PDL Coming to Hamilton

[kevin]

does anyone want to go on road trip to Rochester, North London,Laval,Quebec City, Ottawa

[dobar dan]

Toronto Lynx 2 - Hamilton Rage 0

[Neil M Brown]

Brief Game Report included below:

Hamilton FC Men Open at Home in Style

Hamilton FC men’s team opened their home season in style in front of a core group of supporters. Those in attendance didn’t have to wait long for the first Hamilton FC strike. Dominic Bell wrote his name into the history books by scoring the first Hamilton FC goal in USL history. Bell converted a great corner kick from Anthony di Biase. The early goal for HFC worked wonders in settling the nerves and adding more goals. Scott McCoubrey put HFC up 2-0 after 20 minutes, latching on to the end of a long cross, controlling and smashing on into the Ottawa net. The second goal came after about 20 minutes.

Encouraged by the early play and the support of those in attendance, HFC continued to press forward with Will Grocott and Liam Collins supplying the goal-scoring opportunities. The third Hamilton goal came courtesy of Stephen Powell who timed his run to perfection, latching on to a through pass from Collins to slot it past the Ottawa goalkeeper. The first half finished 3-0 Hamilton and deservedly so.

Hamilton didn’t waste much time in the second half and continued where they left off in the first half. Another di Biase corner kick was met full on by defender Rene De Zorzi who rattled home a great header for his first goal of the season and the team’s fourth in the game. Both teams made a number of substitutions but unfortunately they did not have the impact expected from Ottawa. With time winding down and only a few minutes on the clock, Evan James corralled the ball deep in the Ottawa final third and curled a sweet strike into the far corner leaving the Ottawa Goalie with little chance to react. Here’s looking forward to the first road trip events!

Neil Brown

Hamilton FC

[Rocket Robin]

Toronto Lynx 2 - Hamilton Rage 0

Some pictures of that game are here:

http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports11/11lynx02.htm

There was no national anthem available this game so the players couldn't keep still while lining up.

[Neil M Brown]

Brief game report below:

Hamilton FC avoids getting burned in Chicago

Hamilton FC travelled to Chicago to play, top of the table, Chicago Fire in Evanston on Friday night. The game kicked off at 6:30pm in front of a crowd of about 300 enthusiastic and cheering fans. Hamilton took some time to get going in this game and found themselves behind 2-0 at half-time on Chicago goals at the 16th and 19th minute marks. Both goals the result of some slack defending.

The second half kicked off with a group of Chicago Fire supporters taking position behind the HFC bench, singing and taunting the Hamilton squad. They were quickly subdued, however, when Josh Bennett struck a nice, inside of the foot, strike from close range just two minutes into the second half. Hamilton were buoyed by the early goal and took the play to the Fire, gaining the important midfield advantage. Scott McCoubrey then struck a sweet left footer into the bottom corner past the outstretched Chicago goalkeeper after 55 minutes. The comeback looked to be on as Chicago had lost their composure and were at sixes and sevens at the back. But they were able to recompose themselves and struck what looked to be the winner with about 12 minutes to go. “Eighty-seven minute” Evan James had other ideas though, as he rose high above the Fire defense to head an Anthony Di Biase free kick into the Chicago net, leaving the home team stunned again.

This was a great character builder for HFC as they showed grit and determination having to come back twice to gain the important road point. Hamilton FC next play on Tuesday June 7 at Brian Timmis Stadium. They face visitors FC London for a 6pm kick-off.

Neil Brown

Hamilton FC

[Neil M Brown]

Brief game report below:

Late lapse costs Hamilton FC the points against FC London

Hamilton FC returned to home field action on Tuesday evening at Brian Timmis Stadium to face FC London. A decent crowd was on hand and it was still hot and humid at game time. The game opened with a lovely live singing of our National Anthem by Jessica Di Biase. A very nice touch. The first half was pretty evenly matched with HFC enjoying a few more chances than FC London. Evan James rose to meet a corner kick from Anthony Di Biase, heading just over the bar at the 20 minute mark. HFC striker, Scott McCoubrey, created a couple of good scoring chances mid-way through the first half, the best coming when he timed his run to perfection, latched on to a Will Grocott through pass, to go in alone on the FC London goalkeeper. McCoubrey managed to chip the onrushing goalie only to have his effort drop just wide of the post.

FC London enjoyed a good spell of pressure just before half-time forcing 3 corner kicks. Unfortunately, they could not make anything of the pressure and the half finished scoreless. It was a hard fought and entertaining half and both teams seemed up for the task ahead of them in the second.

The second half started brightly for Hamilton FC as Evan James took the ball into the FC London penalty area, skipped past two defenders and laid a great ball across the face of goal that Scott McCoubrey was able to direct into the FC London net from close range. McCoubrey’s goal takes his season tally to 3 goals in 4 games. The next 20 minutes saw HFC enjoying some good pressure in the FC London end and they narrowly missed making it 2-0 when a close range effort went wide of the post. Hamilton would rue their missed opportunities as FC London did a great job of holding them off and the London squad began to exert their authority in the latter stages of the second half. Their perseverance and resilience paid off when Carl Howarth and Christian Castillo scored in quick succession at the 85th and 86th minute marks, respectively, to stun the Hamilton FC squad. With a significant amount of stoppage time added, HFC made some late changes to try to pull back the equalizer but their late effort was in vain.

All in all a solid, entertaining football match that will no doubt be disappointing for HFC but gratifying for FC London. Hamilton FC’s next game is this Friday, June 10th 6pm at Brian Timmis Stadium when they will face the visiting Toronto Lynx.

Neil Brown

Hamilton FC

[kevin]

Toronto Lynx at Hamilton FC Rage 2:0

Brian Timmis Field Friday, June 10, 2011 6:00 pm EDT

[kevin]

next home game

Thursday, Jun 16

Cincinnati Kings @ Hamilton PDL 6:00pm

[kevin]

next game is June 24 7:30 p.m.Hamilton@ London

[dobar dan]

http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/standings/

poor showing so far for the hamilton franchise, BOTTOM of the league, there was a lot of pre-season talk about this team......something need fixed......lucky the coach is part owner!

[Neil M Brown]

Game report from Friday night...

Hamilton FC Grabs 3 Points on the Road

Hamilton FC PDL Men’s team travelled to London on Friday to face FC London. This game was played in front of a lively crowd of about 800. FC London really do put on a great game day experience for the fans, with a beer garden going, merchandise sales and a great concession set up. The weather co-operated and the game was played with only a couple of light rain showers helping to keep the playing surface nice and slick.

The boys were up for the challenge and prevailed 2-1 to hand FC London their third defeat of the season. HFC enjoyed a few early chances and were somewhat unlucky when Aaron Boyd collected a pass, spun his defender and shot just wide. Hamilton would open the scoring at the 28 minute mark when Rene De Zorzi latched onto an Anthony Di Biase free kick and put a nice side foot volley into the corner of the FC London net. Aaron Boyd would prove to be a handful for the London defense, busily buzzing around the box and putting pressure on anything in a white FC London shirt. His pressure on the keeper caused him to spill a cross ball right to the feet of Liam Collins. Collins was, however, left with head in hands when his shot went just wide.

London grabbed the momentum late in the first half and applied good sustained pressure on HFC, winning a series of corner kicks. Their efforts eventually paid off when Carl Haworth timed his run to perfection, out jumped the HFC defense and headed a Haris Cekic free kick into the HFC net. A really nice header by Haworth. The teams went to the dressing room tied 1 apiece at the half.

Hamilton started the second half with Evan James switched on for Josh Bennett. James’s pace would prove to be a challenge for the FC London defense. FC London enjoyed early pressure and won a couple of corner kicks. They were, however, unable to make anything of it. Scott McCoubrey fired HFC into the lead, following a nice chest lay down from Evan James, as he fired a right footed bullet into the bottom corner at the 73rd minute mark. Things would get a bit chippy after that with Aaron Boyd being sent off for a second yellow card. He was followed shortly thereafter by Haris Cekic who was given a straight red for his retaliation on Andrew Barsalona.

Evan James could have closed things out with a penalty kick in the 80th minute. He was brought down in the box following a great run through the FC London defense but his resulting spot kick was saved well by FC London goalie Jarrett Humphries.

The Hamilton boys were able to withstand any late FC London pressure and hold on to grab 3 very valuable points on the road. This was a great team effort from the boys and made the bus ride home a good laugh!

Hamilton FC are next in action on Wednesday June 29th when they face the Toronto Lynx at 2pm at Brian Timmis stadium.

[Neil M Brown]

Wednesday's game report....

Hamilton FC Shuts Out Toronto Lynx in a Matinee Match Up

Well, Scott McCoubrey’s sixth goal for Hamilton FC was certainly not his most glamorous, but it definitely was one of his more valuable. McCoubrey was able to bundle a Liam Collins corner kick across the line, at the back post, in the 75th minute to give HFC the goal they’d need to take the three points.

This was a Wednesday afternoon match which kicked off at 2pm at Brian Timmis Stadium, in front of a crowd that grew to about 150. The match saw Hamilton and Toronto hook up for the third time this season. Toronto took both previous matches 2-0 so Hamilton were keen to reverse the trend. With a number of key games on the horizon, HFC Head Coach, Brett Mosen took the opportunity to give some of his regular starters a bit of a rest with Liam Collins, Will Grocott, Tevin Wynter and Anthony Di Biase all on the substitutes bench. 17 year old, Matt Barsalona was handed his first start and did well playing on the right wing.

The game kicked off with Toronto playing with a fairly strong breeze at their backs. But it was HFC that would enjoy much of the early possession, knocking the ball around confidently, trying to pick holes in the Lynx defense. Lynx goalkeeper, Michael Watkins, was called on to make a couple of saves on long ranges efforts from McCoubrey and Josh Bennett in the first half. The first half finished scoreless but with HFC enjoying a shot margin of 8-1.

The second half was much the same as the first, with HFC enjoying the balance of play but now playing with the wind behind them. Mosen introduced both Grocott and Collins in an attempt to apply some further offensive pressure on the Lynx. This proved successful with HFC rattling the Lynx crossbar twice, early in the second half. The pressure applied finally paid off when McCoubrey got HFC on the board in the 75th minute. Toronto responded by making some formational adjustments, sacrificing a defender for an additional front player. The Lynx were able to apply some late pressure and HFC keeper, Alex Mitchell, was forced to make his only save of the game when he came off his line to block a shot from a Lynx forward who had be put through on a partial break-away. A couple of late corner kicks yielded little for the Lynx and Hamilton held on to secure their first ever victory against Toronto.

Hamilton FC will look to extend their two game winning streak when they travel back to London on Friday night to face FC London at Cove Road. Kick-off is 7pm.

[Neil M Brown]

Friday night game report....

Haworth Hat Trick Halts Hamilton FC Win Streak

Carl Haworth was gifted his third goal of the match, late in the second half, to secure three points for FC London on Friday night. Hamilton FC’s first Canada Day match saw them travel to London to play in front on an exuberant crowd of about 850. The atmosphere was great at the Cove Road Field as a good contingent of local fans included this match-up in their Canada Day celebrations.

It was FC London that would be the first to celebrate on the field as Haworth bagged his first of the night, finishing a nice through ball following a defensive turnover by HFC, 15 minutes into the game. Hamilton were not very sharp in the first half. They turned the ball over too frequently and were not able to establish any flow to their game. As a result FC London enjoyed most of the possession and created several very good scoring chances. Haworth, in particular, proved a handful all night long for the HFC defense. Despite the pressure they had to withstand in the first half, Hamilton managed to equalize when Rene Di Zorzi ran on to an Anthony Di Biase free kick and side footed a first time volley into the FC London net.

Haworth put the home team up 2-1 after 24 minutes, again converting a through ball following another HFC defensive turnover. The home team went to the dressing room at half time with a one goal lead.

Hamilton FC made a few changes at the interval which seemed to pay off as they were able to take the game to FC London during the early stages of the second half. The spell of pressure resulted in a couple of HFC corner kicks. Dominic Bell grabbed the equalizer on 56 minutes when he rose to head in an Andrew Barsalona corner kick. This seemed to steady Hamilton as they pressed on looking for the go-ahead goal. Aaron Boyd came close a couple of times, once with a header, once with a close range shot which went just wide.

As the game wore on, FC London looked more likely to grab the winner as they put the HFC defense under considerable pressure during the last 15 minutes of the game. The winner eventually came in the cruelest of fashions from an HFC perspective. A high clearance from the HFC backline saw the back four push up the field to clear the defensive zone. An HFC player settled under the dropping ball but his attempt to control it saw it bounce off his shin and fall straight to Carl Haworth, who had stayed up behind the HFC defense. Haworth, in 10 clear yards of space, took the ball in, calmly rounded Alex Mitchell, in the HFC net, and slotted into the empty net rounding out his hat trick on the evening. This was a very entertaining and exciting game with FC London full value for their victory.

Hamilton FC will look to reverse their fortunes on Sunday evening when they face the Michigan Bucks at 6pm at Brian Timmis Stadium.

[Neil M Brown]

Sunday night's game report......

Hamilton FC and the Michigan Bucks Tie One on at Brian Timmis

Hamilton FC welcomed, division leaders, Michigan Bucks to Brian Timmis Stadium for a Sunday evening match up. The match was played in front of a decent sized crowd on a warm and sunny late afternoon. Michigan came into the game having only one loss and one tie against their eight wins for the season so far. They were looking to extend their lead at the top of the table. This was not to be the case, however, as Hamilton FC took the game to the visitors, moving the ball confidently in midfield and providing service to striker Aaron Boyd. Boyd had his best game in an HFC uniform and proved a handful for the Bucks central defenders. On several occasions he was able to spin his marker and get a shot on target, on other occasions feeding his wide men and taking up an attacking position.

Michigan, on the other hand, were somewhat one dimensional in their attack, relying almost exclusively on long throw-ins from one of their full backs. Admittedly, the player had an outstanding throw-in but there was no other build-up to the Bucks attack. Scott McCoubrey enjoyed the first good scoring chance, at the 20 minute mark, when he was released on a nice through ball from Will Grocott. McCoubrey’s chip was deflected just wide by the keeper.

Michigan were awarded an indirect free kick, inside the HFC box at 33 minutes, when the referee called keeper Alex Mitchell for failing to put the ball in play within six seconds. Honestly have to say, never seen that one called before! Michigan were unable to make anything of the resulting free kick and the first half finished scoreless.

No changes were made by either team to start the second half and it was Hamilton who would start strongest, putting the Bucks under early pressure and winning a couple of corner kicks. Hamilton continued to enjoy a territorial advantage with much of the second half played in the Bucks half. Michigan’s attack generally consisted of long clearances from their goalkeeper or long throw-ins from their full back, none of which produced anything significant.

Things really heated up in the last 10 minutes with the Bucks goalie making two highlight reel saves. The first came off a great header from Aaron Boyd, which seemed destined for the top corner, only to be tipped over by an outstretched fingertip save from the keeper. Liam Collins thought he had sealed the points for HFC with the last kick of the game when his shot curled towards the top corner, only to be similarly tipped past the post. Final score Hamilton FC 0 Michigan Bucks 0.

All in all, an exciting game; a tie against the division leaders which felt like a loss. This game did, however, show that Hamilton FC can definitely compete against the best teams at this level of play. A good hard-working performance from the boys.

It’s a busy time in the schedule as Hamilton FC is right back at it on Wednesday evening when they host Akron Summit at 6pm, followed by another game on Friday night, also at 6pm, when the Chicago Fire visit. Both games are at Brian Timmis Stadium.

[Neil M Brown]

Wednesday night's game report....

Hamilton FC; A Mountain Too High For Akron Summit Assault

Hamilton FC welcomed Akron Summit Assault to Brian Timmis Stadium on Wednesday evening in Men’s USL-PDL action. It would, however, be HFC that would peak in this contest. Kick-off of the match was delayed by an hour as a result of the visitors being delayed on their trip in from Ohio. Akron arrived, changed and took to the field after a quick warm up. With minimal preparation time, it was expected that they would be a bit flat at the start of the game. The delay proved to be more of a challenge for Hamilton as they were the ones that were slow to start. Play from HFC was tentative and lacking pace for the first 20 minutes and they turned the ball over far too frequently. Both teams created some good chances in the early stages of the match with Akron unlucky not to score on a nice ball played across the face of the HFC goal by their right winger. HFC keeper, Alex Mitchell, made a great save to block the resulting close range effort.

Aaron Boyd got the start up front again for this match and his early efforts set up a nice passing sequence leading to a cross which he headed powerfully towards goal, only to see it go just wide. After about 20 minutes Hamilton had settled down and were looking more comfortable on the ball following a couple of midfield adjustments. Scott McCoubrey would open the scoring for Hamilton after 26 minutes. A great penetrating pass from Liam Collins found McCoubrey on the edge of the box; McCoubrey collected and fired a low shot which squeezed underneath the Akron keeper before bouncing off the post into the bottom corner.

This goal served to further settle HFC and they enjoyed good periods of possession for the balance of the first half. McCoubrey would tally his second of the night at a crucial time in the match, just before half time. The play began with Tevin Wynter collecting the ball in his right full back position just inside his own half. Wynter set off down the right wing like a runaway freight train, blowing past three Akron players before taking the ball to the goal line and cutting a lovely ball back across the face of the Akron goal for McCoubrey to calmly slot into the empty net. This sent HFC to the dressing room with a 2-0 half-time lead.

The second half was certainly entertaining with both teams creating several scoring chances. Alex Mitchell was called on to make three great saves in an attempt to preserve his clean sheet and Will Grocott had a great long range volley go just wide for HFC. The teams would trade periods of possession and pressure for most of the second half. Hamilton made several substitutions with Khody Ellis, Matt Osorio and Jonny Yacou getting into the action. Fan favorite, Adam Bond came on for the last 15 minutes to provide some additional spark and hustle in the HFC line up.

Akron notched a consolation goal in the 91st minute from a nice header which converted an Akron corner kick and robbed Mitchell of his shut-out. Hamilton FC held on for the 2-1 victory which moved them up to fourth place in the standings and part of a crowded group of four teams, all on 15 points.

The boys will look to break from that pack on Friday night when they host the Chicago Fire at 6pm at Brian Timmis. This will be the team’s last home game of the season and will finish off a busy part of their schedule. Following the game against Chicago, the boys will have a week off before heading on the road to face Cincinnati and Akron next Friday and Saturday. They then finish the season off in Ottawa on July 20th.

[Neil M Brown]

Friday night game report....

Hamilton FC Men Drop Final Home Game to Chicago

Hamilton FC played host to the Chicago Fire on Friday night at Brian Timmis stadium in men’s PDL action. This was HFC’s final home game of the season and saw the team’s largest crowd of the season with about 250 in attendance. The Fire were made most welcome on the night by the officiating crew; an early Chicago goal, which most in attendance believed to be offside, was allowed to stand. The two officials involved in play saw it otherwise and the 3rd minute strike stood, despite the protests of the HFC players and coaches.

This was not the start that HFC were looking for and it seemed to unsettle them somewhat. Their play for most of the first half was a bit ragged and they had difficulty establishing their normal fluid passing game. This enabled Chicago to maintain sustained pressure on HFC, with keeper, Alex Mitchell, called on to make quite a few saves. Hamilton’s only real scoring chance came in the 35th minute when a long range shot from Chris Karafilov was deflected by Aaron Boyd. The Chicago keeper was able to adjust in time to make the save.

The second half was a better one for Hamilton as Chicago seemed content to sit back and protect their lead. HFC picked up their game somewhat and played with more confidence and enthusiasm, stringing good passing sequences together. One of these sequences resulted in leading scorer, Scott McCoubrey, being played through into the Chicago penalty area. The angle of his run, however, allowed time for the Chicago defenders to recover and he was unable to convert the opportunity.

Alex Mitchell kept Hamilton in the game right to the end making a great finger tip save in the 80th minute then saving a Chicago penalty kick in the 84th minute. The spot kick was awarded after Mitchell brought down an onrushing Chicago player. Definitely a foul but very questionable whether it was inside the box. Mitchell made amends, however, by diving to his left and tipping the shot over the crossbar. This save lifted HFC hopes and they plugged away at the Chicago net in the dying minutes. They were, unfortunately, unable to make the breakthrough required to tie this one up and the game finished 1-0 Chicago.

Hamilton FC Men would like to thank all the fans who have come out in support of us this season. While the Men hit the road for their final three games, the Women’s team still has 2 home games remaining. On July 13th we host Rochester Ravens and on July 17th London Gryphons. Both games are at 6pm at Brian Timmis Stadium.

[kevin]

I forgot there was a game on friday

[Neil M Brown]

Weekend game reports...

Hamilton FC Men Earn a Split on Weekend Road Trip

Hamilton FC set out on Thursday for a couple of road games as their season winds down. An evening encounter with Cincinnati on Friday night was followed by a Saturday evening tilt against Akron Summit Assault. Both games would be played in hot and humid conditions as HFC looked to pick up valuable road points and maintain their fourth place standing in the league. Early play on Friday night saw Hamilton FC applying pressure on Cincinnati as they enjoyed most of the possession and moved the ball around nicely. The first good scoring opportunity fell to Aaron Boyd, who received a pass, turned his defender and fired a quick shot, only to see it go wide. Things got a little sloppy later in the half with Cincinnati dominating possession for the last 10 minutes of the half. Neither team was able to make anything happen, however, and the teams went to the dressing rooms scoreless at the half.

The second half saw Cincinnati continue where they left off as they took the game to HFC. The early pressure resulted in a couple of corner kicks for Cincinnati, but they were unable to convert any of them. HFC goalkeeper Alex Mitchell was called on to make a good save as he blocked a close range shot after about 55 minutes. Hamilton would finally break the deadlock at the 80th minute when Matt Osorio’s clever through ball put striker Adam Bond clear into the box. Bond angled his run to his right and unselfishly passed across the face of goal for HFC leading scorer, Scott McCoubrey, to tap his team into the lead. Hamilton made a couple of changes, defensively, in order to protect the lead. This had the intended effect and they were able to see the game out and collect the 3 points with a 1-0 victory.

Right after the game the boys boarded the bus and headed for Akron for Saturday evening’s game with the Summit Assault. This game would prove to be a higher scoring affair and a bit of a chippy encounter as the game progressed. Akron would find the net first, after 15 minutes, when HFC goalie, Alex Mitchell, was caught wandering which allowed the Akron forward to get to the ball first and tuck his shot in at the far post. Hamilton were able to rebound from the early setback and Khody Ellis scored a beautiful goal to tie it up after 30 minutes. Ellis collected the ball about 40 yards out, ran past a couple of Akron defenders and slammed a low shot into the corner for his first goal of the season.

The second half began with some frantic play at both ends of the field. Akron would retake the lead after 50 minutes following a nice run down the left side and a low shot beating Mitchell. HFC would again respond quickly with Aaron Boyd also scoring his first goal for the club. He was able rise above the Akron defenders to convert a Liam Collins free kick with a nice curling header into the top left hand corner. Hamilton continued to apply pressure on the Akron net but they were stunned by a third Akron goal, on the counter attack, following an HFC corner. Three quick goals to start the second half put the score at 3-2 Akron after 55 minutes.

Things would unravel, unfortunately, for Hamilton as they saw skipper Scott McCoubrey ejected from the game after 70 minutes. He would be followed shortly thereafter by Rene De Zorzi making the comeback difficult being two men down. Akron would seal the points with a fourth goal at the 80th minute to send Hamilton home disappointed. Overall, however, this was a very entertaining game.

The split was sufficient to enable HFC to maintain their fourth place position in league standings. They will look to keep that when they play Ottawa, in Ottawa, on Wednesday evening for their final match of the season.

[Neil M Brown]

Details from a press release that was issued yesterday:

Hamilton FC’s Bennett earns MLS shot with Chicago Fire

HAMILTON, Ont. – Hamilton FC announced today that it will be releasing midfielder Joshua Bennett so that he can sign with the Chicago Fire. Bennett, 22, a Hamilton native, will initially sign as a member of the Chicago Fire’s Premier Development League (PDL) roster but will train with the Major League Soccer (MLS) squad for further evaluation by the Fire coaching staff. With the Fire in contention for a PDL playoff spot, he will augment their roster for their remaining regular season games. Playoff competition will provide further experience and exposure for him.

"Josh made an impression in both games we played against Chicago this season,” Hamilton FC Head Coach Brett Mosen said. “He caught the eye of their coaching staff and they approached us about getting him exposure with their MLS squad. It was Josh’s speed and power which caught the attention of the Chicago coaching staff, two important attributes in today’s modern game.”

“This has all happened very quickly,” Bennett beamed. “It’s really an exciting opportunity for me and I’m so thankful to Brett and the Hamilton FC organization for allowing me to pursue this challenge. I know it will be hard work but I am definitely up for it.”

Josh has scored once in 13 regular season games for Hamilton this year, with the goal coming at Chicago. He is currently attending Simon Fraser University and will be heading back to school in September to complete his fourth year.

“This is exactly the reason we began our operations with Hamilton FC,” Mosen said. “It’s great to see players like Josh get noticed and be given the opportunity to progress further in their development. We are excited for him and will be following his progress closely.”

[ted]

Details from a press release that was issued yesterday:

Hamilton FC’s Bennett earns MLS shot with Chicago Fire

HAMILTON, Ont. – Hamilton FC announced today that it will be releasing midfielder Joshua Bennett so that he can sign with the Chicago Fire.

Did the club get any sort of transfer fee?

BTW this really has nothing to do with the topic "PDL Coming to Hamilton" so you are allowed to create a new thread.

[Neil M Brown]

Hi Ted,

At this point Josh has been transfered to the Chicago Fire PDL roster. There was no transfer fee involved with that. He played his first game with the PDL team on Wednesday and did well. He is being evaluated by the MLS team this week and we will have to see what comes of that. Bottom line is the lad has been given exposure opportunity and a chance to showcase himself for an MLS team.

One of these days I'll figure out how to start a new thread....didn't know I was allowed to do that!

Neil

[ThiKu]

Good luck Josh!