THE OFFICIAL DELAWARE DYNASTY WEB SITE

DYNASTY OPENS TONIGHT
Developmental team gives players chance to reach next level

By KEVIN TRESOLINI, The News Journal
Saturday, May 12, 2007

Matthew Okoh has been where Delaware Dynasty soccer players would like to go, which should help them get there.

The coach of the second-year United Soccer League Premier Development League (PDL) side, which begins its second season tonight, enjoyed a professional playing career that included stops in the United States' Major League Soccer, Brazil, Portugal and in Germany's prestigious Bundesliga.

The PDL is an amateur league meant to serve as a launch pad for those with professional aspirations.

"They're trying to learn what it takes to achieve that," said Okoh, who started 21 games, scored eight goals and had eight assists for the Colorado Rapids of MLS in 2000 and 2001. "Some may not be sure where they want to end up, but they aspire to see the level and the commitment and what it takes -- the mental preparation -- to succeed."

The process begins when the Dynasty plays the Ocean City (N.J.) Barons at 6 tonight in the opener of its 17-game season on the all-weather field at the Kirkwood Soccer Club complex. The team finished 5-9-2 in its inaugural 2006 season.

Returning Dynasty defender Daryl Ferguson said Okoh's background is ideal for aspiring pros such as himself.

"It helps us a lot," said Ferguson, 21, who will graduate from Seton Hill University, in Greensburg, Pa., today and then drive to Delaware in time for the game. "He has a lot of experience he gives you, insights on what to expect and not to expect. He knows what he's talking about. I like playing for him."

Returning midfielder G.R. Cannon,at 26 the Dynasty's oldest player, had a tryout late last year with powerhouse VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga and turned down a third-division German contract offer. He said that playing for a coach with Okoh's knowledge and contacts can only help.

"Matt's a great coach, a player's coach," Cannon said. "He's very tactically and technically inclined, which you like in a coach. But you also like what he can get out of you as a player."

Okoh, also women's soccer coach at Delaware State University, sees preparing players for the sport's competitive rigors to be just one aspect of his job.

"I enjoy working with youths in the community and giving back what I've learned and what the game has offered me as a player," said Okoh, a native of Nigeria who graduated with a degree in mathematics from the University of Denver.

"I've been extremely blessed and I thank the Lord for the opportunity to play at the professional level in a sport I really enjoy. Now, I have a chance to pass that knowledge to the surrounding community so that they may, hopefully, enjoy the game as much as I do, and perhaps help some of these players go to higher levels."

That means helping the Dynasty become a more recognizable and active part of the Delaware soccer scene.

"Capturing the Delaware soccer culture's essence is our main focus, along with having a family event that involves players representing Delaware," team president and founder Ahmed El-Kadars said.