4/16/09 - The Mockingbird All-Stars will host 1790 Cincinnati in a game that could lead to the return of professional arena soccer in Louisville.
The game will be held on Saturday, April 25 at Mockingbird Valley Soccer Club with a 7:15pm kickoff. Vijay Dias, Special Projects Manager for The Estopinal Group, and founder Wayne Estopinal are staging the contest to gauge interest in bringing an expansion team to the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro) for the 2009-10 season.
The match is free to the public, but seating is limited and reserve seating can be obtained for a small fee by contacting the club. Overflow parking will also be available at the Ramada Inn. Doors open at 6:00pm.
"We are very interested in the model of the PASL-Pro," said Dias, "and as long as we can attract a certain level of interest it will fit nicely into our portfolio of soccer entities."
The same group already has played one game, but this will be the first opportunity for soccer fans in Louisville to see them in person. On February 27 the team, under the moniker of Derby City Stars, lost 16-5 in Cincinnati.
1790 went on to win the Eastern Division in the PASL-Pro with a league-best 13-3 record and advanced to the final of the North American Championships before falling to the Stockton Cougars.
This time, Dias says, the Mockingbird roster will be vastly different, but in addition to organizing the event, he will still play.
"We have been talking with The Estopinal Group for some time and they are the kind of people we want in the PASL-Pro," said PASL Commissioner Kevin Milliken. "The demographics of the Louisville market and its proximity to Cincinnati also makes it very attractive for us."
In addition to the Mockingbird Valley indoor facility, the club has an outdoor Select program that boasts 500 players from U-9 up to U-18.
As the president and founder of The Estopinal Group, Wayne Estopinal has more than twenty years of healthcare project planning and experience. Outside of the business, Wayne is a highly involved member of the community, serving on several Boards of Directors of local and regional civic groups.
