The Major Indoor Soccer League, where nine former Barons earn their living, is in full swing and near the midway point of the 2007/08 season.

That number became nine when Tim O’Neill (St. John’s / Philadelphia, PA), recently signed with the New Jersey Ironmen. He joins Matt Maher (Temple / Cape May, NJ) and recent draftee (#3 overall) Jeremy Ortiz (LaSalle / Mt. Laurel, NJ) with the Newark-based expansion team. After the Virginia Beach Mariners (USL First Division) folded before the start of the 2007 season, O’Neill decided to take the year off. His last professional appearance was in 2006 when he played 22 games for the Mariners and also suited up for the Philadelphia Kixx (MISL). 

He has been keeping active, playing club soccer for the Philadelphia-based United German Hungarians (UGH), a successful team that dates back to the 1920s. This past Fall, he teamed with Ortiz to help UGH win the Eastern Pennsylvania championship, and a berth in the United States Adult Soccer Association’s (USASA) Region I Finals (the winner and the runner-up qualify for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup).

Since making his debut for New Jersey against Chicago on February 2, he has played in every game, scoring two goals in four matches. He tallied his first goal in a 9-6 loss to Milwaukee on February 3 and added his second in a 16-8 win against the California Cougars last Thursday.

As for the other two Ironmen, Ortiz has yet to make his debut for the club and Maher has been out after having hernia surgery for the second time in the last year. Before the injury, he had a goal and an assist in 13 games, and was named MISL Defender of the Week during the first week of January.

Four Barons are playing for the defending MISL champion Philadelphia Kixx, but this season has been a struggle for the champs. They started the season losing six of their first eight games, but have rebounded recently, winning four of their last six. They’re still two games under .500 at 11-13, and with the parity in the league, they’re still within range of the league championship, trailing first place Milwaukee by only five games.

Tony Donatelli (Temple / Glenside, PA) has followed up last year’s impressive rookie season with another solid performance. He is the third leading scorer for the Kixx with 13 goals (one of them a three-pointer) and eight assists for 35 points. Last year, he was a member of the MISL’s All-Rookie Team. The Temple alum recently scored a pair of goals in the team’s 19-15 win over California.

His other college teammates are contributing as well. Ryan Heins (Temple / Medford, NJ), in his rookie season, has 10 points in 22 games as a defender. He has four goals (one three pointer) and one assist and five blocks. He scored his first career three-pointer in a loss to Chicago on February 13. Steven Wacker (Temple / Philadelphia, PA) only has one goal in 10 games, but that goal was an outstanding game-winner against the New Jersey Ironmen back on December 14.

Chris Williams (Philadelphia U / Philadelphia, PA) is playing his first season of indoor soccer and has done well as one of the Kixx defenders. He has one goal and one assist in 20 games, including 18 blocked shots which ranks him fifth on the team.

Michael Todd (Hofstra / Cleveland, England) continues to play well for the Baltimore Blast, scoring five goals and dishing out four assists (14 points) in 20 games. The Blast have won 8 of their last 10, and are 14-9 overall, sitting in third place in the league. Brian Devlin (Penn State / Philadelphia, PA) has only played in three games this season.

Over in Denmark, Jeremiah White (Wake Forest / Lansdowne, PA) is on the sidelines in a case of bad luck. White made his first appearance for the U.S. National Team in a 2-0 win over Sweden on January 19.  and was later called into national team camp for the Mexico game on February 6, but didn’t make the gameday roster. Upon his return to AGF Aarhus, who are in 10th place in the 12-team Danish Superliga (four points clear of the relagation zone), his jaw was broken in a collision during a friendly against FC Mistjylland. He is healing well and is anxious to get back on the field, however, when he does, he will need to wear a mask. Luckily for him (and AGF Aarhus), the Danish club season takes a winter break, so he is not expected to miss much time when play resumes March 16.