Pontiac, MI (May 13, 2009) - The Michigan Bucks have announced part of their 2009 starting roster today and fans will see some familiar faces in Pontiac this year. The club has decided to add veteran talent to their normal crop of young college superstars this year to build on last year’s PDL regular season championship record of 13-1-2. One would think that with only one defeat in 2009, there wouldn’t be much to tinker with, but the Bucks front office was busy in the offseason creating a positive mix of youth and veteran players to open the 2009 season.
The Bucks begin their fourteenth season in the United Soccer League’s (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) when they host the Kalamazoo Outrage at Ultimate Soccer Arenas on Saturday night (7:30 kickoff). In addition to the normal star college players from Oakland University, Michigan State, Lindsey Wilson and Michigan, the Bucks have signed several former Major League Soccer (MLS) players to add a bit of maturity to the team -- bringing in defender Kevin Taylor (former University of Michigan; right in photo), Kevin Reiman (former Michigan State) and Stephen Herdsman (former Cornerstone College; left in photo), all who were drafted and spent time in MLS.
Returning to the Bucks this season is Kevin Taylor, the 2005 PDL Defensive Player of the Year logged over 60 appearances for the club from 2002-2005. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Taylor was drafted by MLS’s Colorado Rapids in 2004. Following a brief stint with the Rapids, Taylor played for USL First Division clubs the Rochester Rhinos (05-06) and Minnesota Thunder (07-08).
Reiman returns to Michigan after being drafted by Real Salt Lake in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft. Kevin played the last two seasons with RSL and led the club’s reserve team to a second place overall finish last season. The speedy left winger will electrify the crowd with his pace and ability to run at defenders, while enjoying the spacious home field at Ultimate Soccer Arenas.
Herdsman will provide the second piece of the Bucks twin towers at center back this season, as he returns to play high level soccer for perhaps the last few seasons of his career. Probably the most athletic player on the 2009 Bucks roster, the solid defender was drafted by Colorado in the 2001 SuperDraft and spent time playing for the Rapids and for the Columbus Crew.
Bucks coach Dan Fitzgerald is pleased with the defensive additions to this year’s team as they prepare to defend their regular season title.
“We lost some pretty solid defensive players last year in Mike Holody, Ian Daniel and Kyle Russell and we lost an electric wide midfield player in Ty Shipalane. By adding Herdsman and KT to anchor our back line, we should be solid through the middle. With Steve Clark returning in goal and Piotr Nowak holding down the defensive midfield position, we have lots of experience to shut down our opponents. Reiman adds the attacking wide presence we needed with Ty going pro. I like what we have to work with this pre-season.”
Bucks Director of Coaching, Gary Parsons is happy with the signings that he feels are necessary to achieve this season’s objectives.
“I don’t think it’s a secret that the Bucks focus on qualifying for the [Lamar Hunt] U.S. Open Cup each season as much as we do in winning the division and qualifying for the playoffs. We have had success in both aspects, especially over the past three seasons. Last year we had an early dismissal from the playoffs on a last minute goal and the past two seasons we were eliminated from the US Open Cup by the Second Division pro league champion. We feel if we are going to take the next step this season in both of these categories, we needed to add some experience and maturity to the field and the locker room. KT, Stephen and Kevin have all spent the past several seasons playing professional soccer in this county and understand what it takes to win at the next level,” said Parsons.
Tickets for the Bucks 2009 season opener at Ultimate Soccer Arenas are available now at USA and on line at Ticketmaster. Tickets are $10 adults and $7 youth (15 and under). Kids 5 and under are always free to Bucks games. For more information about the 2009 Bucks roster, schedule, summer camps, etc., please visit the Bucks web site at www.buckssoccer.com.
MLS Talk Podcast Interviews Dan Duggan
The Major League Soccer Talk Podcast will feature Bucks Chairman and CEO Dan Duggan this Friday, May 15. Fans can listen to the interview by subscribing to "Major League Soccer Talk" in the podcast section of iTunes or by visiting www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com on Friday afternoon. Hosted by long-time soccer writer and personality Kartik Krishnaiyer, The Major League Soccer Talk podcast is the top soccer podcast in the country, focusing entirely on issues surrounding the game in the United States.
