Major League Excitement at a Minor League Price

South Jersey Barons:
Major League Excitement at a Minor League Price

While it is true that all major league sports teams in New Jersey play up north in East Rutherford, south jersey has its share of professional teams. In the past few weeks, SouthJersey.com has documented the Camden Riversharks and Atlantic City Surf minor league baseball teams. Today`s topic is the South Jersey Barons minor league soccer team.

The Barons are a division 3 pro soccer team. They play in the USL`s D-3 division, which is made up of about 26 teams. Last year, the Charlotte Eagles beat the New Jersey Stallions, the Barons` rival out of Toms River, to win the championship. The USL is just below the A-League, which is a minor league affiliate of MLS. The Barons A-League affiliate is the Long Island Roughriders. Their MLS affiliate is the New Jersey MetroStars.

The Barons are in their sixth year of existence. Their best Year came in 1999,when they won the regular season championship, and made it all the way to the finals before losing to the Western Mass Pioneers. In fact, the Barons have made the playoffs every year, with the exception of their first season, in 1996. It`s something they`ve become accustomed to, and this year should be no exception. However, at this point, the Barons are still in the process of signing players for the upcoming season. In fact, they will still be expecting players a few weeks into the season.

Six of the Barons first seven games are qualifying games for the 2001 US Open Cup. The US Open Cup is a tournament involving all professional soccer teams, major and minor league, in the United States. In the qualifying round, the minor league teams are put into groups of four, and play home and home series with the other three teams in their group. The other three teams in the Barons group are the Richmond Kickers, their A-League affiliate Long Island Roughriders, and their biggest rivals, the New Jersey Stallions.

The Barons home games take place at Cherokee High School in Marlton, New Jersey. The season starts on April 28th at home against the Richmond Kickers. The game starts at 7:30. Their last three home games will be played in Ocean City. The regular season ends on August 4, at home against the Reading rage. Ticket prices range from $4.50-$6.50.

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Author: Anthony Bellano