Brandon Swartzendruber is back.
The Colorado native, who twice finished in the top five of the Premier Development League’s scoring parade, will return to the Thunder Bay Chill in 2010, after spending last season with the Harrisburg Islanders of the United Soccer League’s Second Division.
For Chill coach Tony Colistro, it’s all about the goals.
Swartzendruber led the team in goals both years he was with the Chill, potting 16 in 2007 to finish second in the league, adding 13 more in the team’s championship season of 2008, fourth-best in the PDL.
“That’s what we lacked last year,” Colistro said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “We definitely knew we had to get that fixed for this year. So it just kind of worked out well for us. He was in Harrisburg and he was doing well. He just wasn’t that happy there. We were able to convince him to come back and he seems pretty happy with that.”
The Chill finished last season with 27 goals in 16 games, the third-fewest in the Heartland Division. And while the team defence was among the best in the league, with just 16 goals allowed, Colistro said he wanted a little more spark up front in 2010.
Colistro said Swartzendruber, who scored four goals in 18 games with the Islanders, isn’t looking at the move as a backward step in his career.
In fact, it might be a step ahead, he said.
“Obviously he was at a higher level, but when you look at that and you look at how many PDL players go (to the) MLS, the percentage is so high,” Colistro said. “The example that I used with Brandon is that Shaun Francis played with us last summer, and he’s in the MLS right now. He signed with Columbus.
“So it’s got to be where you’re doing well and where you’re happy and getting lots of goals. And I (told him) you made a stronger impact when you were here with us than you did in Harrisburg, even though you scored some goals there.”
Swartzendruber wasn’t alone on Monday’s list of returning players. Midfielder Nolan Intermoia, whose penalty kick goal against the Laredo Heat delivered the team’s only PDL championship to date in 2008, will also be making the return journey north of the border.
Intermoia, a Florida native, was among the last cuts of the USL 2’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Colistro, who promised another big-name signing in the next couple of weeks, said Intermoia’s return is almost as big of a surprise as Swartzendruber’s.
“Nolan always said is he didn’t have anything else, he’d give me a call,” Colistro said. “I honestly thought we’d lost him this year. I thought he was going to sign with Pittsburgh.”
Winning a second PDL title is first and foremost on his mind these days. It’s a feeling he wants to experience one more time in a Chill uniform.
“I believe our goal for the season is to win the PDL championship,” said Intermoia, who scored 10 goals in his three previous seasons with the Chill. “Along with that (we want to) secure the Heartland Division and host the playoffs.”
The Chill finished second in the division last year, with an 8-3-5 record, but fell 1-0 to Colorado in the opening round of the playoffs.
Colistro said in addition to Francis, towering defender Scott Milroth and agitator and heart-and-soul midfielder Anthony Putrus won’t be back in 2010. Captain Wilson Neto, who contemplated retirement before last season, has committed for another year with the Chill, as has Thunder Bay netminder Stephen Paterson.
The future’s looking bright for the Chill, Colistro said.
“It all comes down to the team coming together,” he said.
The Chill will play a pair of exhibition games against the Winnipeg Sons of Italy on May 29 at Chapples Park. They open the PDL season June 4 on the road in Kansas City and play their first home game June 10 against Springfield.
