Michigan Bucks Press Release - www.buckssoccer.com

Thursday, May 15

PONTIAC, MI – The Michigan Bucks prepare to open their thirteenth season in the United Soccer League’s (USL) Premier Development League with a home match Saturday night (7:30 kickoff) against the West Virginia Chaos. The opening night game will feature the Bucks first regular season game played in their new home at Ultimate Soccer Arenas.

Bucks head coach Dan Fitzgerald has spent the past two weeks getting his veteran squad used to the unique conditions, while he monitors talent to finalize the roster by Thursday night. Although the PDL finalist Bucks had six players drafted by Major League Soccer this past January, their incredible depth has left them with a solid defense, attacking midfielders and proven scorers to open the season with US Open Cup qualifying over the first four games during the next two weeks.

The Bucks return an amazing ten players from the 2006 North American Championship team and ten players that took part in last year’s penalty kick shootout loss in the finals. Fitzgerald is pleased with the mix of familiarity and new blood that the team has added to his attacking style of soccer.

"We have pretty much the entire defense back from last year so that should give us an early season advantage in the back,” said Fitzgerald. “Our front runners [will continue to] do what they do best. Having Nate (Jafta), Kenny (Uzoigwe) and Ty (Shipalane) back this year was a bonus we didn’t expect.”

While Jafta was recruited by Major League Soccer to come out of college early, Uzoigwe turned down a contract to play professionally in the USL First Division, where he finished the season after the Bucks playoff run last year.
Ultimate Soccer Arenas is slated to be the home for nearly all the Bucks home games this year, including playoffs and US Open Cup games, should they qualify and be selected to host. The air-conditioned arena has 2,000 individual seats that are available in three different price ranges. The VIP midfield seats are reserved seats that will get you in the center of the field for just $14 per ticket.

Outside of the VIP section, all reserved seats are still only $10 adults and $5 Youth (under 16). Children five and under are always free to Bucks games. Tickets can be purchased at Ultimate Soccer Arenas and new this year is the ability to purchase tickets to any home game online through TicketMaster. Fans can go online and choose the best reserved seats available for any game from the comfort of their home or office and can beat the lines on game day.

For information on how to get discounted group tickets for your team, school or group of soccer fans, please visit the Bucks web site at buckssoccer.com or call the Bucks offices at Ultimate Soccer Arenas at (248) 334-7460.
Bucks Alumni Called To Us U-23’s
Former Bucks goalkeeper Dominic Cervi and defender Eric Brunner were called up this week to Peter Nowak’s United States U-23 squad for the Toulon tournament in France to be held later this month.

Both Cervi and Brunner were drafted by MLS teams in January but declined their contract offers and will use the tournament not only to try and make the US roster for the Beijing Olympics in August, but as a showcase to attract offers from European teams. The US will play in a group with Turkey (May 21), Ivory Coast (May 23), and Italy (May 25). All games from the tournament will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel.