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Who will be our next Jason Kreis? Or Jason Garey?

Not sure who they are? Well, the Baton Rouge Capitals know. The men’s elite soccer team started its season May 5 as one of the United Soccer League’s newest Premier Development squads in what the Web site says “will bring top-notch soccer to a flourishing soccer community that was previously void of quality soccer.”

That might be a bit harsh, but certainly the Capitals represent the beacon of the sport for men in the area. As LSU women’s soccer coach Brian Lee pointed out, local girls can come watch his team to see the highest level of NCAA Division I. But the boys? SMU in Dallas is probably the closest top-level college team.

There are the New Orleans Shell Shockers, also of the USL. For that matter, their owners also own the Capitals and made the Baton Rouge Soccer Association an offer it couldn’t refuse: We’ll get you a team, and you run it and keep any money it makes to put back into your organization.

BRSA’s Gary Buete jumped at the chance. The former pro player, who has been with BRSA since 2000, saw an opportunity for his best players, current and future. “We already have young players saying they want to play for the Capitals when they get older,” Buete said before the team played its first game.

The casual sports fan would likely recognize Major League Soccer (MLS) as the top league in America, and that international star David Beckham is playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy. The USL is like the minor leagues to Major League Baseball, but it also allows current high school and college players to compete.

Local players are the key.

The Capitals roster includes Catholic High product B.J. Reine, a sophomore midfielder at Georgia Southern. Carter Blanche is a midfielder who is graduating from Episcopal and will play at Wofford.

David Winchell is a Catholic High grad and a junior goalkeeper for Colorado State-Pueblo.

McKinley High School’s William Bagayoko finished his career at the University of Wisconsin, and now the defender plays for the Capitals.

And so will Joseph Lapira of Notre Dame. The Lake Charles native, who will be a senior forward for the Fighting Irish, won the Hermann Trophy, the official Player of the Year award given by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

And speaking of Notre Dame, Jenny Streiffer, who was a star at Baton Rouge High, left Notre Dame in 1999 as one of the greatest scorers in women’s college history. It was when Streiffer was finishing high school that soccer blew up in this area, but then it hit a plateau of sorts.

Since 2002 there are almost 1,000 more players in BRSA alone—3,450 youth and about 1,500 adults. And that’s not counting the growing soccer populations in Ascension, Livingston, Zachary and West Baton Rouge. The Capitals hope they’ll flock to Olympia Field for home games. After all—one day they might put on a Capitals uniform one day.

And about Kreis and Garey?

Kreis was from Mandeville and played for Baton Rouge Soccer’s elite teams. He had an All-American career at Duke before becoming the all-time leading scorer in Major League Soccer history. He played with the Dallas Burn, and now he coaches Real Salt Lake.

Garey, a product of St. Amant High School, led Maryland to four NCAA Final Fours before the Terps finally won it all in 2005, and Gary won the Hermann Trophy. He’s in his second year with the Columbus Crew of MLS.

They might have been Capitals had the opportunity been there.

brcapitals.com

Players to watch

The Capitals roster includes some Baton Rouge and Louisiana players who already have found success playing college soccer. Among those to watch:

Joseph Lapira 9

Notre Dame soccer star, winner of college soccer’s Heisman, the Hermann Trophy. A graduate of St. Louis Catholic in Lake Charles, where he was a high school All American, he’ll spark the Capitals at forward.

Calvin Simon 6

Originally from Wilmington, N.C., Simon plays forward for Georgia Southern and has been a leading scorer.

Ben Reine 3

A midfielder for Georgia Southern, Reine was captain at Catholic High and is a Baton Rouge Soccer veteran.

Chris Arnold 11

New Orleans native who starred for Newman High, he now plays for the University of Charlotte 49ers, where he’s a team tri-captain. A midfielder, he’s also a Baton Rouge Soccer Association alum.

William Bagayoko 10

Starred at McKinley High, he played a key role for the University of Wisconsin, and was a star for Baton Rouge

Soccer’s under-18s, leading them to the Louisiana Snickers State Cup semifinals in 2002.