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NSC Minnesota Stars pro soccer team signs Andrei Gotsmanov

NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release, February 17, 2010

 

For more information:

Barclay Kruse, Chief Communications Officer
National Sports Center
763.785.5634 (office)
763.458.6615 (cell)
bkruse@mnsports.org

 

BLAINE, Minn. (February 17, 2010) – NSC Minnesota Stars, the new professional soccer team that will play at the National Sports Center, announced the signing of their second player, Andrei Gotsmanov.

 

Gotsmanov, born on May 6, 1986, the Woodbury, Minn. native played college soccer at Creighton University. In 2008, he was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, MVP of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, as the Bluejays won the MVC Tournament championship. That year he was also a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, presented annually to the U.S.’s top college soccer player.

 

He was drafted in the second round (24th overall) in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution, but opted to finish college before turning pro. Upon graduation, the Revolution couldn’t find room on their roster, so Gotsmanov played on a trial basis with a pro club in Sweden and then an amateur team in Nebraska. He then signed with the Minnesota Thunder in July of 2009, and played in one game, on July 11, 2009 against the Montreal Impact, before suffering an injury.

 

Andrei is the son of Sergey Gotsmanov, a Belarusian, who played for the Soviet Union in the 1988 UEFA European Championships and professionally for such clubs as FC Dinamo Minsk in the Soviet Union and Southampton in England.

 

“I’m very happy Andrei has decided to join NSC Minnesota,” said head coach Manny Lagos. “He is one of the most skilled players to ever come out of high school in Minnesota. Fans should be very excited to see such a great talent on the field.”

 

“I’m excited that Manny (Lagos) is the coach,” said Gotsmanov. “He believes in me and I’m looking forward to helping the new team start out on the right path. It’s important for Minnesota to have a pro team and I’m excited for all the clubs and soccer fanatics to come out and watch us play.”

 

NSC Minnesota will play in the twelve-team United States Soccer Federation (USSF)-sanctioned division 2 professional league. The league will consist of two six-team conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference will include teams from Austin (Tex.), Minnesota, Portland (Ore.), Puerto Rico, Rochester (N.Y.) and Tampa Bay. The NASL Conference will consist of teams from Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Montreal, St. Louis and Vancouver.