Steamers Build Roster with Local Base
St. Louis, MO- The St. Louis Steamers bolstered their roster for the 2003-04 season with 10 picks in the 2003 Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Expansion Draft. Three of the selections, including top-pick Craig Scheer of Cape Girardeau Central High School, starred on the Missouri state prep and local amateur soccer scene.
The other St. Louis picks with local ties are Erik Kuster, a former standout at CBC High School; and Matt Caution, who starred at Fort Zumwalt South High School.
The 2003 MISL Expansion Draft was held July 21 for the Steamers, an anchor franchise in the former MISL that has been reborn under new ownership for the 2003-04 season; and a new franchise in Monterrey, Mexico. In addition to the Steamers’ 10 expansion draft picks, the franchise retained the playing rights to four players who were with the team during its final year (2001) in the World Indoor Soccer League (WISL).
Those “protected” players who will be on the new team are: Brett Phillips, one of the league’s top goalkeepers who helped lead the Baltimore Blast to the 2002-03 MISL Championship; midfielder/defender Jeff DiMaria, a former standout at CBC High School and Saint Louis University who scored 17 goals in his first professional indoor season for the WISL Steamers in 2000; Justin Labrum, who led the WISL Utah Freezz in scoring in 2001 with 22 goals and nine assists; and Fernando Errecalde.
“We’re very happy with the way our roster is coming together,” said Daryl Doran, head coach and vice president of soccer operations for the Steamers. “Brett and Jeff provide a solid nucleus, and we’ve been able to add a nice mix of youth and experience through the expansion draft.
“And whenever you field a soccer team in St. Louis, you can’t overlook the local talent. We’re building a good base of players from the area and will continue to showcase this region’s strong soccer heritage to our great fans.”
In the 2003 MISL Expansion Draft, Monterrey was awarded the first four picks – to balance the Steamers’ four protected players – as well as the fifth overall pick. The Steamers selected sixth overall, which was the second pick in round two. With that pick, the team selected Craig Scheer, a 6-foot, 170-pound midfielder who starred at Cape Girardeau Central in the early 1990s.
Scheer, 27, played parts of two seasons for the Baltimore Blast and was a teammate of Phillips on the Blast’s 2002-03 MISL championship squad. In 33 games for the Blast last season, he tallied seven goals and blocked 19 shots. After graduating from Cape Girardeau Central in 1994, he played college ball at the University of Illinois-Springfield and at Lewis & Clark Community College and was a two-time NAIA All-American.
Following is the complete list of Steamers picks from the 2003 MISL Expansion Draft:
ROUND 2 – Craig Scheer, midfielder, age 27, selected from Baltimore.
ROUND 3 – Dewan Bader, defender, age 32, selected from Baltimore. Bader played in his 300th career game last season for MISL champion Baltimore. He has blocked more than 300 shots in his career.
ROUND 4 - Erik Kuster, forward, age 25, selected from Kansas City. A 1996 graduate of CBC High School, Kuster garnered Parade magazine All-America honors during his senior prep season. He attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City and was named Mid-Continent player of the year his senior season. He was the first American to play at the Division I level in Croatia. Last season, Kuster tallied two goals and three assists in 15 games for the Kansas City Comets.
ROUND 5 – Steve Butcher, forward, age 25, selected from Cleveland. Butcher had 11 goals and seven assists in 23 games for the Force last season. He tallied 25 goals and seven assists for Cleveland in 2001-02.
ROUND 6 – Matt Caution, defender, age 28, selected from Kansas City. Caution graduated in 1993 from Ft. Zumwalt South High School, where he was a two-time first team all-state selection. He attended Southwest Missouri State University and set all-time career marks for goals (46) and assists (33). In 1997, he was selected by the Major League Soccer (MLS) Dallas Burn and trained with the club for two months. He played three years in the National Professional Indoor Soccer League, including one year with the St. Louis Ambush.
ROUND 7- Jeremy Aldrich, midfielder, age 26, selected from Milwaukee. Last year was Aldrich’s first pro indoor season. He played two seasons (1999 and 2000) with the MLS Miami Fusion.
ROUND 8 – Danny Santoro, midfielder, age 29, selected from Baltimore. Santoro is a six-season professional indoor veteran who is coming off successful knee surgery for a torn ACL. As a member of the Blast, he set a career-high assist mark (14) in 2001-02.
ROUND 9 – Sterling Westcott, midfielder, age 31, selected from San Diego. A veteran midfielder, Westcott has both indoor and outdoor professional experience.
ROUND 10 – Cesidio Colasante, midfielder, age 28, selected from Philadelphia. Colasante played four pro seasons with the KiXX, tallying 121 points and 62 blocks in 99 games.
ROUND 11 – Daniel Barber, midfielder, age 32, selected from Baltimore. Barber is a seven-year veteran of the NPSL and MISL. In addition to the Blast, he has played for the Harrisburg Heat and Dallas Sidekicks.
The Steamers 2003-04 season kicks off in October and runs through March. All home games will be played at The Family Arena in St. Charles. Season tickets are now on sale. For information, contact the Steamers ticket office at 636-410-0388, ext. 501, or visit our Web site www.stlsteamers.com.
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