Pair of Blue Devils Help Ocala to PDL Semifinals
Walmsley and Knight help Stampede to second straight trip to national semifinals.
A pair of Central Connecticut men's soccer players have helped their USL Premier Development League team to the national semifinals. Ben Knight, a rising senior, and recently graduated Stephen Walmsley have led the Ocala Stampede to advance to the league's semifinals after defeating the FC Miami City Champions, 2-0, in the PDL Southern Conference Championship on Friday night.
The win advanced Ocala to the national semifinals for a second straight year, where it will face the Eastern Conference Champions, New York Red Bulls U23s. The 2015 PDL Championship presented by Nike national semifinals will take place on Friday, July 31, at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, WA. Ocala faces New York at 9 p.m. ET and Sounders FC U23 will play K-W United FC in the second semifinal.
Knight has played in 13 games for the Stampede, notching two goals and assist. The defender started eight games for the Blue Devils in 2014 and helped the squad post four shutouts in those games. He has started 39 of 41 career games and has two goals and an assist in a CCSU uniform.
Walmsley has appeared in four games for Ocala this season. The midfielder notched three assists, while starting 13 of 15 games for the Blue Devils as a senior. He earned a spot on the NSCAA University Division Scholar All-East Region Team as a senior, as well. Walmsley started 58 of 65 career games and notched three goals and six assists.
Both the semifinals and the championship game at the 2015 PDL Championship presented by Nike will be streamed live on the PDL's YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/USLPDL).
