MILWAUKEE (Sept. 29, 2009) -- Two players with local ties are among a group of players signed this week by the Milwaukee Wave.
Kyle Lance, a native of Franklin and standout at UW-Milwaukee, joins his hometown team after playing in Chicago last season. Lance, 27, scored three goals in 15 appearances in his rookie campaign. After starring for Franklin High School, he played for former Wave player Louis Bennett with the Panthers and remains second on the career list with 30 assists. Lance was first team All-Horizon League and Horizon League Tournament MVP as a senior.
"Kyle will fit in very well with our system," said Keith Tozer. "He's extremely hard-working, quick, he's technical and he has the will to win. He had a very good first year in Chicago and will only get better the more he plays."
Lance, who is an assistant coach at Marquette University High School, has been going to Wave games for more than 15 years, and remembers taking his Soccer Scramble mini-balls into to the back hallways of the Bradley Center to play pickup games.
"I'm pretty excited about playing this year," Lance said. "Obviously, I feel like the Wave is a well-run organization. Their teams are always very competitive, and that's how they're known around the league."
While Lance was at Franklin, Brett Wiesner was one of the top youth players in the national at Brookfield East High School. The 26-year-old midfielder returns to the Wave after recording seven goals and two assists for 16 points last year.
"Entering his fifth season in indoor soccer, I'm hoping this will be Brett's breakout season with the Wave," Tozer said.
Wiesner, who played in the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup for the United States, coaches with the Cedarburg Soccer Club and is active in the Wave Summer Camps. In his career, the midfielder has 28 goals and 14 assists.
Dutch goalkeeper Marcel Feenstra also signed a contract with the Wave this week. Discovered in an open tryout, Feenstra has a 10-3 record in two seasons with just 3.92 goals allowed per game.
"Marcel has been improving every year and he's now considered one of the better keepers in the indoor game," Tozer said. "It's great to have him back."
Feenstra, 28, is a coach in the Wave Summer Soccer Camps and also for Waukesha West High School and SC Waukesha.
The Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer team is the longest-running soccer franchise in continuous operation in North America. The team celebrated its Silver Anniversary last season, and operates the largest summer soccer camp program in Wisconsin. For more information, visit milwaukeewave.com
