Leviathan practices for first time in franchise history, begins march to season

OBERLIN — Since December, Lorain County Leviathan coach Blake New has been acquiring talent in preparation for the team's inaugural USL League Two season. New and has coaching staff finally got to see the team on the field Monday as the Leviathan conducted its first official training session at Oberlin College's Austin W. Knowlton Athletic Complex. "It's exciting to get the boys together and see what we've got," New said. "We've been looking forward to this day a long time, now I get to do what I love to do, which is coach." The Leviathan will only have a handful of training sessions before opening the season May 20 in Pittsburgh at Steel City FC. Five days later Lorain County will play in front of its home supporters for the first time at ForeFront Field. "You're not going to prepare the team completely in 10 days," New said. "I'm certain we won't be a finished product on May 20, but we have enough talent on this team that I like to say, 'As long as I stay out of the way a little bit, we'll be OK.'" Lorain County has a 36-man training camp roster ranging in age from 17 to 24. The roster includes players with post-collegiate experience to three — Valentino Cruzado, Brock Harman and London Carnie — who were part of Avon High School's 2025 Division II state championship team. One player looking to keep his career alive is goalkeeper Zoltan Nagy. The 23-year-old played at Baldwin Wallace and Duquesne after graduating from St. Edward High School. Nagy, who at 6-foot-6 towers over many of his teammates, is one of four goalkeepers on the preseason roster. "I missed the game and I'm hoping by playing for this team I will get another chance to play at the professional level," Nagy said. "All of the players on this team are high quality. I played at a Top 25 program at Duquesne and the level of talent here feels like a Division I program." The Leviathan has 17 players who have or are playing Division I college soccer, and 26 played high school soccer in Ohio. The roster also includes six players who were a part of St. Ignatius' run of six consecutive state titles. "It's exciting to meet all of the guys. They are coming in from all over the country and the world and each one is nicer than the next," Leviathan chairman Andrew McDonnell said. "I'm excited for Lorain County to have this team to support. You couldn't have asked for a better group of guys for everyone to get behind." Dakota Jonke is a USL League Two veteran and an Avon native who grew up in the shadows of ForeFront Field. He's excited for the chance to play at home in front of his family and friends. "It's kinda surreal to see everything put together," Jonke said. "Andrew and the coaching staff have done a great job of shaping this up to be successful. "Building chemistry quickly is extremely tough. But when everyone puts the team first and hones in on that, we're going to be match ready on May 20." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.