Sockers Ready to Restock Depleted Roster

The Sockers announced Thursday that their pre-training camp roster stands at five: goalie Victor Nogueira, midfielder-forward Tim Wittman, and defenders Kevin Crow, Dave Banks and Alex Golovnia.

The Sockers, who will begin tryouts Monday, also have several players under right of first refusal: target man Thompson Usiyan, defensive runner Jacques Ladouceur, defenders Glen Carbonara and Ben Collins and midfielders Michael Collins and Paul Dougherty.

A few players who have accepted tryout invitations have impressive resumes. There’s even a possible replacement for departed forward Branko Segota, at least in name: Branko Milosevic, a Yugoslav who was named the 1989-90 Australian Player of the Year.

Other international players expected to vie for the Sockers’ one alloted new visa spot include: Ezekial Doe, who like Ben Collins hails from Liberia and was a member of the national team; Finland-pro Brian James Roberts (a New Zealand native), and Zsolt Irmalos, an eight-year veteran of Hungarian outdoor leagues.