Indoor Soccer League to the league championship in the 1998 season.When the EISL folded late last year, it displaced many of the players who helped lead the Swampcats to the title. So when the World Indoor Soccer League picked those players up, Poggi was happy to see a couple of them allocated to Utah.
Midfielder Beau Brown and defender Wes Sechrist were sent by the league to the Freezz. All three played for Poggi in Lafayette during the 1998 season.
Sechrist, a 5-foot-7 Ohio native, recorded 11 goals and 18 assists for 41 points and racked up 21 penalty minutes.
The 24-year-old Brown scored 32 points on 11 goals and 10 assists in 25 games and went on to record a goal and two assists in the playoffs.
Along with two of his former players, Poggi was also able to land the two 1998 league major award winners. Midfielder Lee Edgerton, the '98 league MVP, and goalkeeper Stuart Dobson, the league's goalkeeper of the year, signed with the first-year team.
Edgerton, a 5-10 Oklahoma native, recorded 81 points on 28 goals and 23 assists while playing for the Huntsville Fire. Dobson, an England native, went 18-9 for the Mississippi Beach Kings while leading them to the EISL Championship round.
The Freezz also have several local players in camp. Former Alta forward Shane Jones and goalkeeper John Ragsdale join defender Paul Williams, from Skyline, and forward Justin Labrum, from Brighton, in camp.
Poggi will lead the band of hopefuls into its first competitive game tonight as they take on the Dallas Sidekicks at 5:30 p.m. The Freezz will also play another exhibition game July 14 against the Houston Hotshots.
The Freezz open the regular season July 31 against the Portland Pythons in Portland and will play their first game in the West Valley Events Center Aug. 6 against El Salvador.