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Nighthawks fall in debut
By DAN HINER
YOUNGSTOWN
Speculation and anticipation have grown since rumors first surfaced last fall of a professional indoor soccer team coming to the Mahoning Valley.
The Youngstown Nighthawks played their first regular-season game on Sunday, but it wasn’t indoors. At the Youngstown State University soccer facility, the Nighthawks lost 2-0 to Wadsworth FC.
The Nighthawks are playing in the North Coast Soccer League, an indoor soccer league that consists of teams from Northeast Ohio. Nighthawks president Ed Holmes said the team will play summer games outside and the indoor portion of their schedule at the Covelli Centre beginning in September.
Holmes said Sunday’s game was the first step for the franchise.
“With us being very new or being the new guys, and a lot of these organizations have been together for a long time — not just the teams, but the actual leagues,” Holmes said. “We’re just trying to grow at our own pace and find our own place.”
The YSU stands were almost filled for the inaugural game. Forward Kiki Willis, a 2005 graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School, said he expects the team to grown in popularity.
“I think we are going to rely heavily on the community and what they can do to support us,” Willis said. “I think we’re going to make those strides to become a good franchise here.”
“We have a lot of pieces here in the organization. [They] are making those positive steps and strides to make us become known.”
Willis played his college soccer at Elon University in North Carolina. During his freshman year, Willis signed with Major League Soccer’s DC United. Shortly after beginning his professional soccer career, Willis left DC United for personal reasons.
“I’ve been playing in a league in Pittsburgh called the GPSL [Greater Pittsburgh Soccer League]. It’s a very competitive league there. I’ve been playing there these past couple years,” Willis said. “It’s A1 soccer, a lot of kids that played professionally in the past or played at the top DI colleges. It’s been helping keep my form and touch and it’s helping me out now.”
Of the Nighthawks, he said, “I made a commitment to these guys and they made a commitment to me. I’m just honoring that. Soccer has been a passion of mine for 20 plus years. It’s nice to have it here at home and it’s nice to be given this opportunity. I’m taking that opportunity and I’m gonna make the most of it.”