FROM STAFF REPORTS

Many current and former University of Montevallo men’s soccer players have starring this summer in their respective leagues.

Former NCAA Division II All-Region player Nathaniel Foster has been competing in the Victorian Premier League in Australia for the Dandenong Thunder. His team is currently undefeated and in first place. Foster leads the team with eight goals in eight games and has five assists, which is also a team-high.

The Victorian Premier League is the highest professional state level association soccer competition in Victoria, Australia, and second highest nationally after the A-League. The competition is administered by Football Federation Victoria, the governing body of soccer in the state.

Four other current and former Falcons are playing in the USL Premier Development League as well as the National Premier Soccer League.

The PDL is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid. It is currently the top level men’s amateur soccer competition in the United States, and has 73 teams competing in four conferences, split into nine regional divisions; unofficially, it is considered to be the fourth tier of competition, behind Major League Soccer, the North American Soccer League and the USL Professional Division, and roughly equal with the National Premier Soccer League.

Rising senior Shane Howard is competing for the Erie Admirals of the NPSL and recently exploded for four goals in a game which set the Erie Admirals franchise record for goals in a game. He was named the NPSL Player of the Week after scoring four goals in a 4-1 win over Greater Binghamton FC on May 27. The Admirals are currently third in their division with a 1-1-0 record.

Rising senior Stefan Vaziri, an Oak Mountain High School graduate, is competing for the Nashville Metros of the PDL. They are currently first in their division with a perfect 2-0-0 record.

Rising junior Brendan Ledgeway is competing for Palmetto FC of the PDL. PFC is 1-1-1 three games into their inaugural season. Ledgeway is the starting goalkeeper for the team while Lander University men’s soccer head coach Van Taylor serves as the head coach. Ledgeway played all 90 minutes against Virginia Beach as he picked up the franchise’s first official victory making three saves in the 2-1 win.

Former Montevallo player Daniel Pelletier is competing for CFC Azul of the PDL. CFC is currently 2-1-2 but is currently on a two-match winning streak and did not allow a goal in either of those two wins. The team is currently in second place in its division.