CROWNSVILLE, Md. — Just after the sun comes up at Indian Creek School in Crownsville, the Annapolis Blues hop on the field for practice. They need to beat the heat during the scorching Maryland months. When it comes to the National Premier Soccer League, the Blues are the hottest thing going.
"We are very locked in at our task right now," said midfielder Toshi Davis. "We are closing in on playoffs."
The semipro soccer team is just two regular season games away from its postseason.
In only their second season of existence the Blues occupy first place in the Mid-Atlantic conference of the NPSL, a summer league made up of mostly high-end college players and a mix of older guys. The majority of Blues players are from Maryland and the Annapolis/Baltimore area.
Head coach Colin Herriot has lived here for more than 20 years after coming over from Scotland.
"We have really developed as a group," he said. "We are really deep across the board, in terms of the quality and the talent that we have."
That talent has the Blues ranked fifth in the NPSL, with a record of 7-1, and ranked first all-time when it comes to fans in the stands. Annapolis holds the top six regular season attendance records in league history. They set the top mark with 11,131 people packing Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for their home opener last month.
Leo Palomo is from Germantown and plays collegiately at American University. He couldn’t believe the amount of fans cheering for his team.
"Growing up I never had a big fan base like this. Even in college I don’t get anywhere near this big of a fan base. I don’t think there is any main college or any big colleges that get this type of fan base. So, to have it in a summer league team, it’s especially insane," the center midfielder said. "It kind of gives an idea of what soccer means to Annapolis and kind of just around here in the area."
"A lot of kids, young kids, they want to play soccer and they want to be on the Blues. That just shows how much soccer is growing in this area," added center back Miles Avery.
Davis is helping that growth. He is a Towson native and also suits up for American. Before he goes back to school he wants to finish the job in 'Nap Town.
"We should be winning this league. We should be going through," he said. "Obviously anything can happen. But we know what we are capable of."
Another big home game awaits on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. against Virginia Beach. A Blues win clinches the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
