Florida Tropics SC add another veteran player with championship pedigree

LAKELAND – The Florida Tropics SC have signed another veteran indoor player with championship pedigree in its run for a playoff spot this month in the Major Arena Soccer League. Ptah Myers has a decade of professional arena soccer league experience, as well as two stints with the U.S. National futsal team.

Myers has 12 years of professional soccer playing experience, capped by two stints on the U.S. Futsal National Team. In 2008, the U.S. qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup in Brazil after finishing front in its group and winning the third-place match, 7-1 over Panama. Myers earned a start in the World Cup against Italy, the U.S.’s second contest. Four years later, the Americans finished third in Group A during the 2012 CONCACAF Futsal Championship.

During his 10-year career in the Major Indoor Soccer League, Myers recorded 96 goals and 42  assists with three different teams. Myers scored 73 times with the Philadelphia KIXX from 2004 until 2010, including a career-high 19 goals during the 2007-08 season. He was a teammate of current Tropics coach Clay Roberts. He notched 12 goals in the KIXX’s 2006-07 championship season.

After playing in six games for the Chicago Riot, Myers suited up for the Baltimore Blast for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons. He scored 18 goals for the Blast, two coming in the first game of the best-of-three 2013 MISL championship series, which Baltimore won in two straight.

Before playing in the MISL, Myers played for the Albany Blackwatch Highlanders of the Premier Development League in 2004 and the Virginia Beach Mariners of the United Soccer Leagues First Division in 2005.

In college, Myers was a two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection at the University of Massachusetts. As a junior Myers was tabbed all-A-10 second team after recording eight goals and a career-high seven assists. One year later he was named first-team all-conference and All-New England with a nine-goal, three-assist season. In 2001, Myers tallied nine goals and three assists to help the Minutemen win the conference title and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Myers – a 2005 graduate with a degree in psychology – is fifth in UMass history with 27 career goals and 16 career assists, and sixth with 70 career points.

“Signing Ptah is another move aimed at putting us in the strongest position possible as we strive to make the MASL post-season,” team co-owner Andrew Haines noted. “He is a savy scorer and should play an important role for us in these final six games with his veteran presence.”

The Tropics will host Harrisburg Saturday night at the Lakeland Center.