Philly Soccer Notebook: Cape May Court House native makes it from D3 to Red Bull 2

The lone player from Division III college soccer eligible for the 2020 MLS SuperDraft didn’t get his name called, but Cape May Court House, N.J. native Joseph Fala still made his way into the roster of an MLS 2 team.

The Ramapo and FC Motown striker was signed this week to a pro contract with New York Red Bulls II after impressing in preseason.

“Joe is a guy that we saw in our combine and he sparked our interest,” head coach John Wolyniec said in a news release. “He has done nothing but exceed expectations since then. We are developing him as a center back, but his work rate and athleticism make him interesting at multiple positions.”

The Middle Township High School grad led all of Division III in goals in 2018 with 27, setting a single season record at Ramapo College.

Chester Upland Youth Soccer

Chester Upland Youth Soccer has named Jeannine Fallon Anckaitis as Executive Director. She succeeds Brendan Grady, who was named the new head coach of Juniata men’s soccer last month but will remain on the board. Grady was formerly an associate head coach at his alma mater Swarthmore and served previously as an assistant at Widener.

Anckaitis, a communications professional with over 25 years experience in public relations and marketing, has served on the CUYS board for nearly 18 months.

In other local soccer news:

• Former University of Pennsylvania and PA Classics forward Aramis Kouzine recently signed with a club in Denmark. The Canadian U23 international trained last summer with the Union in Chester and was recently named to the preliminary roster for Canada’s Olympic qualifying team.
• Unionville, Pa. native Jordie Ciuffetelli was named assistant coach at Harvard, rejoining former Tufts head coach Josh Shapiro who he served under the past three seasons. Ciuffetelli is a former West Chester University head coach and played at Lehigh University and for Lehigh Valley United and West Chester United in the amateur ranks.
• Loudoun United, DC United’s USL Championship affiliate has signed two area college alums to their team ahead of their season opener in Chester on Saturday: Penn alum ErMuse Momoh and Temple alum Simon Lefebvre.
• Villanova grad Kevin Garcia has signed with FC Tulsa after spending some time on trial with DC United.
• Cherry Hill, N.J. native Christiana Ogunsami has returned to her alma mater to serve as goalkeeper coach for Drexel women’s soccer.
• Philadelphia Union Academy and YSC Academy grad Joey DeZart was signed to a first team deal by Orlando City. The Jackson, N.J. native played four seasons at Wake Forest.
• Villanova women’s soccer released its spring schedule, which includes the City Six Tournament, which they will be hosting on April 18.

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