Kingdom comes as Doco arrives

[coppercanuck]

from the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal:

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/story.shtml?id=17092

Kingdom comes as Doco arrives

By David Trifunov - The Chronicle-Journal

May 23, 2003

Doco has arrived.

The player that coach Tony Colistro bills as the best this city has ever seen is expected to dress for tonight’s Thunder Bay Chill home opener against the Kalamazoo Kingdom.

“This player is above all,” Colistro said. “I don’t think Thunder Bay has ever seen a player of his calibre.”

The Chill finally secured a visa for Doco Wesseh, who up until yesterday was caught in bureaucratic red tape involving the Canadian government and his native Liberia. He was expected late last night on a flight from Minneapolis.

Colistro was to introduce him to Thunder Bay at a season-opening “pep rally” at Roxy’s Nightclub when the flight landed.

Wesseh currently attends Judson College in Illinois and won a national Christian college championship last season. He also played for the PDL’s Chicago Eagles in 2002, but when that team folded, the Chill jumped at the chance to sign him.

“He’s definitely going to make a difference,” Colistro said.

He already has.

Wesseh, who has international experience with the Liberian national team, scored three of Thunder Bay’s four goals against the Wisconsin Rebels last weekend. He also scored both goals for the Chill (2-0-0) in their 2-1 win Friday night. The following night, Wesseh scored the opening marker two minutes into the second half as the team went on to a 2-0 victory.

With Chicago last season, Wesseh recorded seven goals and an assist in just six matches and in 2001 he finished with 10 goals and two assists in 15 games. The only worry Colistro has is Wesseh’s fitness.

Between playing for the Chill on the road and applying for his visa, he’s been travelling by bus across the midwestern United States. The Chill opted to spend an additional $1,000 on a flight to bring Wesseh into Thunder Bay as soon as possible to allow the forward to rest.

“It’s definitely well worth it,” Colistro said.

Kalamazoo (2-1-1) arrives in Thunder Bay fresh off a 1-1 tie with the Mid Michigan Bucks. While Kalamazoo looks sharp early this year, Thunder Bay may catch them fighting bus legs early tonight with the Mid Michigan tie coming on Wednesday night.

But the Kingdom’s only loss came in overtime and their two victories came on the road.

“It’s not going to be easy,” Colistro said. “It’s definitely going to be a strong team.”

Frost Bytes: This is the first two meetings between Kalamazoo and Thunder Bay. . . . The Kingdom is a seven-year PDL veteran. Its best record was 10-6 in 1997, but the club hasn’t made the playoffs since. Kalamazoo was 9-8-1 last year. . . . F Brian Ombiji has three of Kalamazoo’s seven goals. . . . Seven former Kingdom players advanced to Major League Soccer, North America’s top pro league.

aka JTPenney

[DJT]

Doco Wesseh was named Player of the Week for the PDL. This was mentioned during halftime of the Richmond vs. Montreal match.