Wednesday, February 14
It took eleven seasons for the Michigan Bucks to win everything. All that is left now is the U.S. Open Cup and the lottery.
And after claiming United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League championship trophy in 2006, their first in eleven flourishing seasons, the Bucks have at last vanquished any doubts that they are the premier amateur club in North America.
“In just over a decade the Michigan Bucks, under the leadership of Dan & Jim Duggan, have undeniably established themselves as one of the top competitive soccer teams in the United States, regardless of league affiliation,” said USL Vice President Tim Holt. “They are amongst the most respected organizations in the USL system.”
Their staggering resume includes seven division titles, 15 playoff victories, and nine U.S. Open Cup Victories – all records among PDL franchises. The Bucks have also qualified for the playoffs in ten of their eleven seasons and have never had a losing record in franchise history. Looking ahead to the beginning of the PDL season, a season in which the Bucks project to return their starting eleven from the PDL Championship victory over the Laredo Heat, the Bucks are the easy choice to take home their second PDL title in as many seasons.
“We have had three players leave for Major League Soccer in each of the past five seasons,” said Duggan. “It usually leaves us with major holes to fill. But this year we did not graduate one starter from our championship game lineup. That is unprecedented and should be good news for Bucks fans this year.”
Committed to return and defend their first title in the franchise history, are ’07 regular season scoring leader Kenny Uzoigwe and league assist leader/playoff scoring leader Nate Jafta. Two additional stars of the title victory, explosive midfielder Ty Shipalane and MVP goalkeeper Steve Clark have also chosen to remain on-board.
The Bucks also gained integrity by placing three additional former standouts in MLS last month at the annual SuperDraft in Indianapolis. This year’s draftees bring the Bucks total to 19 total players selected to pursue their dream of playing the highest level of professional soccer in North America.
Two of the players drafted, Nate Norman (Notre Dame/Rochester Adams High School) and Simon Omekanda (Penn State, Rochester Adams), grew up playing in the Michigan youth program before leaving the state to have stellar college careers.
“We lost both Nate and Simone the past couple of seasons so they could attend summer school classes and graduate on time,” said Duggan. “As much as we thought we needed them this year, we all agreed it was best if they finished their education on schedule.”
“Simon and Nate are both exceptional students and a couple of the more intelligent soccer kids I have seen over the years,” added Duggan. “Not only do they share the Bucks experience, but if they both survive MLS training camp, they could be teammates again.
Both Norman and Omekanda were drafted by the Chicago Fire (Norman 21st pick overall, Omekanda the 47th pick). The third former Buck chosen this year was Aaron Hohlbein (Wisconsin) who stayed close to home to finish summer school classes last July. Hohlbein, a solid defender, was selected by Kansas City Wizards in the supplemental draft.
In addition to the on-field success, Bucks owner Dan Duggan was named the United Soccer League’s PDL Executive of the Year. This is a record third Executive of the Year award presented to the Bucks. The first two were presented to former Bucks General Manager and Co owner, Jim Duggan.
“If Jim had told me it was this easy, I would have asked him why he didn’t win it more often,” joked the elder Duggan. “It is quite an honor to be presented this award. I hope the reason I was selected had more to do with our front office assisting others in this league than the actual work I performed for the Bucks. I had an incredible amount of help in putting this team together in Jim’s absence.”
The Bucks, based in Rochester, Michigan, serve as the minor league affiliate for the Columbus Crew. They are in the process of finalizing their 2007 relationship which will include another possible MLS visit to Detroit this summer. The Bucks open their quest to defend their 2006 PDL championship when they visit the West Michigan Edge on Wednesday, May 16 in Grand Rapids. The opening game of the 2007 season will double as a league game, as well as the first of four qualifiers for the 2007 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
The team continues to wait for final commitments from a few important additions to the 2007 squad, but most of the role players are verbally committed. The Bucks cannot open training camp until May 1, the date when collegiate players are officially eligible to leave school to join their PDL teams. However, the Bucks will hold an open tryout in mid to late April to evaluate anyone that wants an opportunity to be a part of one of the most successful minor league franchises in history. Details of open tryouts will be posted on the Bucks web site by the end of March.
For more information, visit the team web site at www.buckssoccer.com or contact Dan Duggan at gm@buckssoccer.com or (440) 846-7814.
