By CHRIS HAACK
Special to Daily News

(First of two parts)

The Blossomland Soccer League starts its seventh season of adult premier play on Sunday.

The league has one less team than last year, but will keep its dual division format, with seven teams in the first division and six in the second.

As in 2009, teams will play each divisional opponent twice.  At the end of the regular season the top five first division teams and the top two second division teams will compete for the Blossomland Cup. Approximately 270 players will participate in the league, just a few less than last year.

Last season was capped by the surprising run of the Tornados, who won the Blossomland Cup with three post-season victories. The Niles-based squad, which finished the regular season with only a 3-6-3 record, defeated Athletic Jaier in the Cup championship.

The success of the fifth-placed Tornados exemplifies the relative strength of the league.
“We are seeing much more parity,” league registrar Paul Pantaleo states. “No longer are we a league of ‘haves’ and ‘have nots.’ From top to bottom we offer a solid product. Even the second division teams which participated in last year’s Cup put forth strong showings, as evidenced by second tier Real Dowagiac’s one-goal overtime loss to 2009 regular season champion St. Joe Kickers Premier.”

Promotion and relegation, long a standard of international leagues, allows second division champion St. Stephens Villains and runner-up Real Dowagiac to return to the first division after a year in the lower pool.  Michigan Diamonds FC (known last year as Diamonds United) was the only first division team relegated since Barcelona, the first division’s last place team, opted to not participate in 2010. Red Arrow FC, after amassing a three-season record of 4-26-0, also ceased operation.

The 2010 Blossomland regular season runs from May 2-July 10.  Most league games will be played on Thursdays and Sundays. The league tournament begins July 15 with three games; the tourney semi-finals will be played on July 18 and the Blossomland Cup championship match will take place on July 25 at 3 p.m. at the St. Joe Kickers Club in Arden.

There is no admission to any Blossomland game.

First Division
St. Joe Kickers Premier
Last year the Kickers won the regular season title for the first time since 2005, doing so with an undefeated record of 10-0-2. But after an overtime victory over Real Dowagiac in the first round of tournament play, the Germans went down to defeat at the hands of the dark horse Tornados.

“We were a little tight going into that game,” states Kicker coach Craig Black. “Trying to keep an undefeated string going is difficult, and we weren’t expecting that level of play from the Tornados after defeating them during the regular season.”

This season the Kickers will again be led by the Girvan brothers, Jason and Andrew, who accounted for 18 of the Kickers’ 49 goals in 2009. Besides the Girvans, the Kickers also feature the three Soto brothers, Efrain, Freddy, and Ben. Coach Black hopes these players will pick up the slack on offense caused by the recent season-ending ACL tear suffered by his son, Tony, whose 54 career goals ranks third on the league’s all-time list.

The Kickers had a successful indoor season, posting a record of 9-0-1 and finishing in first place.

“The last year has been a good year to be a Kicker,” states team manager Nick Lesch. “Two league championships and a combined record of 20-1-3 for both the outdoor and indoor seasons. Last season’s Blossomland totals now put us at an all-time mark of 57-9-5 in that league.”

St. Joe is the last team to open league play, with their first match not set until May 20 when they host the St. Stephens Villains at 6:30 p.m.

Niles Wolverines
After achieving a 9-1-0 mark as a new second division club in 2008, the Niles Wolverines put in another strong performance in their first division-one campaign and finished with an 8-4-2 record after losing to Athletic Jaier in penalty kicks in the Blossomland Cup semifinals.

Most of last year’s Wolverines return, including former Albion College star Andy Low, who won the league’s “Golden Boot” Award last season with a 16 goal effort.  Low, the BSL’s second leading career scorer with 58 tallies, also claimed the “Boot” in 2005. Mike and Mat Peters and Andy’s brother, Kyle, will help Low up front, as well as Matt Wieger, who returns after a one-year absence. Wieger scored five goals for the Wolverines in their inaugural season.

Indiana residents Matt Knowlton and Kelly Ball, who were the Wolverines’ second- and third-leading scorers in 2009, also return. Former Niles High School goalkeeper David Shier will front the Wolverines’ net.  Shier is a double threat who can move to forward when needed.

“Our promotion to the first division has only strengthened our will to bring back a championship to Niles,” states Wolverines’ coach Evan McCullough. “Last season we were only a penalty kick away from playing for the Blossomland Cup. This season I think we could become the second team to win both the regular season and tournament championships.” (Athletic Jaier accomplished this feat in 2008.)

The Wolverines will play their home matches at Brandywine High School’s soccer-only facility. They kick off the season on Sunday when they host first-division returner St. Stephens Villains at 2 p.m.

Athletic Jaier FC
Athletic Jaier will bring back much of the same side that was defeated in the 2009 Blossomland Cup by the upstart Tornados. Jaier ended with a third place finish and a 9-4-2 record last season.

Jason and Jeremy Woolery, who co-coach the team, have been able to tap into their connections as college coaches to create one of the deepest teams in West Michigan.

Last year a strong effort by collegiate stars helped make up for the loss of 2008’s league-leading scorer, Kempess Villafana. Davenport University standout Alex Boehm accounted for nine of Jaier’s 43 goals, while Albion College forward Clay Hewitt added seven. Gerard and Joseph John-Williams, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, also return, as do former St. Joseph prep standouts Kyle Haumersen and Ryan Robinson.

Grace College stalwart Ryan Wenrick returns to anchor the defense.

Jaier’s high pressure style of play caused their opponents to commit many defensive mistakes. Four of Jaier’s tallies came on own goals, which established a Blossomland league mark for forcing self-inflicted scores.

Athletic Jaier’s men’s team is the pinnacle of the club’s structure. Long known for their competitive youth teams, the AJFC Blossomland squad offers a place for former Jaier youth players to hone their skills between intercollegiate seasons.

Jaier will play their home games at Bridgman High School. They begin their season on Tuesday when they travel to Rockey Weed Field in Stevensville to take on Whirlpool United at 6:30 p.m.

Whirlpool United
Whirlpool’s leadership has undergone a complete overhaul as longtime coach Marcelo Castro  has returned to his home in Brazil. John Scouler and Peter Richmond will take over the team and will function in a capacity similar to the Castro and Tomas Diaz duumvirate. Whirlpool finished with a respectable 7-5-1 mark in 2009, bowing out of Cup play in the first round to eventual tournament champion Tornados.

Whirlpool United features players from nine different countries, including the ageless Manolis Anagnostou, originally from Greece, who led Whirlpool in scoring last year with eight goals. Jonatan Martinez of Argentina and Sergio Duarte of Brazil will support Anagnostou on offense. Last year Martinez and Duarte accounted for nine of Whirlpool’s 26 goals. Colombian Santiago Restrepo will sustain the midfield along with Mike Dalton, whose 23 career goals still stands as best among Whirlpool players.

The club is sponsored by the Whirlpool Hispanic Network and a majority of the players work for the Benton Harbor-based company.

Whirlpool United is one of two teams that will share Rockey Weed Field as its home pitch (St. Stephens is the other).  Whirlpool opens their 2010 campaign when they host Athletic Jaier on Tuesdaytat 6:30 p.m.