Ironmen Sign Defender Hall

The Ironmen made their first defensive acquisition of the off season today when they came to terms with defender Ryan Hall.

Hall, a natural left-footed defender, registered the third most blocked shots in the MISL while playing for the the California Cougars last season. His indoor career began in 2003 as a member of the Cleveland Force, who were then lead by Omid Namazi.

The signing will help balance a potent roster that includes offensive talent such as Aduato Neto and Jonathan Steele. Hall is the sixth player signed by the Ironmen this month.

We here at the Local Fe26 will continue to keep you up on all Ironmen player moves. You can check out our "Transactions" archive to catch up on all the off season signings.

Boney Joins New Jersey

Shawn Boney - Image From MISL Website

The Ironmen added yet another offensive threat to their roster today when they inked forward Shawn Boney.

Boney, who stands at 6' 7", will provided the Ironmen with a solid target up front. He registered nine goals and seven assists in 16 appearances for the Orlando Sharks last season.

The 37-year-old was drafted by the Los Angeles Galaxy in 1997. Boney's indoor career includes time with the Philadelphia Kixx, where he was part of two championship squads.

As always, we here at the Local Fe26 will keep you up on all Ironmen off season moves.

Steele Assists Islanders Into CCL Quarters (Irons In USL Update)

Jonathan Steele - Image From USL Website

Jonathan Steele's first half assist helped the Puerto Rico Islanders earn a 2-2 draw last night with Tauro FC in a crucial CONCACAF Champions League group match. The result eliminates Tauro from the tournament and allows the Islanders to advance into the Quarterfinals.

Steele's assist came in the 27th minute when he slotted a perfectly weighted pass to a streaking Fabrice Noel, who eluded the charging keeper and deposited the ball into the vacated goal.

The Islanders opponent in the Quarters will be determined once all group matches are completed.

The Ironmen signed Steele earlier this week. The 22-year-old midfielder was named the Most Valuable Player for the 2008 USL-1 season.

We here at the Local Fe26 are excited about the Islanders making it into the final eight. Check back for more on their run to the cup.

Ironmen Land Farias

Carlos Farias (Left) - Image From MISL Website

The Ironmen added more offensive firepower to the mix yesterday when they signed Carlos "Chile" Farias for the upcoming 2008-09 season.

The 32-year-old Chilean striker is a veteran of the indoor game. Farias began his indoor career in 1996 with the San Diego Sockers of the CISL. He has had stints with four different MISL sides, including one season with the St. Louis Steamers, who were then coached by Omid Namazi.

Farias played last season for the Chicago Storm, netting 16 goals and notching 26 assists in 29 appearances.

The signing adds more offensive potency to a roster that already includes Aduato Neto, Lucio and Jonathan Steele. The Ironmen should be able to put up some serious numbers with this core of players.

As always, we here at the Local Fe26 will keep you abreast of all Ironmen off season transactions.

Alavanja Signs With Storm

Lazo Alavanja - Image From Charlston Battery Website

Lazo Alavanja will not be returning to the Ironmen next season. The Chicago Storm recently announced the addition of Alavanja to their roster for the upcoming 2008-2009 XSL campaign. The 31-year-old previously played for the Storm from 2004 to 2006.

Alavanja starred in the midfield for the Irons last season, tallying 16 goals and 16 assists in 28 matches. New Jersey will look to the newly inked Lucio and Jonathan Steele to pick up the production in the midfield.

We here at the Local Fe26 will miss Lazo. Stay tuned for more off season player moves.

Ironmen Ink USL Standout Steele

Jonathan Steele - Image From Puerto Rico Islanders Website

The Ironmen continued to add top-flight talent to the roster yesterday when they announced the signing of reigning USL-1 MVP Jonathan Steele.

The 22-year-old midfielder earned MVP honors after tallying two goals and 11 assists during the 2008 regular season while playing for the Puerto Rico Islanders. Steele helped lead the Islanders to the USL-1 championship game and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Steele's indoor career has included stints with the Kansas City Comets, Baltimore Blast and Philadelphia Kixx. He notched seven goals and six assists in 17 appearances for the Kixx last season.

Steele has also been capped for his play with the U-19 Northern Ireland National Team.

We here at the Local Fe26 are excited about the move. Steele is the third player to be signed this off season who will likely make an immediate impact during the upcoming campaign. The Ironmen signed former MISL MVP Aduato Neto and attack-minded midfielder Lucio Gonzaga earlier this month. The combination of the three players should help the Irons formulate a very potent attack.

Check back at the Local Fe26 for all Ironmen off season transactions.

Ironmen To Hold Open Tryouts In November

We here at the Local Fe26 get quite of few questions about Ironmen tryouts. Well, for those of you interested, here's your chance.

The Ironmen will be holding open tryouts on November 22nd at Turf City in Wayne, NJ starting at 7:00 PM. Candidates must pre-register by calling Ironmen Operations Manager Gioia DiFlumeri at (973) 757-6303. A non-refundable fee of $50 is required. Prospective players must wear soccer attire and indoor flats to the tryout.

You can check out the full details on the Ironmen website.

The Local Fe26 wishes all candidates the best of luck!

XSL Inks Internet Broadcast Deal

The Xtreme Soccer League announced this week that all league matches during the upcoming regular season will be broadcast on the B2 Internet Network.

The deal will make it far easier to follow the Ironmen, especially during road trips. Finding feeds for away games was nearly impossible last year.

However, there is a price attached to the service. Fans will need to dish out a decent amount of cash in order to check out games. According to the league, there are three options available:

* Individual matches can be purchased for $7 per game.

* Fans can buy a "Season Pass" for $60, which will grant access to all regular season matches for a single team.

* All 40 XSL regular season matches can be bought for a price of $99.

We here at the Local Fe26 will continue to keep you up to date on all Ironmen happenings. You can check out the B2 Networks website here.

Islanders Back In CCL Action (Irons In USL Update)

John Krause and the Puerto Rico Islanders will look to get back on the winning track this Thursday when they host CSD Municipal in a CONCACAF Champions League Group D matchup. The game can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel starting at 11:00 PM ET.

The Islanders will be coming into the match fresh off a road loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL championship match. They have also dropped their last Champions League meeting to Club Santos Laguna on October 8th in Torreón.

Despite the recent losses, the Islanders remain situated at the top of the Group D table with a 2-1-1 record.

The Islanders played Municipal to an impressive 2-2 draw while on the road in Guatemala during their first meeting on October 1st.

We here at the Local Fe26 will be rooting hard for the Islanders. Check back for more on the their run to the Cup.

Ironmen 2008-2009 Regular Season XSL Schedule

The New Jersey Ironmen released their official XSL regular season schedule today. Each of the four teams play a 20 game schedule, with 10 home games and 10 away. The Ironmen home games will consist of five Sunday games, three Fridays, one Saturday and one Wednesday morning “school day” game (much like last year’s matchup with Orlando). Here is how the Ironmen XSL schedule shapes up:

Now, for clarification, the schedule does not include possible inter-league or exhibition matches, and is only representative of the XSL regular season schedule. It is yet to be seen if the Ironmen will in fact be adding such matches to the schedule. The Local Fe26 team will keep you up to date on any changes or additions in the future.

Image co/ New Jersey Ironmen

L

Pics From Grassroot Soccer United Event

The Ironmen hosted an event Monday to benefit Ethan Zohn's Grassroot Soccer. Zohn is in the midst of a three month, 550-mile dribbling tour that is aimed at raising money and awareness to help combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa. The 2-mile Newark leg of the tour started in Lincoln Park, moved along Broad and Mulberry Streets and ended in the Prudential Center. Dribbling honors went to a procession consisting of Ironmen players, local youth and Newark Councilman Oscar James.

The Local Fe26 was present at the event. Below are some of the pictures that we snapped along the way. Click on each image to enlarge. You can check out many more of our pictures from Monday's event here.

Goran Vasic and Head Coach Omid Namazi dribble down the heart of Broad Street

(Top row, left to right) Aduato Neto, Head Coach Omid Namazi, Councilman Oscar James, Ethan Zohn, Goran Vasic and friends

Members of the Ironmen Dance Team greet the procession from the steps of Newark City Hall

The procession begins up Broad Street

Claudio Reyna supported the event

Islanders Come Up Short (Irons In USL Update)

The Puerto Rico Islanders suffered a disappointing end to their stellar season last night when they fell on the road to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL First Division championship match by a score of 2-1.

The match remained scoreless in the first half after goalkeeper Bill Guadette bailed out the Islanders defense on two different occasions. The contest's first goal came in the 55th minute when a Whitecap corner was deflected high in front of goal. Whitecap striker Charles Gbeke was able to out jump a defender and head the ball into net.

But the Islanders found an equalizer thirteen minutes later when Sandy Gbandi headed a Noah Delgado cross into the Vancouver goal from just atop the six yard box.

However, the Whitecaps answered in the 75th minute when they worked a throw-in into the box where an unmarked Gbeke nodded it into goal for his second tally of the match. The goal proved to be the match winner.

Despite the loss, the Islanders still have work ahead of them. They will take on CSD Municipal at home in CONCACAF Champions League play on October 23rd. The Islanders are currently tied for the Group D lead with a 2-1-1 record.

We here at the Local Fe26 congratulate John Krause and the Islanders on earning their first USL regular season title in club history. We look forward to their matches in the Champions League and hope to see Krause back on the pitch for the Ironmen in the near future.

Ironmen To Host Event For Grassroot Soccer

The Ironmen are set to host an event to benefit Ethan Zohn's Grassroot Soccer United tomorrow in Newark's Lincoln Park starting at 3:00 PM. Ironmen head coach Omid Namazi will be on hand along with players Aduato Neto and Goran Vasic.

Grassroot Soccer is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. Zohn has played soccer professionally for the Cape Cod Crusaders of the USL Premier Development League and Highlanders FC in Zimbabwe. He gained wide notoriety for his participation in the reality television series Survivor.

A few of us here at the Local Fe26 will be making our way over to this worthy charitable event. For further info, check the Ironmen website.

Islanders Vie For USL-1 Championship (Irons In The USL Update)

John Krause (Left) And Teammates - Image From Puerto Rico Islanders Website

It has been great fun for us here at the Local Fe26 following the progression of John Krause and the Puerto Rico Islanders during the USL season. We will be rooting hard for the Islanders when they travel to Swangard Stadium this Sunday to challenge the Vancouver Whitecaps for the USL First Division Championship. The match can be seen on Fox Soccer Channel starting at 7:00 PM ET.

The Islanders spent the beginning of the season at the bottom of the table after posting only one win in the first two months of play. However, Colin Clarke's side was able to quickly climb the standings after stringing together five victories in a row in July and an impressive 12-game unbeaten streak that spanned from early August to the beginning of October. The Islanders finished the campaign with a 15-6-9 record and their first regular season title in club history.

Despite their stellar form, the road to the the Championship match was not an easy one for the Islanders. They dropped the first leg of the semifinals to the Rochester Rhinos, but were able to bridge the deficit and take the lead on aggregate in extra-time during the home leg match.

John Krause has been a standout in his center back role all year. His steady play on the back line has helped the Islanders concede the least number of goals in the league this season.

The Islanders are 1-0-2 against Whitecaps this year. The Whitecaps finished the regular season with a 15-7-8 record and knocked off the Minnesota Thunder and Montreal Impact in the playoffs.

This one should be a tight and hotly contested match. Check back here at the Local Fe26 for a post game summary.

Islanders Fall To Santos (Irons In USL Update)

John Krause and the Puerto Rico Islanders suffered their first drawback in CONCACAF Champions League play when they fell to Club Santos Laguna last night by a count of 3-0.

Krause and the Islanders defense struggled while playing on the hostile ground of Estadio Corona. The first goal came in the 29th minute when Krause lost his footing in the box while defending Santos striker Peralta Aribe. As Krause fell to the pitch, Aribe turned and fired an unchallenged shot into the Islanders' net.

Constant Santos pressure lead to two more goals coming in the 54th and 69th minutes.

The meeting was the second between the two teams in Group D play. The Islanders took the first match 3-1 at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium.

Despite the loss, the Islanders remain tied with Tauro FC for the group lead with a 2-1-1 record. The next Islanders match will be Sunday against the Vancouver Whitecaps for the USL-1 Championship.

Lucio Joins The Ironmen

The Ironmen announced the signing of midfielder Lucio Gonzaga on Monday. The Brazilian notched 15 goals and four assists in 21 appearances for the Baltimore Blast last season. The upcoming campaign will be his second in the indoor game.

Lucio is the second player to be signed away from the Blast's championship squad from last year. Aduato Neto was inked by the Ironmen last week. The addition of the two Brazilians should make New Jersey a viable attacking threat. It will be interesting to see which players return from last year's squad and which ones are added into the mix in the upcoming weeks.

We here at the Local Fe26 will keep you up to date as the roster continues to shape up.

Ironmen Ink Neto

The Ironmen announced this week that the team has signed ex-Baltimore Blast star forward Aduato Neto.

The 28 year-old Brazilian has been a standout in the indoor game in recent years, notching 106 goals and 72 assists in 137 games played. Neto's resume also includes MVP honors for the 2005-2006 MISL campaign.

Despite missing the first 11 games, Neto finished last season with 12 goals and 22 assists for the Blast. He tallied three goals and two assists in the Blast's successful playoff run to the MISL title.

The signing is a clear signal that the Ironmen are serious about competing for top-flight player talent. It will be interesting to see how transactions shake out in the coming weeks. The luring of Neto away from Baltimore could help stir up the rivalry between the Blast and Irons, as well as between the two new leagues. The Blast quickly announced the signing of nine of their players from last season's squad a day after the Ironmen's press conference.

As always, we here at the Local Fe26 will keep you up to date with any Ironmen related player transaction.