Albany BWP Highlanders
Full nameAlbany BWP Highlanders
Nickname(s)Highlanders
Founded2003
Dissolved2010
GroundFrank Bailey Field
Schenectady, New York
Capacity3,000
OwnerUnited States Jeff Rockmore
Head CoachUnited States Franz Zwicklbauer
LeagueUSL Premier Development League
20103rd, Northeast
Playoffs: DNQ

Albany BWP Highlanders was an American soccer team based in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two years on hiatus from the league in 2008 and 2009, returning to competition in 2010, then folded at the end of the season.

The team played its home games at Frank Bailey Field on the campus of Union College in nearby Schenectady, New York, The team's colors were black, gold, and white.

History

The roots of the Highlanders go back to Steve Freeman's youth in Tampa, Florida where he played for Blackwatch Keelley. Freeman spent his first season of college playing for Hartwick College and another with Siena College, both in New York, before finishing college in Florida. After graduation, he returned to New York and settled in Albany where he taught school. In January 1997, he founded Albany Blackwatch, a youth club modeled on the club he played for as a boy. The club began with two boys teams, but quickly expanded to several boys and girls teams, each with a Scottish-themed name.[1] In 2001, Blackwatch entered a team into the USL Super Y-League. In 2003, Freeman created the Blackwatch Highlanders and entered it into the USL Premier Development League. Freeman served as the general manager and Bernie Watt coached the team.[2] The Highlanders played from 2003 until 2007, first as Blackwatch and then as the Albany Admirals, the last season with Freeman as head coach. They then went on a two-year hiatus before being resurrected in 2009 as the Albany BWP Highlanders, and re-joined the PDL for the 2010 season.[3]

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.

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
2003 4 USL PDL 6th, Northeast Did not qualify Did not qualify
2004 4 USL PDL 3rd, Northeast Did not qualify Did not qualify
2005 4 USL PDL 4th, Northeast Did not qualify Did not qualify
2006 4 USL PDL 4th, New England Did not qualify Did not qualify
2007 4 USL PDL 5th, Northeast Did not qualify Did not qualify
2008 On Hiatus
2009
2010 4 USL PDL 3rd Northeast Did not qualify Did not qualify

Head coaches

Stadia

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

  • 2005: 149
  • 2006: 138
  • 2007: 130
  • 2008: Did not play
  • 2009: Did not play
  • 2010: 185

References

  1. ↑ "Blackwatch: Our History". Archived from the original on 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
  2. ↑ Highlanders open season tonight
  3. ↑ "Albany BWP Highlanders re-launched". United Soccer Leagues. 2010-01-28. Archived from the original on 2012-09-17. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  4. ↑ "Zwicklbauer to Lead BWP Highlanders". Archived from the original on 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
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