1/9/2003 12:00:00 AM

Three Fighting Camels To Play with Raleigh CASL Elite Soccer Team This Summer

Friday, May 9, 2003
Contact: Stan Cole

Three Fighting Camels To Play with Raleigh CASL Elite Soccer Team This Summer

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Steve Hollinger, John Izzo and Greg Schwartzenberger of Campbell University will play this summer with the Raleigh CASL Elite of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League. The trio also participated in PDL action last year as Hollinger and Schwartzenberger played for Raleigh, while Izzo was with the Houston Toros.
The Raleigh CASL Elite opens its 2003 campaign on Friday (May 9) at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., in the inaugural Raleigh CASL Elite Cup, which features the Elite, the CASL Adult League All-Stars, the La Liga de Raleigh All-Stars and three regional U-19 club teams.
On Friday, the Elite will match up against the Adult League All-Stars at 8:00 p.m. This game follows the 5:30 p.m. match between the La Liga All-Stars and the U-19 Greensboro Soccer Club.
Hollinger, a native of Gilbert, Ariz., and former Dobson High School all-state performer, earned first-team all-conference recognition for the second-straight year. Campbell's starting sweeperback, Hollinger started all 15 games he played and scored one goal, while adding two assists on the year. He has started each of the 48 games he has played for the Camels in his three-year career. Hollinger was also presented the team's Glen Brewster Memorial Award for Leadership and Courage on Parents' Day (Oct. 26).
Izzo ranked second among Atlantic Sun assists leaders during the 2002 season after setting up seven goals. The Spring, Texas product and former Houston Texans club standout led Campbell in scoring with 19 points on six goals and seven assists during 2002 and hit career highs in all three offensive categories. Of Campbell's 28 goals scored in 17 outings, Izzo either scored or helped set up 13 of those strikes.
The 5-foot-11 midfielder was named A-Sun Offensive Player of the Week twice for the Camels during the season, on Oct 28 and Nov. 11. He assisted on Campbell's first goal and scored the winner in overtime on Nov. 9 in a 2-1 victory at Georgia State and rated seventh among A-Sun leaders in points and eighth in goals scored. He has totaled 40 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 51 career games for the Camels over the last three years.
A product of Neptune Beach, Fla., Schwartzenberger was one of just four players to start all 17 of Campbell's games last fall when he tied for seventh among A-Sun assists leaders with five, a career-high. He scored one goal, in 5-1 win at Gardner-Webb, and assisted on game-winners vs. Belmont, Georgia Southern and High Point.
The Raleigh club is coached by former Camel head coach Derrick Leeson, who guided Campbell for 11 seasons (1991-2001).
PDL stands for Premier Development League and is part of the United Soccer League (USL). The PDL is a summer league for the top amateur players at the under 23 level. A roster can contain 26 players and teams are allowed to have as many as eight over 23 aged players. Teams are also allowed to have seven players from foreign countries. The league starts in May and culminates with its National Championship in early August. There will be approximately 50 teams across the United States and Canada this summer.
The CASL Elite is looking to build off the success of its first season as it heads into 2003. In its first year, the team qualified for the US Open Cup and notched a victory in the first round of that competition. The Elite also reached the national quarterfinals of the PDL before losing 1-0 to the eventual national champion Cape Cod Crusaders. Nine players return from last year's team, and college standouts from the area will look to replace other players who have moved on, including five who have gone into the MLS and A-League. A trio of former North Carolina and Elite players – Matt Crawford, Logan Pause and David Stokes – was selected in the MLS Superdraft.
For the complete Raleigh CASL Elite schedule, visit www.caslnc.com.

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