With a new-look front office and coaching staff, comes a new-look roster for the 2007 Ocean City Barons. The Barons open the 2007 season on Saturday, May 12 on the road against the Delaware Dynasty. The home opener at Carey Stadium is on Tuesday, May 22 in a match against the Reading Rage.

The club enters their 11th season, and their sixth as a member of the Premier Development League (PDL). The Barons return eight players from last year’s team, which finished in second place in the Northeast Division and barely missed the cut for the Eastern Conference playoffs. This year’s team will battle for the Mid-Atlantic Division title with new manager Mike Pellegrino and assistant coach John Thompson, one of the top defenders in the PDL during his five years on the Barons backline.
 

The forward position looks to be a strength for the Barons in 2007 with last year’s team MVP Jeremy Ortiz (LaSalle) returning for his second year. Playing alongside him will be veteran striker Byron Carmichael who has 26 goals in 43 matches in his three years with the Barons. Lafayette’s Scott Hawkins looks to play more of a role after playing in nine games last year, notching a goal and an assist.

New faces up top include Brad Peters and Lee Catchpole. Peters led Eastern Illinois University in scoring as a sophomore, notching 11 goals and 3 assists (25 points) in 19 games. Catchpole, a Norwich, England native, will be entering his senior year at the University of Buffalo where he has scored 17 goals in 46 matches.

Ryan Heins (Medford, NJ), a recent draftee of the Philadelphia Kixx of the MISL, will return for his fifth season to hold down the midfield. Heins was a consistent force in the middle of the park last year and led the club with six assists. Mays Landing native Adam Sternberger, who played a key role as a winger for the Barons last year, will try to continue his form from his college season at Rutgers where he led the team in scoring (5 goals, 1 assist). Billy Pinto (Audobon, NJ) returns to the club after finishing his first season with Hofstra where he helped the team advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The newcomers in the midfield include three players who call Europe home, a couple of "Soccer Seven" players and a local player with "New Jersey High School Player of the Year" on his resume. 

Sean Boyle (Galaway, Ireland) scored four goals and had five assists for Limestone College in his sophomore season. Rob Youhill (Harrogate, England), a teammate with Billy Pinto and former Baron Michael Todd at Hofstra, has joined the club after a successful college season. Mike Galeski was Eastern Illinois’ second leading scorer behind Brad Peters and was also a first team all-conference selection. Miles Harrison from Villanova and Jim Davis from LaSalle are the Soccer Seven midfielders for the Barons. Harrison is entering his junior year at ’Nova and Davis will be a senior for LaSalle. Ocean City High School’s Kyle Evans was the second leading scorer last season at Lehigh University (3 goals, 7 assists). Evans will reunite with Coach Pellegrino where he was named the 2005-06 Gatorade State Player of the Year in New Jersey.

The defense will be anchored by Drexel graduate Joseph Banks who returns for his fourth year with the Barons. Rejoining the club will be Leon Brown, who played for the Barons during their historic undefeated season of 2004. Brown, who was a college teammate of Barons GM Neil Holloway, will likely occupy the right back slot for the defense.

Five new faces round out the defensive roster with Adam Ennis (Lanarkshire, Scotland), Jide Ogunbiyi (Gwynedd, PA), Adam Brazitis (Lititz, PA), John Elicker (West Chester, PA) and Ryan Porch (Marlton, NJ). Ennis, along with midfielder Sean Boyle, also comes from Limestone College where he was named to the All-Region team. Ogunbiyi is a 6’4 defender who returns home to the east coast from Santa Clara University. Brazitis is the club’s other Villanova player, who will be a solid addition to the defensive backline. Elicker and Porch are both defenders from the University of Pennsylvania who helped the team earn eight shutouts and the university’s best Ivy League finish (5-1-1) since 2002.

Bucknell graduate Adam Edwards is the only returning goalkeeper from last year. In 2006, he played in seven games while splitting time with Boston College standout Issey Mahalo. In his time between the sticks, Edwards allowed only seven goals, including two shutouts. Challenging Edwards for the #1 job will be West Virginia goalkeeper Zach Johnson (Lumberton, NJ) and Kean College goalkeeper Kyle Crego. Johnson spent last season at WVU as the backup to one of the nation’s top goalkeepers in Nick Noble (who was recently drafted by the Chicago Fire of MLS). Crego, a product of the Barons’ youth system, was Kean College’s #1 keeper, holding a 1.27 goals against average over 23 games.