U.S. Open Cup qualifiers

The Rhode Island Stingrays have announced their qualifying matches for the 2009 U.S. Open Cup tournament. Below are the dates and times for these matches:

May 17th at New Jersey 4:00pm

May 23rd vs. Ocean City 7:00pm

Should the Stingrays advance through to these matches, the next slate of matches will likely be scheduled for June.

We'll keep you posted!

2009 Schedule is up!

HOME matches are listed in BLUE

Away Sat May 9 Brooklyn Knights 5:00 pm
Home Sat May 16 New Jersey Rangers 7:00 pm
Away Sun May 17 Newark Ironbound Express 4:00 pm
Home Sat May 23 Ocean City Barons 7:00 pm
Home Fri May 29 Ottawa Fury 7:00 pm
Away Sat May 30 Long Island Rough Riders 7:30 pm
Home Sat June 6 Brooklyn Knights 7:00 pm
Home Sat June 13 Long Island Rough Riders 7:00 pm
Away Sun June 14 Westchester Flames 5:30 pm
Home Sat June 20 Newark Ironbound Express 7:00 pm
Away Sat June 27 Ocean City Barons 7:30 pm
Away Sun June 28 New Jersey Rangers 4:00 pm
Away Thu July 2 New Hampshire Phantoms 7:30 pm
Away Sat July 11 Ottawa Fury 3:00 pm
Home Wed July 15 New Hampshire Phantoms 7:00 pm
Home Sat July 18 Westchester Flames 7:00 pm

***Please note that our home venue has changed for 2009. We'll be playing all of our home matches at Rhode Island College in Providence this season.***

Here's the Mapquest link for directions.

See you on May 16th!

Cameron injures hamstring in USMNT camp; sent home

Unfortunately, former Stingray Geoff Cameron was sent back to Houston last week after suffering a hamstring injury during the second day of camp. His recovery time is 2-3 weeks.

While we're disappointed to hear that Geoff won't be on the pitch against Sweden come January 24th, we're proud of his invitation to the National Team camp. We wish him a smooth recovery as he and his Houston Dynamo teammates prepare for the 2009 MLS season.

SuperDraft surprises?

With the MLS SuperDraft scheduled for tomorrow, we figured we'd keep you posted regarding the possibility of any former Stingrays getting selected.

Unfortunately, for the first time since 2005, the MLS Player Combine List did not include any former Stingrays.

However, it is worth noting that Ryan Maduro (Providence College), who made the list, was collegiate teammates of current Stingrays players Justin Kahle, Matt Marcin, Tim Ritter and Alex Redding. Another local prospect on the list is Rhett Bernstein (Brown), who played alongside current Stingrays T.J. Thompson and Thomas Thunnel while at Brown.

That being said, should a former Stingray be plucked by an MLS club tomorrow, we'll be sure to keep you posted.

Former Stingray Geoff Cameron gets called to US National Team Camp

Before United States Men's National Team manager Bob Bradley announced the invitations to the squad's first camp of 2009 last week, a few fresh faces were expected to get the call. Well, one of those faces turned out to be none other than former Stingray midfielder Geoffey Cameron.

Cameron, who was drafted in the third round of last year's MLS SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo, was a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year honors throughout the season. Although fellow camper Sean Franklin (Los Angeles) eventually took the Award, it's fair to say that a camp invite was well-deserved for the Attleboro, MA native.

Geoff played for the Stingrays from 2005-07, tallying eight goals and two assists in 33 career games. In addition to his time on the pitch, Geoff also served as a camp counselor for the Stingrays Soccer Camps during his time with the club.

Here's what he had to say about getting the call to camp on ussoccer.com:

"I wasn't expecting it and then I got an e-mail from my saying 'You've been invited to the camp.' I was pretty thrilled and excited to come here, and a little nervous, as always, playing with the best players in the country. So, with that in mind, I just want to come here and take it one day at a time, and just make sure I'm putting the effort in. Playing with guys around you that are top level, it's a little nervous for me, but I'll get a little more comfortable as the week goes on."

We'll keep you posted on Geoff's progress. We certainly wish him the best.

Welcome to the Official Rhode Island Stingrays Blog!

Happy 2009!

We figured we'd kick the year off with our brand-new blog in order to keep you current on the latest Stingrays news and events.

We welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this blog better. Feel free post your comments below.

Enjoy!