Hoping to put past soccer failures behind, the Utah Freezz open their 1999 WISL season tonight against the Portland Pythons.
The Freezz are trying to do what several Utah soccer franchises before them, the last being the Sting, could not do -- succeed.Team officials are counting on drawing fans from a strong interest in youth soccer in the valley where 25,000 kids participate in organized soccer of some kind.
But as the WNBA's Starzz is finding out, succeeding in the Salt Lake sports market requires a competitive and successful roster. The Freezz is banking on strong local players to provide the talent needed to succeed in the WISL.
The most notable local player is defender Brian Alba. The 25-year-old prepped at Skyline and went on to play football for the University of Utah.
The Salt Lake native has yet to play soccer professionally but will be a key to the Freezz defense.
Alba will be playing with a former teammate in midfielder Paul Williams. Williams played for several U.S. regional teams while at Skyline and participated in tryouts for a national under-18 team.
The roster will have a couple of pairs of former high school teammates as well. Midfielder Shane Jones, from Sandy, and keeper John Ragsdale, from Salt Lake, were teammates at Alta High School, and Jones went on to play for the Sting in 1991.
Also, Justin Labrum, forward, and Dave Huber, midfielder, both played at Brighton High School.
Labrum was the Class 4A MVP in 1993 and attended the University of Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne.
Huber played one year at Salt Lake Community College, helping the Bruins to a third place finish in a national tournament in November.
With so many local players on the roster, the Freezz is young and inexperienced. In fact, only five players on the roster have previous professional indoor soccer experience, but there's not many players out there better than them.
Forward Lee Edgerton was named the 1998 MVP of the EISL by netting 28 goals and 83 points for the Huntsville Fire. While Edgerton was pacing the league offensively, keeper Stuart Dobson was shutting the door on defense. Dobson was the league's Goalkeeper of the Year going 18-9 and posting a .779 save percentage with the Mississippi Beach Kings. Midfielders Beau Brown and Sterling Wescott add more championship caliber talent to the Freezz.
Wescott tallied 36 goals and 93 points en route to a 1999 NSPL All-Star Game selection. Wescott also played sparingly for the MLS' D.C. United in 1996. Brown won the PSA championship with a team from Dallas last season.
Another integral part of the Freezz will be defender Wes Sechrist. The 5-foot-7 Ohio native played last season with Lafayette in the EISL and helped the Swampcats to the league championship. Sechrist also has experience in the NPSL with Cleveland and Florida.
After tonight's game in Portland, the Freezz begin a five-game, all-August homestand with their home debut Aug. 6 against El Salvador.