Eleven Cleveland City Stars Players Promoted Across the World
October 1, 2008 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Cleveland City Stars News Release
Many of the Cleveland City Stars are continuing their extraordinary seasons. After capturing the USL-2 Championship in Cleveland on August 23rd, the roster eventually spread out across the globe looking for more team championships and a chance at changing the world.
The first two Stars to move up were Defender Mark Schulte and Goalkeeper Eric Reed to the Minnesota Thunder of the USL-1. Schulte, the two-time defending USL-2 defender of the year, moved back into the Thunder starting line-up immediately after the conclusion of the USL-2 season. Schulte originally played for Minnesota from 2000-2003. Reed, the Goals Against Average leader in USL-2 this past season, made the move with Schulte. Both players are also looking forward to various tryouts with top level teams in Germany over the next few weeks.
Three other Cleveland City players stayed in the U.S. while being promoted to Major League Soccer. Midfielders Adriano Sella (Colorado Rapids) and Luke Williams (Chicago Fire) are on trial, while Kwame Sarkodi has officially signed on as part of the Rapids pro team.
The remaining Stars flew over seas to continue their careers. Goalkeeper Hunter Gilstrap signed with Maritzburg United of the South African Premier League. Gilstrap's friendly rival in the South African Premier League will be Defender Musa Otieno. After completing his first stint in the U.S., Otieno is back on loan with Santos Engen. Defender Josh Westermann will join the pair in Africa after signing with World Hope of the Kenyan Premier League.
Also signing to play over seas was Midfielder Floyd Franks who signed with Jetsmark IF of Denmark's 2nd Division West. Joining Franks in Europe is Defender Anthony Stovall. Stovall is scheduled to be on loan with different clubs between Belgium, Holland and Germany.
Not to be left out, Forward Sallieu Bundu accepted an important promotion recently as he was assigned to the Sierra Leone National Team. Bundu was in uniform for the 2-1 World Cup qualifier victory over Equatorial Guinea on September 6th.
The Cleveland City organization, fresh off a successful second campaign, is pleased with the promotions.
"Our team vision and goal to help the guys take the next step in their careers," said Cleveland Executive Director Aaron Tredway. "With the championship behind us, a lot of people took notice and were looking to bring in our players. We have guys in Europe and Africa, USL-1 and MLS and it's exciting to see our guys move on to such great situations."
United Soccer League Championship Stories from October 1, 2008
- Eleven Cleveland City Stars Players Promoted Across the World - Cleveland City Stars
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