Kick Back

Soccer player wants to see you out next spring

When we profiled Jacob Coggins in April ("Net Gain," by Steve Goldberg) he was preparing for the start of the Charlotte Eagles' season. And what a start he had.   

"The first half of the season we started off really strong," Coggins, (pictured) says. "I think at one point we were 10-3. I would score a goal or two a game. I just started off the season really well."   

Though he admits "It kind of slowed down a little bit," by the time the season wrapped in August, Coggins had earned the USL-2 Scoring and Goal Scoring Championship honors for the third time in four years.

The season was a good one for the Eagles as well, though Coggins was disappointed when the team lost to the Richmond Kickers in the semifinals. And a growing frustration for him has been the lack of support he thinks the soccer team has been receiving locally.

"It’s sort of frustrating because I grew up in Charlotte and I'll see people I know in random places and some of those people have never heard of the Charlotte Eagles," says the twenty-eight year-old. "It’s frustrating to me to only get a couple thousand people out to a game. I'd like to see bigger crowds."