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New Britain
Herald
The official
news outlet of
SoccerPlus CT
Friday, January
26, 2007
Local Sports -
Pages 52 & 53
"If you build
it, soccer will
thrive, Tony
DiCicco hopes
SoccerPlus is a
stepping stone
to a new
professional
women's
league..." |
If you build
it, soccer will thrive
By: Ken Lipshez, Herald Staff
01/26/2007
FARMINGTON - Tony DiCicco treads carefully
on a slippery slope that
surrounds a leveled off,
mud-covered parcel of land adjacent to his
office at the breathtaking Farmington Sports
Arena indoor soccer facility on Executive
Drive. A chain-link fence delineates the far
border and a man-made drainage pond near the
building forms the other. A well has been
installed to accommodate an irrigation
system, its proposed heads marked by little
green flags in a row.
To the naked eye, it doesn't look like much
but DiCicco is a man of vision. The
Wethersfield native proved as much by
leading the United States women's soccer
program out of the wilderness in the
mid-1990s and to the forefront of the world
stage. He reinforced his legacy locally by
establishing FSA SoccerPlus, which lends its
name to 23 elite youth teams complete with
training camps and a nucleus of coaches to
support them. Now it's lending its name to a
team in America's best women's soccer
league.
DiCicco entered yet another facet of soccer
administration Monday when he announced the
birth of SoccerPlus Connecticut, a new
franchise that will begin play May 12 in the
Women's Premier Soccer League. His long-term
vision as the team's owner and coach is to
help re-launch women's professional soccer
in the United States, to pick up where the
now-defunct WUSA broke ground under his
guidance as commissioner from 2001-03.
The site next to FSA will be the team's home
field. If DiCicco's track record is any
indication, neither the project nor the
playing field will feature any slippery
slopes.
"We want this to be affordable, available,
high-level competition for the soccer
community in Connecticut," DiCicco said.
"We're not looking to make money through
ticket sales. We will charge admission, but
that won't be a make-or-break factor as far
as being able to operate this team. We need
sponsors, investors, trade investors
(barter). We will be an Adidas team.
Hopefully they'll provide uniforms for us,
but I know they're going to help us out at
some level."
DiCicco has enlisted Lisa Cole as team
president and Shawn Kelly of Bristol as
general manager. Cole, a goalkeeper at
Pacific Lutheran, was the head coach at the
University of Rhode Island and has served as
an assistant at UConn, Florida State and
Mississippi.
"The WPSL approached Tony asking him if he
was interested in coaching at the highest
level," Cole said. "They were interested in
bringing a team into Connecticut. Players
were asking him why he wasn't coaching and
that they'd like to play for him. It was
initially a request from the league and
players."
DiCicco is leaning heavily on Cole as the
roster takes shape. They will stock the
roster with players of all levels - former
professionals, former and current college
players and even a few elite youngsters.
"Lisa is contacting players, contacting the
Connecticut districts and the individual
clubs and is spreading the word," DiCicco
said. "She is the centerpoint of what's
happening with this team. I hope she's here
for the long haul."
Perhaps the key player on the SoccerPlus
Connecticut roster is former UConn star and
current Central Connecticut assistant coach
Jennifer Tietjen Prozzo.
Prozzo, 29, attended the University of
Connecticut from 1995-1999, finishing with
16 goals and 64 assists in 97 games as a
midfield/defender. She is the all-time
career record holder for assists at UConn.
Prozzo was a central defender in the WUSA
for the Philadelphia Charge. She started and
played all 90 minutes of every game but one
in her three-year career. In 2002, she was
one of three finalists for Defensive Player
of the Year and was chosen First Team
All-WUSA. She led the Charge to the
semifinals of the WUSA Founders Cup two
straight seasons.
"It was a shame when the WUSA disbanded,"
said Prozzo, a Long Island native who has
settled in Southington. "It's a new start
and it's right here in my backyard. The goal
is to become a professional team in a new
professional league.
"We know we have to start somewhere and lay
the groundwork down. This is where we're
going to start and this is where we're going
to play. We have to show our product and we
have to get the fans coming."
The excitement builds for the SoccerPlus
staff as it watches the new field taking
shape.
"A lot of the players come from the suburbs
and a lot of the clubs (like FSA) are in the
suburbs," Cole said. "It will be a perfect
environment. We're going to take the team to
other parts of Connecticut (for exhibition
games) to bring together the whole state,
but our home base is in Farmington."
DiCicco said the possibility exists for
expanding the site, a proposition that could
someday present Farmington as home to a
professional franchise. Wide open space
stretches out well beyond the FSA property
line in two directions.
"There is ongoing communication (about
purchasing some adjacent land)," DiCicco
said. "Some of the property is in the
process of being sold. We want it to be
either off the table for selling or be sold
so we can talk to the owners without the
variables of potential buyers."
The rebirth of the women's professional
game, however, is just a long-term vision as
SoccerPlus Connecticut prepares for its
inaugural campaign.
"I think the WUSA will come back, but I
don't have a timetable," DiCicco said.
"There have been some exciting conversations
recently. This will be a platform for the
players to be seen by the national team, to
get endorsements."
He said a new WUSA is "a step, probably two
steps removed" from the WPSL.
"One, we want to provide an opportunity for
players to continue their growth, getting
ready for a WUSA re-launch, getting ready
for the national team or just getting ready
for their college season," Cole said. "We're
helping develop the best players in
Connecticut."
DiCicco said the game experience will be
fan-friendly. As fans walk into the field,
they will go through an area dedicated to
having fun with soccer.
"There will be a festive, fun, colorful
interactive area," DiCicco said. "We'd love
to get sponsors for a radar-gun,
how-hard-can-you-kick it contest, an
obstacle course, a paint-your-face booth -
all the little things that make the
experience a little more special than just
coming and watching the game."
Other notables besides Prozzo are former
North Haven High and Penn State star Tiffany
Weimer and ex-UConn scoring sensation
Kristen Graczyk. the team will have some
local flavor, too, with ex-Wethersfield High
All-Stater Leah Loguidice, currently at the
University of South Carolina.
Also on the roster is Chelsea Hunter, 15, a
product of the Middletown youth leagues who
is a forward at Loomis Chaffee School in
Windsor.
SoccerPlus CT players Jen Tietjen Prozzo and
Tiffany Weimer will be signing autographs
and distributing free poster schedules at
the Connecticut Junior Soccer Association
Convention Saturday at the Farmington
Marriott Hotel between 10 a.m. and noon.
©The Herald 2007
