Kingston Stockade FC semi-pro soccer returns to Dietz Stadium early next month, but the team will see its first unofficial action of the 2018 season this Friday, April 27 at 7 p.m. when they head to Poughkeepsie to take on the NCAA Division I Marist Red Foxes men’s soccer team.
Some of the Marist players in Saturday’s friendly will switch sides in May when their school year is through, including returning players Bruce Jeter and David Nkansah-Siriboe, a pair of forwards who made contributions to Kingston during the team’s successful 2017 campaign. Two current Marist players who are new to Stockade this year are midfielder Juan Parada and midfielder-forward Justin Jaime. Two Marist alums are already familiar faces to the Stockade faithful: Defender Matel Anasta and goalkeeper Steve Skonieczny once played in the red and white.
Of the 39 players who made Stockade FC’s 2018 roster, 22 are returnees and 17 are newcomers. Veterans include fan favorites Michael Creswick and Pedro Espindola up front and two-time captain and defensive stalwart Jamal Lis-Simmons, who at 36 is the team’s elder statesman. Other returnees include forwards Mike Corbi and Eric Fortier; midfielders Victor Guirma, Marco Kloster, Matt Koziol, Mikey Lanzetta, Ross Macklin and Josh Maley; and defenders Phil Barrett, Joe Bogart, Kevin Davis, Juan Gatti, Tom Steigerwald and Scott Zobre. Joining Sknoieczny in goal is returning keeper T.J. Zehner.
Rookie Kingston players with no link to Marist include forward Owen Fingar; midfielders Reid Conde, Hugo Guerra, Christian Henry, Gino Rossi, Jed Sass and Nick Shenberger. Three new goalkeepers also joined the ranks, including Svyatoslav Kozak, Andreas Queen and Lucas Valillo.
Of the 19 active college players on the roster, seven are graduating seniors and will be joining the team immediately, while the remaining 11 will be eligible to begin play for Kingston in May. The average age of players on the team this season is 23, with the median age 22. Three players are still in their teens, including 19-year old Nkansah-Siriboe, and both Guerra and Jaime, who are each just 18.
Kingston will play one more exhibition on Saturday, May 5 at 6 p.m. when they host Newtown Pride FC at Dietz Stadium. Four days later they’ll hit the road for the 105th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when they battle the Long Island Rough Riders Soccer Club of the Premier Development League (PDL) on Wednesday, May 9. Kingston Club Chairman Dennis Crowley said a bus to the game for Stockade supporters is in the works.
Stockade is among 52 open-division teams in the Open Cup, just 19 of which are from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). All open division teams will play in the tournament’s opening round on the same day. Kingston earned its bid into the national tournament on the merits of their 2017 sophomore season, their first under Head Coach David Lindholm, which saw the semi-pro side excite local fans on their way to an Atlantic Conference White-winning 8-5-1 record.
Kingston’s regular NPSL season begins on Saturday, May 12 at 6 p.m. when they host the Rhode Island Reds.
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