Piranhas striker Shan Jones leads W-League Honorees

TAMPA, Fla. – The W-League announced its 2013 regular season honors today, with Virginia Beach Piranhas striker Shan Jones leading the honorees.

Virginia Beach Piranhas striker, Shan Jones

Jones, who captured the Scoring Champion and Goal Scoring Champion titles thanks to her 11 goals and 24 points in 11 games, led the Piranhas (10-1-1) to the W-League’s regular season title and the top overall seed entering playoff action. Jones and her teammates will welcome the Washington Spirit Reserves (7-3-2) when they host the Northeastern Conference Championship, which is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

Impact open season with loss to Piranhas

Impact vs Piranhas, May 11

By Tom Leiss

For Fredericksburg Impact: www.fasaimpact.com

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.—Things got off to a great start for the visiting Fredericksburg Impact in Saturday night’s season opener against the Virginia Beach Piranhas at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. Unfortunately, the hosts were able to rally and then hang on late for a 2-1 W-League victory.

Fredericksburg (0-1-0) earned a corner kick shortly after kickoff and Kara Blosser leapt high and strongly headed home Kimmy Cummings’ cross to put the Impact up 1-0 under five minutes into the game.

Virginia Beach Piranhas looking for host families

Hey Soccer Fans......

  

The Virginia Beach Piranhas are once again looking for host families to host a Piranha in their home for the 2013 season. We have both PDL (male) and W-League (female) players in need of housing. Many of our fans have been host families in the past and have formed close ties with our players.  Many have kept in contact with them long after playing with the Piranhas.  Each host family receives four season passes to all home games, and one free tuition ($159 value) to the World All-Star Soccer Camp. Players start arriving the in late April and will stay with us through the end of July.

  

Please contact us at admin@hrpiranhas.com for more information. Special thanks to all of our previous host families!

Piranhas announce 2013 Ticket Prices and Flexi-Pack

Virginia Beach, Virginia - The Virginia Beach Piranhas announce the clubs 2013 ticket prices which include a Flexi-Pack that allows fans to combine tickets for both men's and women's games.

Season Ticket Flexi-Pack ($79.99) includes 13 tickets that can be used in any combination for regular season PDL and W-League home games. 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER TICKETS

   

The Piranhas are also offering a $19.99 Youth Pass for fans age 12 and younger that includes all 13 regular season PDL and W-League home matches.  Tickets at the gate this season are $8 for adults and $6 for children age 12 and younger.

Matt Busch named head coach of Piranhas

The Virginia Beach Piranhas announced today that Matt Busch will take the head coaching reigns for the PDL team for the 2013 season. Busch has been coaching for over 20 years and currently holds a USSF "A" license, National Youth license, NSCAA National license and serves as Technical Director and Director of Club Operations for Virginia Rush Athletic Club. Busch also serves on the VYSA ODP Staff, is a Region I Staff Coach, and a member of the VYSA Coaching Education Staff. No stranger to the United Soccer Leagues, Busch was the former Operations Manager for the Hampton Roads Mariners  Pro Team. Busch forwent the opportunity to play collegiately at Alfred University as a scholarship player to pursue a military career. Spending nearly 12 years serving the country as a proud member of the United States Navy, Busch participated on the U.S. Military indoor and outdoor teams throughout his service.

Piranhas president, Marcie Laumann is excited to have Matt on board as the head coach stating, "I have known Matt for almost 15 years and I know when he commits to something he gives 100%. His experience as a coach speaks for itself but the passion he brings to the game is what sets him apart. The Piranhas are here for the community and the kids. Our desire is to continue to provide opportunities for players and role models for our community. We need people with passion to infuse our program as we enter our 19th year as a USL organization. Matt can and will do just that".

W-League divisional alignment released, Impact and Piranhas in Northeast Division

TAMPA, Fla. – The W-League released its divisional alignment and schedule for 2013 today, with the action slated to kick off for the 145-game regular season on Saturday, May 11.  The Bay Area Breeze join the 25-team league in 2013, further strengthening the highly competitive Western Conference. 

“The 2013 W-League season will produce a tremendous amount of excitement for players and fans alike,” said Amanda Duffy, senior director of the W-League.  “Top collegiate, amateur and professional players will compete in the W-League while aspiring to reach the top level of women’s soccer in North America. The competition will continue to be enhanced by additional regional rivalries as the fight for post-season spots intensifies.”

The W-League remains divided into three geographic conferences – Eastern, Central and Western – with the Eastern Conference featuring two divisions, the seven-team Northeast and the five-team Southeast.  The Central Conference features six teams, while the Western Conference has seven. W-League clubs will play 10- or 12-game schedules in 2013, with teams facing each opponent in their division home and away. Teams in the Central Conference and Southeast Division will play additional games vs. geographic rivals to complete their schedules.

Five W-League teams have undergone name changes for 2013, including the Carolina Elite Cobras (formerly Central SC Cobras), K-W United FC (Hamilton FC Rage), New York Magic – F.A. Euro (New York Magic), VSI Tampa Bay FC (VSI Tampa Flames) and the Washington Spirit Reserves (D.C. United Women).

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division

Fredericksburg Impact

Long Island Rough Riders

New Jersey Wildcats

New York Magic – F.A. Euro

North Jersey Valkyries

Virginia Beach Piranhas

Washington Spirit Reserves

Piranhas vs. Majestics, weekend W-League action

Piranhas look to remain unbeaten at home when Northern Virginia visits the Sportsplex tomorrow night.

The Virginia Beach Piranhas look to get their offense back on track when they host the Northern Virginia Majestics at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex Wednesday night. The Piranhas were held scoreless for only the second time this season during Saturday's 0-0 tie vs Fredericksburg. Now, with only five games remaining in the 2012 season, the Piranhas will need as many points as possible to make a push for postseason play.

Wednesday's matchup with Northern Virginia (0-5-0) will be a rematch of a June 1st meeting between the two sides. The Piranhas (3-2-2) shutout the Majestics in that game behind Rasheeda Ansari's two goals. Ansari, who leads the Piranhas with 10 points, missed Saturday's match with the Impact. Without Ansari, the Piranhas will rely on the strong play of goalkeeper Marbel Egwuenu and high scorer Esther Anyanwu. Anyanwu's size and speed has proven troublesome for opponents; an advantage the Piranhas hope to capitalize on versus Northern Virginia.  Though the team failed to score in the last game, the Piranhas outshot the Impact, and Anyanwu was thought to have scored in the second half only to have the goal disallowed on an offsides call.

Northern Virginia enters Wednesday's game winless on the season, having only scored two goals in five games. However, the Piranhas are not overlooking their opponent. Virginia Beach currently trails first place D.C. United by seven points in the Atlantic Division. While the two squads will meet twice more this season, the Piranhas need a win versus Northern Virginia to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Majestics, on the other hand, are hungry for their first win and ready to play spoiler tomorrow night.

Wednesday's matchup will mark the end of a three game home stand for Virginia Beach. The Piranhas play their next three games on the road before returning to the Sportsplex for the season finale July 14th.

Hotspur Recap, Weekend matches vs Royals and Piranhas

Hotspur vs Royals

Fredericksburg drop pair of games over weekend

By Tom Leiss
For Fredericksburg Hotspur: www.fasahotspur.com


FREDERICKSBURG, Va.—The Fredericksburg Hotspur Premier Development League team got off to a quick start this season, going undefeated in the team’s first seven games.

Unfortunately, the side has hit a dry spell that resulted in the team’s first two loses of the season over the weekend. On Sunday, Fredericksburg fell 1-0 to the Northern Virginia Royals at the University of Mary Washington. That followed a 3-1 setback against the Virginia Beach Piranhas the day before at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex.

The Hotspur (5-2-2) created an abundance of chances both days, but were unable to get the key goal when needed as they came away with their first two loses of the season.

“I think we are playing well; we have the chances, we just can’t finish now,” Fredericksburg captain Karel Manrau said after Sunday’s game. “So, I think it’s a matter of going back to practice and doing some finishing this week.

“I’m not worried in the sense of we are putting the effort into the game. You can have like 90 percent of the possession; you can have like 50 shots on goal; at the end, you just have to have one goal more than the opponent. So, there’s not a lot of mystery about why we don’t perform lately, we just need to score goals. I’m confident we can come back.”

Coach Keith Marine echoed Manrau’s thoughts and added that the rigors of the seasons may also have caught up with the team a bit. The team only had three field players available as substitutes for Sunday’s game due to injuries and players that were unable to be at the game due to prior commitments.

“We’re playing great soccer, we’re just not finishing,” Marine said. “Sometimes you go through a stretch like that where the goal seems like it’s a Pug goal—2-feet wide, 2-feet tall—and you try too hard and eventually it just comes. Then the goals come a little easier and then you don’t think about it so much, but now it’s on our minds.”

NORTHERN VIRGINIA AT FREDERICKSBURG
Sunday’s game against Fredericksburg’s northern Virginia rivals started out well for the Hotspur. The home side linked together some good passing plays offensively and the defense held firm, allowing only a couple long shots from the Royals.

Despite Fredericksburg controlling possession early, it was Northern Virginia (3-3-2) that would break through first.

In the 33rd minute, A.J. Sheta sent a pass through the right side of the defense to Seth Rudolph. The forward took a touch before slipping a shot past Hotspur goalie Colin Newcity to give the Royals a 1-0 advantage.

Northern Virginia would create the best chances the rest of the half, but the Hotspurs were up to the task. Manrau slide at the last second to block another opportunity in the 37th minute and Newcity came up with a huge point-blank save in added time to keep the Fredericksburg within one at the half.

The Royals’ best opportunity to double their lead after the intermission came only 90 seconds after the restart. Speedy forward Stan Kaweesi broke in free, but was once again denied by a last-second slide tackle from Manrau.

Later, Fredericksburg’s Tishan Hanley got off a 10-yard shot that was saved in the 51st minute and substitute Demar Stephenson continually created havoc for the Royals’ defense.

The Hotspur looked to have leveled the match in the 77th minute when fellow substitute Gene Daniels flicked a nifty pass to Todd Wharton. The midfielder put the ball past Northern Virginia goalie Joel Helmick and into the net, but it was all for naught as the play was waived off due to an offside call by the assistant referee.

Wharton had one last chance in the 80th minute, but tired legs after two hard-fought games in 24 hours took over and his 15-yard shot sailed over the crossbar and the Royals were able to hold on for the win.

Manrau said the losses are tough, but that he thinks the team will be able to recover.

“We’re trying not to panic, trying to come back at the beginning of the week working hard, practicing hard and it’s going to come back” the defender said. “We know we are good enough to be a top team in this division.

“I think if you never have to fight during a season, the first time you’re in trouble, you don’t really know how to react. So, I think it’s good to experience—also the fact that we have a lot of young players; it’s different to experience being in a more negative situation. We’re going to get better after that and going to trust our kids to play hard and win the next game.”

FREDERICKSBURG AT VIRGINIA BEACH
On Saturday, Fredericksburg’s possession game was running on all cylinders and the Hotspur looked dangerous the entire game.

However, outshooting and out-possessing a team doesn’t always earn you a win. The Piranhas (2-6-2) were outshot 16-5 by their guests, but took better advantage of their opportunities to get a victory on their home field.

In the 31st minute, Earl Floyd got around Manrau, who had slipped on the Sportsplex’s turf field. The forward then crossed a ball in front that Jerjer Gibson headed home before Hotspur goalie Ryan Taylor could corral it.

Fredericksburg was not deterred and continued to create chances, the best of which came in the 43rd minute when defender Nick Rich rang a 22-yard free kick off the left post.

The Piranhas doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time. Floyd cut across the top of the goal area from the left and slipped a pass to the right where Devin Pierce one-timed a shot past Taylor to make it 2-0 at the break.

Fredericksburg’s Ryan Sappington said if the missed opportunities had gone the other way; it could have gone a long toward changing how the game played out.

“It’s unfortunate, but it would have been a completely different game,” Sappington said. “ We’ve gotta jump on teams early and when we get the chances, we’ve got to put them away because once we get down we put ourselves in bad spots, we put ourselves in a hole that we have to dig out of.”

Fredericksburg came out pressing after the intermission, and putting more of its shots on target than in the opening 45 minutes. But Virginia Beach goalie Tyler Benham repeatedly came up with big saves to keep them off the scoreboard.

However, Sappington’s hustling play finally paid off for the Hotspur in the 68th minute.

The midfielder ripped a close-range shot from the left that Benham dived to block once again. But Sappington outworked everybody to get to the rebound first and put it away at the right post to bring Fredericksburg within 2-1.

Marine said the play was just a typical example of how Sappington has played all season.

“Ryan always plays with energy. He’s always a positive influence on the other players,” Marine said. “You always know what you’re going to get with Ryan Sappington; you don’t have to worry about that.”

Two minutes later, Hanley broke in free behind the Virginia Beach defense and was taken down in the penalty area by a late slide tackle from a Piranhas’ defender. But instead of awarding a penalty kick opportunity that could have tied the game, the referee showed the Hotspur forward a yellow card for diving.

Marine said the controversial call was a major factor in the final outcome of the game.

“I totally disagree with the yellow card on Tishan,” the coach said. “I think that was a big change in momentum of the game. If that’s a PK instead of a yellow card on a flop, it totally changes it because after that Tishan changed. His game was different.”

Minutes later, Virginia Beach retook its two-goal advantage. After a miscommunication between Taylor and one of his defenders, Gibson raced in and put the loose ball away giving the Piranhas a 3-1 lead with 14 minutes to play.

The Hotspur continued to press, but were continually unable to capitalize, often being denied by Benham (seven saves) as Virginia Beach held on for the win.

Marine said he thought his team outplayed the Piranhas, but that’s not always the deciding factor in a game.

“I just felt we played a really good game and the game can be cruel sometimes and unfortunately we were on one of those today,” he said. “We deserved that victory … we deserved those three points by the way we played.”

Sappington was thinking along the same lines and added: “We just had a few mental lapses that led the breakdowns and goals. I just think it wasn’t our night. We’ve been undefeated up till this, but every team has setbacks and it’s going to be important to see how we bounce back.”

Fredericksburg is back in action on Wednesday with an exhibition game against the D.C. United U-23 team, at 6 p.m., at UMW. The Hotspur return to PDL play on Friday when they host the Real Maryland Monarchs (4-3-2) in a key South Atlantic Division showdown at 6 p.m.

Tryouts announced for Virginia Beach Piranhas

VIRGINIA BEACH PIRANHAS ANNOUNCE 2012
PDL OPEN TRY OUT DATES 

Virginia Beach, Virginia - The Virginia Beach Piranhas have announced an open tryout date for the PDL team for the 2012 season. 

The men's team (PDL) will hold tryouts on March 17 from 2-5 p.m. at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School located at 4552 Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach.

All players must pre-register and there will be a $25 tryout fee per player. Registration and payment must be received by noon on the day before tryout. Registration forms are available on the Piranhas website at http://www.hrpiranhas.com/.  The $25 tryout fee may be paid through the Piranhas site using PayPal.

According to the United Soccer Leagues guidelines, USL rosters may consist of a maximum of 26 players, with 18 designated for each game. PDL teams are permitted a maximum of eight (8) foreign players per roster.

All players trying out for the Piranhas squads must present a valid ID.  Players are encouraged to bring water and be ready to take the field at the exact start time of tryouts.

For more information visit the web site at http://www.hrpiranhas.com/

Tryouts for W-League Virginia Beach Piranhas announced

Official Virginia Beach News Release:


VIRGINIA BEACH PIRANHAS ANNOUNCE 2012
W-LEAGUE OPEN TRY OUT DATES

Virginia Beach, Virginia - The Virginia Beach Piranhas have announced an open tryout date for the W-League team for the 2012 season. 

The womenb's team (W-League) will hold tryouts on March 3 from 9-11 a.m. at Chilled Ponds Turf Field located on Stephanie Way in Chesapeake VA.

All players must pre-register and there will be a $25 tryout fee per player. Registration and payment must be received by noon on the day before tryout. Registration forms are available on the Piranhas website at http://www.hrpiranhas.com/.  The $25 tryout fee may be paid through the Piranhas site using PayPal.

According to the United Soccer Leagues guidelines, USL rosters may consist of a maximum of 26 players, with 18 designated for each game. W-League teams are permitted a maximum of eight (8) foreign players per roster.

All players trying out for the Piranhas squads must present a valid ID.  Players are encouraged to bring water and be ready to take the field at the exact start time of tryouts.

For more information visit the web site at http://www.hrpiranhas.com/

Abegg, Goddard named to 2011 W-League All-Conference Team

The W-League has announced their selections for 2010 All-Conference Teams and D.C. United Women Defender Marisa Abegg made the Eastern Conference along with Stephanie Goddard of the Virginia Beach Piranhas.

Eastern Conference
GK – Ashley Baker, Atlanta Silverbacks
D – Sue Weber, Long Island Rough Riders
D – Blakely Mattern, Charlotte Lady Eagles
D – Ashley Swinehart, Charlotte Lady Eagles
D – Marisa Abegg, DC United Women
MF – Megan Tomlinson, Atlanta Silverbacks
MF – Samantha Huecker, Charlotte Lady Eagles
MF – Brittany Persaud, Dayton Dutch Lions
F – Stephanie Goddard, Virginia Beach Piranhas
F – Danielle Schulmann, North Jersey Valkyries
F – Tiffini Turpin, Atlanta Silverbacks

Piranhas' Goddard is W-League Player of the Week

TAMPA, Fla. – United Soccer Leagues announced the W-League Team of the Week today, with Virginia Beach’s Steffi Goddard earning Player of the Week honors. Goddard hit Fredericksburg for three goals this past Saturday to help the Piranhas to a 5-4 victory, their first of the season.

PDL PIRANHAS EARN LAST MINUTE DRAW WITH HOTSPURS

Virginia Beach, Virginia – The Piranhas earned their fourth point in two matches against the Fredericksburg Hotspur Saturday night, pulling out an 80th minute 1-1 draw at the Sportsplex. The first meeting between the two squads resulted in a 2-1 Piranhas win.

W LEAGUE PIRANHAS BEAT FREDERICKSBURG ON 90TH MINUTE GOAL

Virginia Beach, Virginia – In a breakneck, end-to-end match that had four lead changes in the second half, the W League Piranhas found their form Saturday night, beating the Fredericksburg Impact 5-4 on a stoppage time goal by midfielder Steffi Goddard. Goddard added two other goals after the break to earn the Piranhas’ first hat-trick of the season, scoring all three in the final 45 minutes.

W LEAGUE PIRANHAS FACE FREDERICKSBURG IMPACT SATURDAY NIGHT

Virginia Beach, Virginia – Third time is a charm. That’s the theme for the W-League Piranhas as they want to earn their first win in the third game of the 2011 season on Saturday, June 4 against Fredericksburg Impact. The doubleheader at the Sportsplex kicks off with the women’s game at 5.30 p.m.; the PDL team will host Fredericksburg Hotspur at 8 p.m. Gates open at 4.30 p.m. and tickets are $8 and include both games.

PDL and W-League Piranhas Coaches get help at the Helm

Virginia Beach, Virginia – The Virginia Beach Piranhas are pleased to announce the hiring of two new assistant coaches for the 2011 season. Chris Cullop will assist Wendy Waddell for the W-League Piranhas and Rafael Mendivil will help Cesar Rizzo, coach of the PDL-Piranhas.

Virginia PDL Round-up

Checking in with the three Virginia PDL clubs this week to see how each of them fared in league contests.


Royals Top Carolina Dynamo 1-0

Still reeling after giving up two late goals to lose 2-1 to the Fredericksburg Hotspur the night before, the Northern Virginia Royals retaliated with an exciting 1-0 victory over the Carolina Dynamo in their home opener. Royals midfielder AJ Sheta provided the home-side heroics with the game-winning goal in the 66th minute to give Northern Virginia their first win of the season.

Full game details HERE


DYNAMO SLIPS PAST PDL PIRANHAS 3-0

Greensboro, North Carolina – The PDL Piranhas dropped a 3-0 decision to the Carolina Dynamo Saturday night at McPherson Stadium but the match played on the pitch was much closer than the final score. Two outstanding Carolina saves on Piranhas’ shots, a shot that hit the goalpost and a missed call by the officials are not reflected in the final score. Carolina only outshot the Red and White 13-12 and saves were even at 3-3. The Piranhas simply couldn’t find the back of the net.

Full game details HERE


Fredericksburg beat Monarchs 3-0 

Full game details HERE



Up next in USL PDL action:

Sat. June 4th - Northern Virginia Royals at Carolina Dynamo

Sat. June 4th - Fredricksburg Hotspur at Virginia Beach Piranhas

Piranhas drop 3-0 decision to the Carolina Dynamo

Greensboro, North Carolina – The PDL Piranhas dropped a 3-0 decision to the Carolina Dynamo Saturday night at McPherson Stadium but the match played on the pitch was much closer than the final score. Two outstanding Carolina saves on Piranhas’ shots, a shot that hit the goalpost and a missed call by the officials are not reflected in the final score. Carolina only outshot the Red and White 13-12 and saves were even at 3-3. The Piranhas simply couldn’t find the back of the net.

Piranhas sign two from Germany

Virginia Beach, Virginia - It sounds like the perfect dream: come to the United States, experience the American way of life, meet new people, see new places, live at the beach, and, above all else, play soccer. For three months Anja Barwinsky and Stephanie Goddard from Germany are able to live out this dream. The two got recruited to play for the 2011 squad of the Virginia Beach W-League Piranhas.

USL - PDL Round-up

Checking in with the three Virginia PDL clubs this week to see how each of them fared in league contests.

Fredricksburg Hotspur 2-1 vs Northern Virginia Royals

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — It was looking like another long day for the Fredericksburg Hotspur in the early going, but after surrendering a goal in the opening minutes, the Hotspur eventually rallied late for a dramatic 2-1 win against the Northern Virginia Royals at the University of Mary Washington on Saturday night.


Full game details HERE


Virginia Beach Piranhas lose 3-1 against West Virginia Chaos

CHARLESTON, W.V. – Playing in their first road game of the USL Premier Development League's 2011 season, and playing without four midfielders and two forwards who helped the team register an impressive opening day win against Fredericksburg, the Virginia Beach Piranhas fell 3-1 to the West Virginia Chaos at Shoenbaum Stadium on Saturday night.


Full game details HERE

Up next in USL PDL action:

Sat. May 28th - Virginia Beach at Carolina

Sun. May 29th - Fredricksburg at Northern Virginia

Mon. May 20th - Fredricksburg home against Maryland