Mississippi Brilla

Mississippi Brilla

Full name	Mississippi Brilla Futbol Club
Nickname(s)	Brilla
Founded	2006
Stadium	Harper Davis Stadium Jackson, Mississippi (Capacity: 3,500)
Owner	Rusty Bryant
Head Coach	Dave Dixon
League	USL Premier Development League
2010	1st, Southeast Playoffs: Conference Semifinals
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors
Current season

Mississippi Brilla is an American soccer club based in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference.

The team plays its home games at Harper Davis Stadium, where they have played since 2010. The team's colors are pale blue, dark blue and white.

Brilla is associated with Brilla Soccer Ministries, an organization which undertakes sports ministry to share Christianity through the sport. The club’s name is derived from the Spanish word for "shine", and references the biblical passage Matthew 5:16 which says "Therefore, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Although the club initially struggled in the middle of their conference strandings, Brilla have recently become one of the strongest PDL franchises in the Southeast on the pitch, winning the conference regular season title every season since 2009. In 2011, the club had their best showing in the playoffs, reaching the conference finals.

History

Mississippi Brilla entered the PDL in 2007 to a great deal of fanfare, as the first soccer franchise in Mississippi since the demise of the Jackson Chargers in 1999. Under head coach Dave Dixon, Brilla tied their first game 1-1 at home to New Orleans Shell Shockers in front of over 1,000 fans (with the honor of the first goal in franchise history going to James Gledhill), and although the average attendance remained high throughout the season, the on-field results were not quite as impressive. Brilla won their first game next time out, 1-0 over DFW Tornados, but then failed to register a victory in their next four games. In the end, too many ties caused Brilla's downfall - 5 on the season - and despite some impressive results, including a 5-1 hammering of Baton Rouge Capitals in June and 5-0 demolition of Nashville Metros in July, it was not quite enough to make the playoffs, and they eventually finished their freshman year fourth behind divisional (and eventual national) champions Laredo Heat. James Gledhill was the team's top scorer, with six goals, while Chris Rash and Tripp Harkins leds the assists stats with three apiece.

Brilla's second season in the PDL was pretty much on an equal footing with their first. With new head coach Steve DeCou at the helm, attendances remained high, often topping 900 fans per game, and the team enjoyed a number of exciting victories, including a hard-fought 2-0 win over the eventual divisional champions Austin Aztex U23, a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over New Orleans Shell Shockers in mid-June, and a spectacular 6-2 final day victory at home against Houston Leones in which Tripp Harkins scored a brace. As was the case in 2007, however, Brilla's downfall was a lack of consistency, and their inability to string a series of results together to gain momentum: their longest streak was a 5-game run in late June and early which included three wins and two ties, including the aforementioned victory over New Orleans. Mississippi ended the season in 4th place in the Mid South Division, just four points out of the playoffs, and with plenty to build on in 2009. Phillip Buffington was the team's most prolific goalscorer, with 8 for the season.

2009 has seen Brilla's most successful start in team history. Brilla qualified for the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in franchise history by going undefeated in their first four games, winning three and drawing one. Debola Ogunseye is currently the team's leading scorer with 4 goals.

Players

Current roster

As of June 8, 2011.^[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 0 GK Brendan Moore[2] 1 GK Andy Goellner[3] 2 MF Michael Azira[4] 3 DF Shaun Herselman[5] 4 MF Joey De Mare[6] 5 DF Guilherme Reis[7] 6 DF Robbie Benson[8] 7 MF Nick Rich[9] 8 FW Moses Aduny[10] 9 DF Richard Dixon[11] 10 MF Anteneh Lemma[12] 11 FW Marc Joseph[13] 12 MF Blaike Woodruff[14]

No. Position Player 13 MF Carl Sheard[15] 14 MF Patrick Huang[16] 15 FW Bryce Taylor[17] 16 DF Thomas Shannon[18] 17 MF Anthony Kattreh[19] 18 FW David Palmer[20] 19 FW Nathaniel Foster[21] 20 FW Phillip Buffington 21 FW J. J. Greer[22] 23 MF Jamie Bladen[23] 24 DF Clifford Spence 25 MF Mat Luak[24] 00 GK Zach Torp[25]

Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

• Willie Hunt
• David Lilly
• Debola Ogunseye
• Lucas Paulini
• Kyle Segebart

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Regular Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
2007	4	USL PDL	4th, Mid South	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2008	4	USL PDL	4th, Mid South	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2009	4	USL PDL	1st, Southeast	Divisional Finals	1st Round
2010	4	USL PDL	1st, Southeast	Conference Semifinals	Did not qualify
2011	4	USL PDL	1st, Southeast	Conference Finals	Did not qualify

Honors

• USL PDL Southeast Division Champions 2011
• USL PDL Southeast Division Champions 2010
• USL PDL Southeast Division Champions 2009

Head coaches

• Dave Dixon (2007, 2009-present)
• Steve DeCou (2008)

Stadia

• Robert P. Longabaugh Field; Clinton, Mississippi (2007-2009)
• Harper Davis Stadium; Jackson, Mississippi (2007, 2010-present)
• M&F Bank Stadium (Freedom Ridge Park); Ridgeland, Mississippi 2 games (2008-2009)
• Arrow Field at Clinton High School; Clinton, Mississippi 3 games (2008-2010)

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

• 2007: 1,019 (6th in PDL)
• 2008: 935
• 2009: 852
• 2010: 671

References

1. ^ http://www.uslsoccer.com/teams/2011/6188388.html#ROSTER
2. ^ http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/moore_brendan00.html
3. ^ http://www.tusculumpioneers.com/profile.asp?playerID=625
4. ^ http://www.lindseyathletics.com/roster/14/2/2514.php
5. ^ http://www.apacheathletics.com/roster/6/1/2070.php
6. ^ http://www.cofcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14800&ATCLID=204879167
7. ^ http://www.etsubucs.com/sports/msoccer/rosters/displayplayer.aspx?playerid=2977
8. ^ http://www.cofcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14800&ATCLID=3661072
9. ^ http://www.vcuathletics.com/sports/msoc/2010-11/bios/rich%20nick%2057ww
10. ^ http://www.lindseyathletics.com/roster/13/2/1951.php
11. ^ http://goargos.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/dixon_richard00.html
12. ^ http://tusculumpioneers.com/profile.asp?playerID=612
13. ^ http://tusculumpioneers.com/profile.asp?playerID=613
14. ^ http://www.etsubucs.com/sports/msoccer/rosters/displayplayer.aspx?playerid=3273
15. ^ http://daytona.embryriddlesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=11500&ATCLID=541202
16. ^ http://www.hokiesports.com/msoccer/players/huang_patrick.html
17. ^ http://www.msumustangs.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=919
18. ^ http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/shannon_thomas00.html
19. ^ http://www.cofcsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14800&ATCLID=204879062
20. ^ http://lmcbobcats.com/profile.asp?playerID=140
21. ^ http://www.montevallofalcons.com/sports/msoc/2009-10/bios/Foster_Nathaniel
22. ^ http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/greer_jj00.html
23. ^ http://lmcbobcats.com/profile.asp?playerID=264
24. ^ http://www.lindseyathletics.com/roster/14/2/2518.php
25. ^ http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/torp_zach00.html

External links

• Official Site
• Official PDL site