Sowegans SC vs. Pensacola FC Preview
It’s a big opening showdown in the League for Clubs Gulf Coast Conference.
This past Thursday, at an open training event, Sowegans SC of Albany, Georgia revealed their front of jersey sponsor to be Phoebe Hospital. More importantly, they gave fans an early view on how the team is building chemistry on what should be a competitive season in the League for Clubs.
Sowegans moved to the startup semi-pro initiative from the Gulf Coast Premier League (GCPL), where they were the 2024 Eastern Conference Champions. In an effort to run back their success, they have brought back players in multiple positions. The trio of Nicola Monelli, Alex Ruane, and Myke Zamor (team captain) helped the club allow the least amount of goals in the entire GCPL, and they’ll look to bring stability again. Meanwhile, Manny Marin and Cameron Hawkins are shoe-in starters in the midfield who can both be dangerous in the attack.
Not only is the core of the team still intact, but the club has added a lot of depth. One of the club’s recent signings was Riley White, freshman defender at Georgia Military College, who already has totaled an impressive 7 goals and 3 assists to his name during the collegiate season. Jaheim Rose of Indiana Tech (formerly at Florida Memorial) had a goal and 3 assists as a stalwart in the midfield for the school. Presumed starting goalkeeper Marco Galarodini is returning for his second season as a veteran leader (graduate assistant at Thomas University), but he’s backed up by two keepers in Kameron Kirksey (high schooler) and Michael Guerrier (journeyman from Germany). Three Thomas University students, midfielder Kieran McCombe and forwards Jake Wright and Camilo Penafiel, profile as solid options off the bench.
The biggest new signing, however, isn’t a depth piece. Instead, it’s the presumed starter leading the frontline, Brad Tulley.
The Jamaican star forward from the NAIA’s Florida Memorial University has been the school’s leading goalscorer for the past two seasons, with the only stats on their website showing 9 goals and 6 assists in 17 matches in 2023. He was also an All-Sun Conference 2nd team member that season.
No matter what acclaim follows him, Tulley will have to be ready to step into big shoes. He’s the replacement for one of the few important players Sowegans SC failed to bring back this season, GCPL Eastern Conference Player of the Year Hector Moreno.
Moreno had scored 11 goals in only 7 matches last year, good enough to make him the GCPL’s Golden Boot runner-up. And, Moreno was seemingly one of the only players in the entire league coming into this season who could go toe-to-toe with Pensacola FC attacking midfielder Calum Edwards. Edwards had led the NPSL’s Gulf Coast Sunshine Conference with 10 goals in 11 matches, but the good news for Sowegans is Edwards is now playing for AFC Flyde in England. Both clubs have lost their star attacker and are hoping a replacement will be able to step up.
Who would that person stepping up be for Pensacola? Well, there isn’t a singular standout name like there is for Sowegans, but there seem to be two new players who could come in to fill the void.
First, Alex-Ambrose Gravel is a sophomore attacking midfielder out of Georgia Southwestern State University who scored a goal and had 3 assists in 15 games this past season. A former academy prospector at Dijon FCO in France, Gravel has the profile of a player who could succeed in Pensacola’s successful attacking system (24 goals last year in the NPSL by the club).
Second and most likely is Baylon Young of Davidson College, a midfielder/forward that Pensacola FC Head Coach Dean Logan said he was excited about in his interview with the Southeast Soccer Report. He finished the season with a goal and 2 assists against some of the best competition in the country, like Furman, Mercer, and Virginia Tech, and has consistently got minutes for 3 straight years. Playing with and against many NAIA or Division III students, Young could have a higher skill level that translates well to the semi-pro game.
Young will have help up front, joined by the returning Owusu Prince and new signing from the University of the Cumberlands Bruno Marques. The most depth in the current Pensacola FC lineup seems to be in defense, where Aaron Boateng, Eduardo Pampolini, Tyrike Andrews, and Carson Hickok all return. The club’s backline, led by these 4, only allowed 6 goals in NPSL regular-season action last year. The midfield also seems to have filled out well, with returning defensive midfielders Issac Kamala and Campbell Young being joined by University of North Florida senior Reo Ichikawa and Argentinian Nacho Miranda.
Pensacola is looking to improve on a season which ended in a 2-1 playoff loss to Columbus United. Sowegans is looking to do the same after their 3-2 loss to Gaffa FC. Both sides enter the contest with strong defenses, loads of depth, and questions in the attack, making it a complete toss-up on who will be the victors. The opening day of the season promises a great crowd in Albany, as well (Sowegans’ average match attendance was 275 people in 2024).
If you want to watch the match, it will be broadcasted live on the National Soccer Network and can be accessed HERE.