The Brooklyn Knights’ Roger Cambridge has come a long way from the young five year old that first started kicking the soccer ball around in his native Guyana almost two decades ago. What began as a fun hobby to pass the time is still reaping benefits for the now 23-year old defender.

With countless games and accomplishments behind him - including the ultimate honor for any athlete: defending his home nation of Guyana on the Junior National Team during qualifiers for the Sidney 2000 Olympic Games - Cambridge can’t wait to embark on the latest stage of his career in Brooklyn this summer.

’’I love to play and I love to win’’, says Cambridge, who is as confident and positive off the pitch as he is on the field of play. ’’It doesn’t matter where or against who you’re competing, I play hard and I give it 100% all the time’’.

Although capable of playing numerous positions, the multifaceted Cambridge caught the eye of Knights’ head coach Joe Balsamo for his aggressive, hardnosed defensive style of play.

"I’ll play for the coach wherever he puts me. But I’m happy in the back. Working to prevent goals is an awesome and fun challenge’’, claims Cambridge, who plans on giving opposing strikers nightmares this season.

The large Caribbean presence in the New York area also excites Cambridge, who to this day still thinks constantly about Guyana. ’’Obviously, the team wants everybody in Brooklyn to come out and support us, but it would be nice for me to see some people from back home’’. 

Recently acquired Jamaican forward Tarik Smith looks poised to become one of the Brooklyn Knights’ main offensive weapons during the 2007 PDL season.

Smith arrives in Brooklyn following productive stints at Village United, from the Jamaican National Premier League, and Brevard College, in North Carolina, among other teams.

Gifted with blazing speed and impressive ball handling skills, the Falmouth, Jamaica native fits in perfectly with Knights head coach Joe Balsamo’s vertical, offensive-minded strategy.

’’I’m a very aggressive player who’s always on his toes and ready to score at any moment’s notice’’, says the normally quiet and reserved striker who’s soccer talent speaks volumes.

Eager to show off his abilities in a large city, Smith is doubly excited that he has the chance to prove himself in Brooklyn, due to the prominent Caribbean population in the area.

’’I’m very active in the Jamaican and Caribbean communities and it’s an honor for me to be able to play in front of them’’.

Smith and the Knights kick off their 10th season in the PDL on Saturday, May 12, at 7:00 p.m. against the Vermont Voltage at Aviator Field. Parking is free.

The Brooklyn Knights have officially announced the signing of 14  players for the upcoming 2007 PDL season in the United Soccer Leagues.

The roster consists of goalie David Ditrich, defenders Roger Cambridge, Tomasz Groch, George Manas and Carmine Ruberto, midfielders Pasquale Abiuso, Yan Averman, Christian Camacho, Vincenzo Conigliaro, Carlos Moncaleano and Juan Peralta, and the striking triad of Thiago Cordero, Tarik Smith and Semso Nikocevic.
 
Knights’ manager Joe Balsamo, a long time youth coach in Brooklyn, trained several of these players during their formative years and is familiar with their characteristics and style of play. However, the emergence of these athletes from a talented pool of aspiring hopefuls was the result of their ability to excel at fulfilling two of Balsamo’s main soccer tenets.

’’There were a lot of good players trying out for the team, but the guys in this group are particularly skilled and disciplined, which are the characteristics I look for in building a team’’, said the Italian trainer.

Just like the city of Brooklyn, the Knights’ squad runs the cultural gamut, with no less than four continents, seven countries and countless ethnicities being represented. Averman was born in Tajikstan, while Conigliaro was born in Italy. There is a strong Eastern European presence, with two (Ditrich and Groch) players of Polish origin. South America is also present, thanks to Paraguayan native Juan Peralta and Brazil’s Thiago Cordeiro. Tarik Smith, of Jamaica, rounds off the list foreign-born players. Meanwhile, the New York area has seven native sons (Abiuso, Camacho, Cambridge, Manas, Moncaleano, Nikocevic and Ruberto).

The remaining players to make up the Brooklyn Knights’ 2007 PDL team roster will be announced shortly before the season kicks off on Saturday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Aviator Field.

Joe Balsamo Asume Como el Nuevo Director Técnico del Plantel PDL de Los Brooklyn Knights

Joe Balsamo is a man who lives and breathes soccer. From the young boy who fell in love with the game in Palermo, Italy, to the talented midfielder who shined on the pitch in the Italian Calcio, to the successful, respected coach he is today, soccer is Balsamo’s passion. Fortunately for Brooklyn Knights fans, their team is his main passion.

After heading the club’s camp program for the past five years and coaching a number of its youth teams, Balsamo has now taken the reins of the Brooklyn Knight’s PDL squad, a challenge he intends on making the most of.

"My goal is to shake things up a little and instill a new mentality. We’re putting together a brand new team this season and I want to take things to the next level. I want my players to see that the PDL is a professional-caliber league where they can reach their true potential and become great players.’’

Balsamo knows a thing or two about helping players reach their potential: In 2001, he coached the underdog sub-20 team from Brooklyn that won the Enzo Ferrari Cup in Italy, beating local powerhouses Juventus (which had no less than 7 starters on the current adult squad) and Modena, among others, in the process. Six of Balsamo’s players from this championship team ended up playing in Major League Soccer.

A follower of an offensive-minded, compact and technically skillful style of play, Balsamo hopes that Knights fans and New Yorkers alike will share his enthusiasm and passion for the sport he loves. ’’We need to create an exciting and positive atmosphere for Brooklyn fans and the community in general. With a good team and a little bit of time, we can do it.’’

    Knights Chairman Chuck Jacob knew the one time air base was the ideal location for his club to take on the 2007 season once construction was completed on the 2,000-seat venue late last year.

    “The Metropolitan Oval is a fantastic, historic facility, but we always preferred that our USL team play in Brooklyn. When Aviator Field came along, it was perfect for us. Not only is it conveniently located for our Brooklyn fans, it’s also easily accessible for supporters in neighboring Queens and Manhattan. ’’

     In addition to satisfying the demands of local soccer fans, Aviator’s Fieldturf field will allow Knights players to reach their full potential. “The smaller fields we’ve had in the past have restricted some of our technically skilled players,” said Jacob. “Aviator Field, however, is a brand new, full international size field that will allow our athletes to develop their game and compete at the highest level.”

    The Knights will kick off their 10th season in the Premier Development League (PDL) of the USL at Aviator Field against the Vermont Voltage on Saturday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m.  Aviator Field is just off Belt Parkway exit 11-S.  Parking is free.

Long Island Rough Riders founder and Lady Riders owner Chuck Jacob and former Lady Riders goalkeeper Kim Wyant were named to the United Soccer League's Hall of Fame.

The Riders also were honored for their 10 years as a USL club.

They will be inducted into the Hall at a future date.

The original founder and former owner of the Rough Riders, Jacob also founded his current clubs, the Lady Riders and Brooklyn Knights. Under his guidance the Rough Riders and Lady Riders both won league championships in 1995.
Jacob sold the Rough Riders after the 1997 season but is still an owner and chairman of both the Lady Riders and Knights.

In 1994, Jacob established the Rough Riders and Lady Riders, who were one of the exhibition teams in the development year of what would become the W-League in 1995. The Lady Riders have reached the playoffs seven of nine seasons and winning the 1995 and 1997 championships.

A year after leaving the Rough Riders, Jacob established the Brooklyn Knights as a provisional team in the Premier Development League. In 1999, the club became an official member.

A four-time goalkeeper of the year, Wyant leads the W-League in nearly every all-time statistical category. She is second all-time (minimum 2,000 minutes) in goals-against average at 0.81. She is the all-time leader in minutes played at 8,156 with a comfortable 2,542-minute margin.

Wyant spent her entire career with the Lady Riders, leading then to the 1995 and 1997 championships. The team only missed the post-season twice during her career. She won her goalkeeper of the year honors from 1995-1998. She finished sixth in the league in goal-against average in 1999 and fifth in 2000.

She dropped out of the leaders in 2001 due to not reaching the minimum required minutes as she focused on coaching the team to an 11-2-1 record, but still kept her average under a goal per game at 0.83 over six games.

Wyant returned as the third best keeper in 2002 with an average of 0.89 over 11 games. It was her seventh time in the top 10 in eight seasons and she never went over 1.00 in a season in her career. She is currently the club’s general manager.

The year following an appearance in the league semifinals after a 13-5 inaugural season, the Rough Riders continued to play well, joining the A-League in 1997 and did not miss the post-season until 2001. In 2002, the Riders returned to the Third Division, where they would rediscover their form and win their second championship seven years later under former player turned coach Paul Riley.