United Soccer Leagues announced that Maryland Soccer Enterprises, LLC has acquired the rights to a USL Second Division club for the Maryland territory north of the nation’s capital Washington DC, including the cities of Frederick, Germantown, Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and Columbia.
Headed by Victor Moran and Tad Tatem, the new club is set to begin play in the 2008 season, which is projected to include a former MLS All-Star and El Salvadoran international. The team’s full official name will be announced in the coming months at an official introduction of the club.
“We are going to create a REAL event, not just a soccer game, that’s why I named the club Real Maryland FC,” said Victor Moran the principle owner of Maryland Soccer Enterprises. “We are extremely serious about soccer and our mission, that’s the main reason why we have contracted the services of two top soccer visionaries from the local area, Silvino Gonzalo, as our head coach, former soccer coach for the Northern Virginia Royals and Bienvenido Martinez, our general manager, who previously worked for DC United of the MLS for six years”, concluded Moran.
The announcement of the new club comes on the heels of the league’s unprecedented success in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, where two USL-2 teams defeated opposition from Major League Soccer in the Third Round to advance to the Quarterfinals.
“The gap between the nation’s professional leagues is closing on the field, and we have seen steady improvement off the field as well over the past few years,” said USL Director of Pro League Operations Steven Thompson. “We look forward to the addition of another group which we feel will continue raising the standards of the USL Second Division in the thriving Mid Atlantic region.”
The new Maryland team will be joined by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who will be making their return to the league after a year’s absence, in adding to the current 10 clubs in the USL Second Division.
