The Trialist

We were introduced to the players the Charleston Battery have on trial at the "Meet and Greet" on March 2nd.  But they ran through the names pretty quick and off course my pen stopped working. 

But the program for Saturday night's match had them all listed nice and pretty. 

The roster in the program against DC United had 30 players on the Battery roster.  Only 13 of those are signed so far leaving 17 trialist in camp. 

At a meeting with the Regiment, Coach Anhaueser said they would probably have a similar size roster to last season.  Since there were 24 players on the Battery roster last year, including players on loan, I would say less half of those players here on trial will be offered contracts. 

Here is the run down by position.

Two goalkeepers are in camp.  Andrew Dykstra made 17 appearances for the Chicago Fire last year, including the US Open Cup defeat to the Battery. (EDIT:  Dykstra was on the bench for Chicago for that match, read the Battery recap here) Also is Pat Hannigan, who appears to have not played the 2010 season but prior to that was Maimi FC number one keeper,  He also spent some time with Rochester and playing in Ireland with Bray Wanderers.

In defense there are six players fighting for a roster spot.

Mark Wiltse out of the University of South Carolina, Graham Dugoni, a 2010 PDL championship winner with the U-23 Portland Timbers and recently played with Mjondalen IF in Norway.  Jerry Saintil played at Seaton Hall and looks to have spent some time in camp with the New York Red Bulls. There are listing for him as a midfielder as well so he might be able to play both positions.  Sean Bateau and Sean Flatley are two College of Charleston products.   Rounding up the defenders is Guiherme Reis, a native of the famous Belo Horizonte, Brazil played with East Tennessee State.  Here is an article about him.

Midfield has some strong contenders with five very good players. 

Evan Taylor recently with Jamaican side Reno FC has been capped by the senior squad in Jamaica as well.   Jose Cuevas played PDL with the Fresno Fuego.  Alex Caskey was drafted by the Seattle Sounders in the third round but was released January 31. George Davis IV played with the PDL Dayton Dutch Lions in 2010. Luke Mullholland was my pick of the batch at the USL Player's Combine read more here

Up top, JC Mack, Seedy Bah, Dane Kelly and Kareem Yearwood round out the forward spots.

Seedy Bah from Gambia was another recent Sounder trialist.  Ony 18 years old he received some high praise while on trial in Seattle you can read here.  Dane Kelly is another Jamaican recently with Tivoli Garden of the Jamaican Premier League.  Kareem Yearwood is the third College of Charleston player in the Battery camp on trial.  Rounding up the trialist JC Mack, played in France a bit, found this tape of him on Youtube .

Watching a few of the player trials and speaking with some of the Battery veteran players, this looks to be one of the best groups of trialist brought in to camp.

There are at least three players including Cole Peverley, who were on trial with MLS's Seattle Sounders and made it deep into their roster cuts.  There seems to be a developing relationship with the Sounders, especially now that both Alonso Olsovo and Lamar Neagle are on the Seattle squad.  It also is a testament to the coaching staff, identifying some great potential players.

No Quarter's ones to watch: Seedy Bah, Jose Cuevas, George Davis, Guiherme Reis, Jerry Saintil and Sean Flatley.

Watch the players on Wednesday night as the Battery take on Toronto FC in the Carolina Challenge Cup and let us know your opinions.