Bernie's Breakout

        So far the month of October has been one of excitement and anticipation as teams announce who has signed to their squads in the run up to the beginning of the season.  At first I was impressed by the acquisitions of the Illinois Piasa, who signed a number of international and local players to their roster a few months before the season started.  The Piasa, who came into the league posting an impressive 9-3 record in the "Frontier Division" during the 2010-11 season, failed to find success the next two seasons finishing 6-10 and 4-11 respectively.  The initial additions that the Piasa made signaled that this year the team was looking to boost the roster by signing on experienced soccer players with impressive resumes' like Anel Ibricic, Cody Costakis, and Damir Kordic.  Piasa, who play in a division with teams like Chicago, Harrisburg, and Detroit, will need to learn early to win on the road given that seven of their first eleven games are on the road.  I think that the Piasa could have a shot at making the playoffs this year as long as they can hang in the mix of the Eastern Division until the last five regular season games in which the Piasa have 2 games against the B-52's and 4 home games.

       On the other side of the league, Bernie Lilavois is building what looks to be the best expansion team of the 2013-14 PASL season.  When I saw that the very first player signed by the Fury was veteran midfielder Majell Aterado I was highly impressed.  The signing of Majell, who sat out last season with an injury, was a strong signal broadcasted by the Fury Coach about what his intentions are moving forward as a club.  Let's just assume for the moment that, since they have won the last 4 championships, the San Diego Sockers are the best team in the PASL.  As the old adage goes "to be the best, you have to beat the best,"  and that is exactly what Bernie Lilavois plans on doing.  Aterado has played on four championship teams in the PASL, giving him the type of experience you want to build around.  Also,  as a former San Diego Sockers midfielder, Majell has first hand knowledge of what San Diego can do on the field and what, if any, weaknesses may give the Fury any advantage.  The Ontario Fury will have a difficult schedule this season with 4 games against San Diego, 3 games against Las Vegas, 2 games against Turlock and games against Dallas, Monterrey, and Saltillo.  Luckily for the Fury, five out their six first games of the season are played at home. Ontario, which is a two hour drive from San Diego, will get plenty of looks at the Sockers during the regular season, but the match against the Sockers that would be the most important is the one that could happen in the playoffs.
   
        In a strong division like the Pacific with teams like Las Vegas, Turlock, San Diego, and Tijuana, experience and depth go a long way, and Lilavois showed that with his subsequent Fury procurements.  In order to have a chance at competing in the PASL teams need to have experienced players with indoor knowledge and big game experience, and by big game experience I am referring to players with impressive collegiate and professional experience. The PASL is not a league where teams can hold tryouts, recruit local talent, and expect to win championships.  In my opinion, championship teams need to have veterans with championship experience.  So far the Fury have put together an impressive championship caliber line up, which includes Jeff Bader, a cornerstone defender from the Tacoma Stars,  Sanaldo, a solid former MISL goalie,  Tiguinho, "a proven indoor talent'" as Lilavois calls him,   Israel Sesay, a former member of the Los Angeles Galaxy,  Luis Henrique Pinto, an international futsal pro, Tino Nuñez, former Real Salt Lake and Baltimore Blast veteran, and Zach Bautista, Manabu “Manny” Kaji and Miguel Sanchez, all of them carry over players from Lilavois' last team, the Anaheim Bolts.  With ten days left until the beginning of the season, who knows who else the Fury will add to their squad.
     
        The experience that Bernie Lilavois had with the Anaheim Bolts will no doubt shape the direction of the Ontario Fury, and the mistakes with the Bolts will provide the Ontario Fury with a head start at the beginning of the 2013-14 season.  With all of the teams announcing who they have acquired for the upcoming PASL season, the Fury have led the way with signing big game experience and indoor prowess.  I remember going up to the last San Diego game in Anaheim and looking out over a small field with tattered carpet, no glass, and a majority Sockers fans crowd that was swallowed up by the sizable Anaheim Convention Center, and thinking to myself "this is terrible, this is not going to last."  I have a feeling that the Bernie Lilavois' Ontario Fury will not flame out like the Bolts, but will have a breakout season in the PASL, fill the arena with fans, and forge themselves a lasting position in the Ontario Community and with the ever improving PASL.