The 2008-09 Freestate Dragons wish to thank the following sponsors for their generosity:

J.E. Rice Insurance, Inc.

Jim Buckley Offsetting and Services, Inc.

Ultra Recycling, Inc.

Upcoming Training Sessions:

-- Sunday, October 5 -- Practice, 6:30-7:45 p.m., Huston field

-- Sunday, October 19 -- Practice, 4:30-6:00 p.m., Huston field

-- Sunday, October 26 -- Practice, 4:30- 6:00 p.m., Huston field 

Upcoming Showcase Tournaments:

-- CASL Showcase, Raleigh, NC, November 21-23

-- Tampa Sun Bowl, Tampa, FL, December 26-30

*Reminder: If you haven't turned in lottery ticket stubs/money for the Dragons fund raiser, please contact Christine Rodriguez ASAP (see email for contact info).

The Dragons played to a 2-2 tie versus the U17 National Team from Trinidad and Tobago in an international friendly hosted by Calvert Soccer Association.

Joey Gorirossi opened the scoring to give the Dragons a 1-0 lead in about the 35th minute of play, sending a hard shot from just inside the box past the Trinidad keeper off of a crisp pass from Reggie Clermont.

Trinidad came out very strong in the second half and netted an equalizer early in the half. Midway through the 2nd half, Trinidad scored again to go ahead 2-1. But the Dragons found their form and pressed hard on the attack in the latter part of the 2nd half. In about the 80th minute of play, Ryan Leslie sent a cross into the box that found Mark Miller, who flicked the ball to Max Allegro in front of the net. Allegro tallied a perfectly timed header to tie the score at 2-2.

Nick Staufenberger, Kevin Fitch, Daniel Artin, Nick Mattox, Ramone Cameron, and Patrick Thornton were also strong on the attack and in the midfield throughout the match.

Dragons keeper Luke Kell was phenominal in the net, making several remarkable saves. He was supported by fantastic defensive play from Matt Michael, William Fisher, Mike Kane, and Clermont.

Date             Winning #        Winner                     Amount            Ticket Seller

10/01/08            990               Jim Barry                  $  50.00              Nick Mattox

10/02/08            270               Philip Artin                $  25.00              Dan Artin

10/03/08            913               Jason Carcamo         $  25.00             Jason Carcamo

10/04/08            010               Mike Kane                 $  75.00             Mike Kane

10/05/08            252               Bill Phalen                 $100.00             Ryan Leslie

10/06/08            809               Mike Kane                 $  25.00             Mike Kane

10/07/08            779               Jon Fohs                   $  25.00              Jared Fohs

10/08/08            521               William Fisher           $  50.00              William Fisher

10/09/08            442                Max Allegro              $  25.00              Max Allegro

 *All pay-outs will be mailed to winners the first week of November 2008.

Dragons player profiles are now posted on Freestate's website.  Go to http://www.freestatesoccer.org/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::72263+Elements/DisplayBlank+E+942+Booklet/+7675826+4960293 and click on individual player names to view their profiles.

The Freestate Dragons traveled to New Jersey for the US Club Soccer Regional Tournament and had a successful tourney, finishing with 2 wins and 1 loss and in 2nd place in their group, just one point shy of moving on to the semi-finals.

Joey Gorirossi and Nick Staufenberger tallied goals for the Dragons, and Max Allegro and Gorirossi each earned an assist. Patrick Thornton, Kevin Fitch, Mark Miller, Rafiq Gharbi, Jason Carcamo, Ryan Leslie, and Dan Artin also contributed outstanding play on the attack and in the midfield. Defenders Jared Fohs, Matt Michael, William Fisher, and Mike Kane exhibited tough defensive play throughout the tournament, while guest goal keeper Ben Frazier played great, making several key saves.

#11      Max Allegro                                             #13      Joey Gorirossi

#24      Daniel Artin                                              #99      Michael Kane

#  7      Ramone Cameron                                   #00       Luke Kell

#  6      Jason Carcamo                                        #15       Ryan Leslie

#20      Reggie Clermont                                     #  3       Nick Mattox

#21      William Fisher                                         #  2       Matthew Michael                                      

#16      Kevin Fitch                                               #12       Mark Miller 

#  5      Jared Fohs                                               #  1       Nicholas Staufenberger

#  8      Rafiq Gharbi                                             #14       Patrick Thornton

The Dragons earned a 1-0 victory over the previously undefeated MSC Revolution to close out the NCSL D1 season. James Rice scored the game winning goal, heading in a fantastic service from Jared Fohs. Joey Gorirossi, Kevin Fitch, Patrick Thornton, Jason Carcamo, Nick Staufenberger, Dan Artin, Nick Mattox, and Alex Goyette were also strong on the attack and in the midfield throughout the match.

Keeper Luke Kell made several superb saves to earn the shut-out. William Fisher, Mike Kane, Matt Michael, and Fohs also made key defensive plays to hold MSC scoreless.

The Freestate Dragons defeated the ABGC Red Devils 4-2 in an exciting match. The Dragons took an early 1-0 lead when a great passing combination resulted in James Rice firing a strong pass to Patrick Thornton, who tallied the goal. Still dominating early in the second half, the Dragons increased their lead when Matt Cross received the ball at the offensive endline and passed it back to Nick Staufenberger, who hit a hard strike to put the Dragons ahead 2-0.

But it was the final 10 minutes of the game that had spectators on the edge of their seats. The Red Devils pressed hard on the attack and scored two goals with under 10 minutes left to play to knot the score at 2-2. The Dragons regrouped and went on a late game scoring spree of their own. Jared Fohs headed in what would prove to be the game winner off of a well-placed corner kick from Staufenberger. With under 3 minutes left to play, the Dragons packed in the defense to hold onto the lead. In the final minute, a clearance from the Dragons defense found Staufenberger on the right mid, who sent a pass to Thornton at the 50 yard line. Thornton beat his mark and netted a strong shot to put the game away at 4-2.

Center midfielders Joey Gorirossi, Jason Carcamo, and Dan Artin were pivotal, controlling the pace of the game and serving well-placed passes to the attackers. Strikers Kevin Fitch and Mark Miller were strong on the attack, while Nick Mattox, Alex Goyette, and Cedrick Burgess, made key plays from the outside midfield positions.

Luke Kell was again tremendous in goal, making diving saves to earn the win. Defenders Mike Kane, Matt Michael, William Fisher, and Fohs were rock solid in the back, holding the Red Devils to half the number of shots on goals as the Dragons had in the match.

The Dragons fell 2-1 to the VIST PAC 91 Blue on Saturday and then again lost a close and hard fought match 2-1 on Sunday to DCST Blue Thunder. In Saturday's match, a passing combination developed from the back and resulted in Jason Carcamo feeding the ball from the midfield to striker Kevin Fitch. Fitch sent  a great pass to Patrick Thornton, who netted the goal.  On Sunday, Jared Fohs fed the ball to Mark Miller, who fired a strong shot that hit the cross bar. Joey Gorirossi followed Miller's shot and tallied the goal for the Dragons. Daniel Artin, James Rice, Nick Staufenberger, Matt Cross, Cedrick Burgess, and Nick Mattox also played strong in the midfield and on the attack in both matches. Luke Kell was awesome between the pipes both days, supported by excellent defense from Mike Kane, Matt Michael, William Fisher, Alex Goyette, and Fohs.

The Dragons played to a 0-0 tie against the MSC Scorpions on Saturday and a 1-0 win over the Bethesda Ajax on Sunday in NCSL Division 1 weekend action.

In the victory over Bethesda, James Rice crossed the ball in to Kevin Fitch, whose shot was deflected by the keeper. Nick Staufenberger was positioned perfectly to collect the deflection and fire off a great shot to score the winning goal.

Joey Gorirossi, Jason Carcamo, Dan Artin, Mark Miller, and Fitch were key in both matches, anchoring the team in the middle and transitioning the team from defense to offense, while Jared Fohs, Nick Mattox, Cedrick Burgess, Rice, and Staufenberger played strong from the outside midfield positions.  Strikers Patrick Thornton, Matt Cross, and Jean Toussaint also put constant pressure on the opponents' defense on the attack.

Keeper Luke Kell was outstanding in both games, coming up with 11 saves and 2 shut-outs. He was supported by fantastic play from Dragons defenders William Fisher, Matt Michael, Mike Kane, and Alex Goyette.

The Dragons defeated Chesapeake Soccer Club United to advance to the quarterfinals of Maryland State Cup in an exciting match that came down to penalty kicks. In regulation play, Nick Staufenberger netted an expertly placed shot in the first half to put the Dragons up 1-0, but Chesapeake answered back early in the second half with a fine shot to tie the score. Center midfielders Joey Gorirossi, Jason Carcamo, Dan Artin, and Kevin Fitch controlled the game in the middle, while outside mids James Rice, Nick Mattox, and Staufenberger contributed excellent passing and ball handling up the sidelines. Strikers Patrick Thornton, Mark Miller, Matt Cross, and Cedrick Burgess were strong on the attack. Jared Fohs had a tremendous game as keeper, supported by superb defense from Mike Kane, William Fisher, and Matt Michael.

With regulation play ending in a 1-1 draw, the match went to two 15-minute periods of overtime play. Chesapeake scored early in the second overtime period to go up 2-1, but the Dragons dug down deep, pressing hard on the attack in the final minutes. With under 5 minutes remaining, Matt Michael scored the tying goal off of a great service from Nick Staufenberger, knotting the score at 2-2 and sending the game into a penalty kick shoot-out.

The PK shoot-out came down to the 7^th kicker for each team and resulted in a 5-4 win on PKs for the Dragons. Netting penalty kicks were Mike Kane, Jason Carcamo, Joey Gorirossi, Matt Michael, and Patrick Thornton. Keeper Jared Fohs was incredible in the net saving two of Chesapeake’s penalty kicks, while a third Chesapeake PK hit the cross bar.

Congratulations to all of our Dragons players on fine play for their high school Varsity teams in the 2007 Fall season!

The following players earned individual or team honors for their high schools:

-- Matt Michael, Bishop McNamara High School -- WCAC All-Conference 3rd Team

-- Joey Gorirossi, Bishop McNamara High School -- WCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention

-- Nick Staufenberger, St. Mary's Ryken High School -- WCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention

-- Patrick Thornton and Jason Carcamo, Bowie High School -- 4A South Regional Champions and State Semi-Finalists

-- Matt Cross and James Rice, DeMatha Catholic High School -- WCAC Finalists

-- Mark Miller and Alex Goyette, Arundel High School -- 4A East Regional Semi-Finalists

-- William Fisher, Eleanor Roosevelt High School -- 4A South Regional Semi-Finalists

The U16 Freestate Dragons advanced to NCSL Division 1, defeating the SYC Gladiators 4-0 to earn 2nd place in Division 2 for the Fall 2007 NCSL season with a 5-2-2 record. From the opening kick-off, the Dragons were on fire and in control of the match . . . just minutes into the game, Jared Fohs threw the ball inbounds from the right sideline into the box where James Rice touched it to Matt Cross, who tallied the opening score. Nick Staufenberger netted the second goal off of a great pass from Rice. In the second half, Rice placed a solid free kick to the far post, which Cross headed in to go up 3-0. Mark Miller scored the Dragons final goal off of a nice pass from Jean Toussaint to seal the 4-0 victory. Center midfielders Joey Gorirossi and Kevin Fitch controlled the pace of the game and led the team in transitioning from defense to offense with superb passing. Nick Mattox, Delonte Smith, and Patrick Thornton also played strong on the attack from the outside midfield and striker positions.

Keeper Sean Killion was perfect in the net with 7 saves for his third shut out of the NCSL season. Mike Kane, Matt Michael, William Fisher, Cedrick Burgess, and Fohs were tremendous on defense throughout the match. Alex Goyette and Dan Artin were out with injuries, but contributed fine play throughout the season to help the team earn 2nd place. Congratulations also to Coach Chris Johnson on leading the Dragons to Division 1 in his first season at the helm!

The Dragons tied the ALEX Titans 2-2 in an exciting match in which both teams fought hard.  In the first half, James Rice sent a great pass to Patrick Thornton, who netted the Dragons first goal.  Just minutes later Joey Gorirossi sent a free kick to Mark Miller who passed the ball into the box to Matt Michael . . . Michael tallied the Dragons second goal to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead at the half.  But the Titans came out strong in the second half and quickly knotted the score at 2-2.  Keeper Sean Killion was tough in the net, earning 9 saves, with solid defensive support from Mike Kane, Jared Fohs, William Fisher, Alex Goyette, Cedrick Burgess, and Michael.  Nick Staufenberger, Kevin Fitch, Matt Cross, Nick Mattox, Delonte Smith, Jean Toussaint, and Dan Artin each turned in a good performance in the midfield and on the attack.

On Saturday, the Dragons defeated a very tough DCST Blue Thunder team 1-0 in a nail biter.  The two evenly matched squads played to an 0-0 draw until Patrick Thornton netted a goal for the Dragons in the 71st minute of the game off a beautiful pass from Matt Cross.  In Sunday's match against the MCLN MPS Thunder, the Dragons again won 1-0.  Kevin Fitch was tackled from behind just outside the box midway through the second half to earn a free kick for the Dragons.  Cross netted the resulting free kick to score the winning goal.  Midfielders Joey Gorirossi, Dan Artin, Nick Staufenberger, James Rice, Delonte Smith, Nick Mattox, and Fitch played solid in the midfield and distributed the ball well on offense in both matches, while strikers Mark Miller and Jean Toussaint put constant pressure on the opposing keepers on the attack.  Keeper Sean Killion had an outstanding weekend, earning two shut-outs.  He was supported by the superb defensive efforts of Matt Michael, Jared Fohs, Alex Goyette, William Fisher, and Mike Kane.