The 2014 season was the Atlanta Silverbacks' 18th season of existence, and their 4th consecutive season playing in the North American Soccer League, the second division of the American soccer pyramid.
Background
The Atlanta Silverbacks had a long run in 2013. In the Spring Season, they finished first place and booked their ticket to host the Soccer Bowl. They finished seventh in the fall season, but still were in the final match to decide the NASL Champion. The Silverbacks lost 1–0 to the New York Cosmos in the 2013 Soccer Bowl.
They had close results in the U.S. Open Cup, winning their first match against fourth division opponent Georgia Revolution 3–2. Then losing to MLS side Real Salt Lake 2–3 in overtime a week later.
On December 9, 2013, first-year head coach Brian Haynes was not given a contract extension, leaving the Silverbacks without a head coach.
On January 7, the Silverbacks announced that they would eliminate the head coaching position, and have technical director, Eric Wynalda, manage the team. Wynalda has the most professional experience of the club staff as he played in MLS, Germany, and Mexico for 20 years. Wynalda also has 106 US National Team caps, and is third on the countries all-time scoring list with 34 goals.
Club
Current roster As of October 1, 2014
No.PositionNationPlayer
On loan
Technical Staff Jason Smith – Head Coach Eric Wynalda – Technical Director Ricardo Montoya – Assistant Coach Alejandro Pombo – Assistant Coach Eduardo "Lalo" Liza – Assistant Coach Juan Castellanos – Fitness Coach
Front Office Staff Boris Jerkunica – Chairman John Latham – Vice-Chairman Andy Smith – General Manager Neal Malone – Marketing and PR Manager Michael Wheeler – Account Executive Kaila Muecke – Account Executive Malcolm Johnson – Account Executive Pete Zeskind – Account Executive Nathan Charlton – Operations Manager Samantha Yourstone – Event Marketing Coordinator
Transfers
In Date Pos. Name Previous club Fee January 20, 2014 FW Matt Horth New England Revolution None January 23, 2014 MF Junior Sandoval C.D. Marathón None January 24, 2014 MF Kwadwo Poku Georgia Revolution None January 31, 2014 MF Blair Gavin Seattle Sounders FC None February 4, 2014 MF Lucas Paulini Atlanta Silverbacks Re-sign February 25, 2014 FW Deon McCaulay Belmopan Bandits None February 26, 2014 GK Derby Carrillo Santa Tecla None February 26, 2014 MF Junior Burgos Toronto FC None February 27, 2014 GK Eric Ati Atlanta Silverbacks Re-sign February 27, 2014 DF Mitch Garcia Vermont Voltage None February 28, 2014 DF Abdul Bangura Härnösands FF None March 3, 2014 DF Ramiro Canovas Silverbacks Reserves None March 6, 2014 DF Edgar Espinoza Los Angeles Misioneros None March 6, 2014 MF Janny Rivera Silverbacks Reserves None March 6, 2014 MF Alex Harlley FC Santa Clarita None April 9, 2014 FW Jaime Chavez Los Angeles Misioneros None April 18, 2014 DF Ryan Roushandel Sevilla PR None April 25, 2014 MF Ferrety Sousa Atlanta Silverbacks Re-sign May 1, 2014 GK Thomas Hunter Chattanooga FC None May 1, 2014 GK Chip Sanders Orlando City U-23 None July 7, 2014 FW Kellen Gulley Chicago Fire None August 7, 2014 MF Brandon Poltronieri Carmelita None September 5, 2014 MF Paulo Ferreira-Mendes New York Cosmos None September 30, 2014 FW Shaka Bangura Barito Putera None
Out Date Pos. Name New Club Fee November 9, 2013 DF Eduardo Liza Retired November 29, 2013 DF Mark Bloom Toronto FC Undisclosed December 10, 2013 MF Milton Blanco FC Edmonton Free December 10, 2013 FW Pedro Ferreira-Mendes Indy Eleven Free December 10, 2013 MF Danny Barrera San Antonio Scorpions Free December 10, 2013 MF Mark Withers Dallas Sidekicks (Indoor) Free December 10, 2013 MF Brandon Manzonelli St. Louis Ambush (Indoor) Free December 10, 2013 DF Willie Hunt Tampa Bay Rowdies Free December 10, 2013 FW Brad Stisser Arizona United SC Free December 10, 2013 GK Cody Mizell Tampa Bay Rowdies Free January 13, 2014 FW Kellen Gulley Chicago Fire Free January 24, 2014 MF Horace James FC Edmonton Released February 4, 2014 MF Richard Menjivar San Antonio Scorpions Free February 7, 2014 FW Matt Horth Leiknir Reykjavík Undisclosed February 12, 2014 GK Joe Nasco Colorado Rapids Free March 5, 2014 MF Mario Uribe Free agent Released April 9, 2014 DF Josh Suggs Orange County Blues Released April 9, 2014 MF Scott Rojo Free agent Released April 28, 2014 FW David Estrada Seattle Sounders FC Loan Return May 9, 2014 DF Martyn Lancaster Georgia Revolution Free May 10, 2014 GK Chip Sanders Free agent Released May 10, 2014 MF Alex Caceres Free agent Released June 30, 2014 DF Bobby Reiss Retired July 12, 2014 DF Beto Navarro FC Edmonton Undisclosed August 5, 2014 GK Derby Carillo Santa Tecla Released
Loan In Date Pos. Name From Until April 3, 2014 FW David Estrada Seattle Sounders FC April 28, 2013 July 15, 2014 GK Joe Nasco Colorado Rapids August 9, 2014
Pre-season friendlies
Pre-season DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersTimeMarch 2, 2014Clayton State LakersH2–1Kwadwo Poku x24:00 PM ESTMarch 15, 2014Charlotte EaglesH0–14:00 PM ESTMarch 21, 2014UAB BlazersA3–0Deon McCaulay, Lucas Paulini, Edgar Espinoza8:00 PM ESTMarch 23, 2014AUM WarhawksN3–0Bobby Reiss, Edgar Espinoza, Junior Burgos3:00 PM ESTMarch 29, 2014Young Harris LionsH4–1Deon McCaulay x3, Kwadwo Poku4:00 PM ESTMarch 30, 2014USC GamecocksH0–03:00 PM ESTApril 5, 2014Clemson TigersH2–2Kwadwo Poku, Junior Sandoval5:00 PM ESTApril 6, 2014Carson–Newman EaglesH4–2Blair Gavin, Junior Burgos x2, David Estrada3:00 PM EST
Competitions Competition Started round Current Position Final position First match Last match Spring Season – – 8th April 13, 2014 June 7, 2014 Fall Season – 9th – July 12, 2014 November 2, 2014 U.S. Open Cup 3rd Round – Quarterfinals May 28, 2014 July 9, 2014 NASL Playoffs – – – – –
NASL
Spring season
Table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
Fall season
Table
Results summary
Results by round
Match results
US Open Cup
Playoffs The Championship will be contested by the winners of the spring and fall seasons hosting the next best two teams in the full year regular season table. The semi-finals will take place on November 8 and 9, with the two winners of the two games playing in the Championship game hosted by the team with the best overall regular season record, on November 15.
Statistics
Appearances
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute. Players with no appearances not included in the list.
Last updated on October 1, 2014 No.Pos.Nat.NameSpringFallOpen CupTotalAppsAppsAppsApps2 DF Edgar Espinoza680145 MF Blair Gavin6124227 MF Junior Sandoval8124248 DF Ramiro Canovas2 (1)6 (4)311 (5)9 FW Deon McCaulay8 (1)2 (2)2 (2)12 (5)10 MF Kwadwo Poku6 (3)11 (2)320 (5)11 MF Pablo Cruz3 (3)10 (1)316 (4)12 GK Thomas Hunter0 (1)000 (1)13 MF Borfor Carr1 (1)6 (2)2 (1)9 (4)14 MF Lucas Paulini1 (1)4 (4)05 (5)15 DF Abdul Bangura2 (1)30 (1)5 (2)16 GK Eric Ati6 (1)8115 (1)18 MF Mitch Garcia110 (1)2 (1)19 FW Jaime Chavez6 (3)13322 (3)20 MF Janny Rivera2 (1)3 (1)05 (2)21 FW Kellen Gulley00 (2)0 (1)0 (3)25MF Ferrety Sousa0 (1)3 (3)14 (4)29 DF Mike Randolph8942133 MF Junior Burgos3 (3)7 (2)414 (5)38 DF Ryan Roushandel7 (1)12120 (1)45 MF Alex Harlley1 (2)4 (8)0 (4)5 (14)70 MF Jesus Gonzalez6 (1)4 (7)1 (2)11 (10)99 FW Shaka Bangura00 (1)00 (1) Players below are no longer on roster3 MF David Estrada2 (1)--2 (1)4 DF Bobby Reiss8-2106 DF Beto Navarro3-3622 GK Derby Carrillo313723 GK Joe Nasco0404
Goalscorers This includes all competitive matches. Last updated on September 20, 2014 NameSpringFallOpen CupTotal1 19 FW Jaime Chavez 5 3 3 112 7 MF Junior Sandoval 2 4 1 73 33 MF Junior Burgos 0 3 3 64 9 FW Deon McCaulay 2 1 2 55 11 MF Pablo Cruz 1 3 0 46 10 MF Kwadwo Poku 2 0 1 37 5 MF Blair Gavin 0 1 0 1 38 DF Ryan Roushandel 0 1 0 1TOTALS12 16 10 38
Clean sheets This includes all competitive matches. Last updated on September 20, 2014 NameSpringFallOpen CupTotal1 16 GK Eric Ati 0 1 1 22 23 GK Joe Nasco 0 1 0 13 12 GK Thomas Hunter 0 0 0 0TOTALS0 2 1 3
Disciplinary record This includes all competitive matches. Last updated on October 1, 2014 PlayerSpringFallOpen CupTotal 2 DF Edgar Espinoza 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 5 MF Blair Gavin 1 0 2 0 1 0 4 0 7 MF Junior Sandoval 0 0 4 1 1 0 5 1 8 DF Ramiro Canovas 2 0 1 0 1 0 4 0 9 FW Deon McCaulay 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 10 MF Kwadwo Poku 0 0 2 0 1 1 3 1 11 MF Pablo Cruz 1 0 3 1 0 0 4 1 13 MF Borfor Carr 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 14 MF Lucas Paulini 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 15 DF Abdul Bangura 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 16 GK Eric Ati 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 18 MF Mitch Garcia 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 19 FW Jaime Chavez 3 0 3 0 0 1 6 1 20 MF Janny Rivera 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 25 MF Ferrety Sousa 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 29 DF Mike Randolph 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 33 MF Junior Burgos 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 38 DF Ryan Roushandel 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 45 MF Alex Harlley 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 70 MF Jesus Gonzalez 3 0 2 0 0 1 5 1 Players below are no longer on roster 3 FW David Estrada 1 0 - - - - 1 0 4 DF Bobby Reiss 3 0 - - 0 0 3 0 22 GK Derby Carrillo 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 23 GK Joe Nasco 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0TOTALS23 1 24 2 7 4 53 8
See also 2014 in American soccer 2014 North American Soccer League season Atlanta Silverbacks
References