NOSL excited to expand in adding major talents, new sponsor
Stark County United and Amish Country United are two of the charter teams in the NOSL, having already formed a natural rivalry in the few years they have met on the pitch.
If things continue to grow as they have the past two years, the Northern Ohio Soccer League may not just be in Northern Ohio much longer.
Two years ago when Braden Mast created the NOSL, he had big dreams to build an adult men’s soccer league that would bring together some of the finest talent in Northeastern Ohio. It started two summers ago with six teams and a final that saw Accipiter FC from Wayne County capture the inaugural league crown.
Last year COVID-19 washed away season two, but Mast continued to work on further developing a league that drew rave reviews from some important people in the Ohio soccer realm. One thing Mast wanted to do was expand the league and grow it, creating a place for high school and college talent to showcase their skills, gain valuable experience and get exposure in front of college coaches.
While that first year saw local teams compete, the NOSL expanded this season, bringing in three teams from Cleveland, one from Delaware and another from Mansfield, teams that consist of some incredible talent.
Mast said Forest City of Cleveland is the reserve team for the NPSL semi-pro team Cleveland Soccer Club, and Ambassadors Football Club has added a pair of teams.
“These are great additions to our league, and these teams take it very seriously, training at least five times a week,” Mast said. “The talent level they bring to the league is amazing, and they are going to make the league that much more competitive.”
Other teams include Team Vulpine out of the Triway area; The City of Ohio SC; Mansfield Liederkranz; Stark County United, which features a bunch of players from Malone University and the University of Mount Union; Delaware Rising FC; and host team Amish Country United, which features many of Holmes County’s best players from recent years.
The NOSL season kicks off Saturday, May 15 with the featured game between Ambassadors FC and Mansfield Liederkranz highlighting what should be an exciting summer of men’s soccer action.
Mast said word of mouth and Twitter were key to the league expanding and bringing in the new teams.
“I think people saw what we had developed and were very interested in becoming a part of it,” Mast said. “We started off very local with a bunch of high school and college players, so branching out and getting some established, well-known teams involved was huge for us.”
Mast said there is limited opportunity out there right now for adults to continue to play the game they love and hone their skills, so creating that opportunity was something he relished.
“The NOSL is giving guys who really want to play a chance to gain some really valuable playing experience against top-notch competition,” Mast said.
The league consists mainly of players age 18-25, and these are players who have dedicated themselves to the game. Mast said the league is the perfect vehicle as a recruiting tool for players who want exposure to college programs and even semi-professional teams.
Another goal for the NOSL was to usher in sponsorships for the league. The NOSL board landed a big one this season, introducing Offside Marketing as the newest major sponsor.
“By partnering with Offside Marketing, we are taking another big step as a league,” Mast said. “This partnership represents both our growth as a league as well as our dedication to the success of our clubs. Offside Marketing is a local partner that really understands the challenges facing lower-league soccer clubs like the ones in the NOSL.”
"Offside Marketing is looking forward to a strong partnership to help quickly accelerate NOSL's strategic vision and goals," Offside Marketing founder Jason Lansdale said. “The number of challenges facing lower-league clubs around the country is staggering. After talking with Braden last year, we gained an appreciation of the strategic vision he and NOSL has for the league, all of which we agreed with at Offside Marketing. It became clear we needed to work together.”
Mast said seeing the league take a big step up in competition was exciting, and it should present fun and exciting action on the pitch for soccer fans to watch.
“People who haven’t seen this level of competition are going to be really surprised at the high level of competitive soccer,” Mast said.
Another addition to the league was developing a partnership with the national company, Non Pro Soccer, which will provide updated standings and statistics.
For more information, updated standings, rosters and schedule, visit the NOSL website at www.noslsoccer.com.