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Boca To Field Three Teams For Summer Club – Berekeley Times
February 6, 2008

Eye On Sports
Berekeley Times
February 6, 2008

Boca To Field Three Teams For Summer Club

TOMS RIVER – The Jersey Shore Boca soccer club announced that the club will be entering three teams in the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League (MSSL) for the 2008 season and is searching for the top men’s and women’s college age players from the shore area to join the club for the spring and summer.

Boca will field both a U23 men’s and U23 women’s team, along with a U20 men’s team, this summer as the club participates for the fifth consecutive year as one of the inaugural founding members of MSSL.

All college age players and high school seniors who were born on or after August 1, 1984 are eligible to participate on the Boca summer teams, provided they have not signed a professional contract with the US Soccer Federation.

All interested players should log onto the club’s official Web site at jerseyshoreboca. com and submit their soccer background along with any playing references.

Selected players will be invited to attend initial tryouts for Boca MSSL teams starting in the spring.

MSSL is a fifth year regional soccer league fostering high-level competition during the summer months at both the youth and adult ages in both men’s and women’s divisions.

The adult level of MSSL is specifically designed for collegiate players under the age of 23 and is fully sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA), the national governing body for adult amateur soccer.

Boca’s MSSL home league games for 2008 will be played at the new John Patrick Sports Complex in Lakewood.

“During our club’s history, we have always provided a competitive environment for our college players to stay active over the summer months when they return to the shore. MSSL allows us to continue our college-age program this year at the highest level of soccer available with the most affordable cost. This is not a Sunday tavern league. There are very good players in this league, and excellent soccer is played as we have seen over the past several years. I believe our Boca summer teams of recent years have set the standard for our summer competition,” said Walt Konopka, a member of the Jersey Shore Boca Board of Directors who runs the U23 summer program.

The 2007 summer season finished as one of the most successful summer programs in the history of the club.

The Boca U23 women’s team took the pitch for their inaugural season and quickly established themselves as a highly respected program in the northeast. The Boca U23 women were invited to the 2007 USASA U23 Regional Tournament and advanced to the finals of the Mid-Atlantic Summer Showcase League MSSL Cup Championships during their first year together.

The Boca U23 men also were invited to the 2007 USASA U23 Regional Tournament for the second consecutive year and made MSSL league history by joining the women’s team by becoming the first ever men’s and women’s teams in league history from the same soccer club to advance to the finals of the MSSL Cup Championships.

During the 2006 season, the Boca U23 men set an overall club record of 16 wins in their spring and summer together as the team finished at 16-5-1 and advanced to the semi-finals of the USASA U23 Regional Tournament.

Also, two members from Boca’s 2006 U23 men’s team, Chris Konopka and Teddy Niziolek, were selected by the Kansas City Wizards and Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer in the MLS 2007 Supplemental Draft.

The Jersey Shore Boca summer soccer program is officially sponsored by Surf Taco. Boca has been a fixture in the soccer community since 1978 and is one of the most respected soccer clubs on the East Coast.

The club is celebrating their 30-year anniversary this year.

Eye On Sports
Berekeley Times
February 6, 2008