The group of returnees is led by the team’s top two scorers last season — Matthew Stewart (22 goals, seven assists and 53 points in 16 regular season games) and Bato Radoncic (17 goals, four assists, 39 points).
Also back are defenders Tijani Ayegbusi (led team in blocks with 28) and Ibrahim Kante (led all team defenders in points with 21), midfielder Semir Mesanovic (24 points), and five familiar players to northern Illinois fans — Fred Degand, Roberto Gallo, Eric Lukin and Marco Sullo.
Another with ties to the area, John DeVae, was a member of the Rampage’s 2007-08 championship team in the now defunct American Indoor Soccer League.
New to the team are:
- Goalkeeper Danny Waltham, who was the Most Valuable Player and Goalkeeper of the Year in the XSL with the champion Detroit Ignition. He was also part of the Chicago Storm when Rampage owner Oscar Albuquerque and head coach Jeff Kraft were assistant coaches there.
- Defender Fabinho, who played in the Xtreme Soccer League and the second version of the MISL for the Chicago Storm and led the team in blocks (45) and all team defenders in points (36) during the 2007-08 season.
- Defender Chris Brisson, who spent three seasons with the Storm and is returning from back problems that hindered his 2008-09 season in the XSL.
- Midfielder Hassan Miller, who played for Trinity Christian College, a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, and the owner of Fast Forward Sports Performance, a program that focuses on athletes’ speed, agility, short-step quickness and more.
The Rampage open their MISL season with an NISL Championship Game rematch against the Blast at First Mariner Arena in Baltimore November 13, then host the expansion Milwaukee Wave November 27 at the MetroCentre.
