The biggest soccer tournament in the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, began this weekend in South Africa.
But if you can’t make the trip, Siegel Park will play host to some of the future stars of the sport on Father’s Day. With all of the attention of the World Cup going on at the same time, part owner of the team, Lynn Agee hopes viewers of the event will come see the Metros.
“There has got to be some excitement generated from that (the World Cup), and we expect an uptick in attendance,” he said.
The Nashville Metros will take on the Mississippi Brilla at 3 p.m. This will be its second of three home games this season in Murfreesboro. The first appearance did not end well for the Metros on Mother’s Day with 2-0 defeat to the Baton Rouge Capitals. The final game at Siegel Park will be July 16 against the Central Florida Kraze.
“The city of Murfreesboro has always been a big supporter of the Metros,” Agee said.
Agee was one of the original owners of the team, when it was founded in 1989. It was made up of two competing local amateur teams at the time, the Nashville Blues and the Murfreesboro Strikers.
The Metros are one of the oldest soccer franchises in North America. Currently, the team is a member of the Premier Developmental League, which is made up of players mostly under 23 years old that are still in college, or just finished up. That league is part of the United Soccer League; Agee was inducted to the league’s Hall of Fame in 2003.
Currently, the team plays most of their home matches at Ezell Park in Nashville. Right now, Nashville has a record of (1-4-1), which put them near the bottom of the Southeast Division standings. The Metros faced the New Orleans Jesters on Friday at Ezell, but results were unavailable at deadline.
He added the team can not have professional players, but they can play against them. An example is each year; the United States Soccer Association has a tournament called the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is made up of both professional and amateurs teams. The Metros have made three appearances in the event, the last coming in 2001. In the 1998, Nashville advanced all the way to the quarterfinals, but lost to the MLS’s Dallas Burn.
A couple of former players have decided to stay in Murfreesboro and coach at the high school level. Jeff Boynton runs the Oakland team, while Eric Shelton is at Siegel.
One of Agee’s goals in the future is for Murfreesboro to have their own team, and it is a feeder to the Metros. However, Agee added they have no specific plans at this time with the city. |
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