At the Soul's most recent tryout in Philadelphia, the Soul were able to sign a kicker out of the 285 participants that showed off their skills this past Saturday. Phil Marfuggi, a New Jersey native, impressed the coaching staff enough for coach Plank to rest the consistency of the Soul's kicking game solely on his shoulders.
Marfuggi is a converted soccer player whose trying his luck at kicking footballs for a change. Marfuggi was an acclaimed goal keeper out of Clemson (2003-2006) earning All-American honors. He was named team Captain and MVP in 2006 while garnishing First Team All-American by Soccer America and soccertimes.com in 2005. Marfuggi was drafted and signed by the New England Revolution in the first round of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft.
In 2010 Marfuggi signed with the Harrisburg Stampede of the American Indoor Football Association where he flourished. He connected on 71-79 PATs (90% success rate) and 3-5 on field goals in the 40-49 yard range and scoring 129 points for the 11-3 Stampede that season.
Marfuggi then signed with the Iowa Barnstormers of the AFL in 2011 just two games into the season. He only appeared in the team's next three contests where he connected on 15-22 PATs (68% success rate) and missed a 47-yard field goal in his only attempt.
Bringing consistency to the kicking game is one of the biggest keys to the Soul's success in 2012. The Soul rotated four different kickers throughout the season in 2011 and performed below average in every kicking category. Marfuggi didn't perform all that well with the Barnstormers, but from the reactions out of Saturday's open tryout, things must have turned around for Marfuggi. He's shown success in the past, but now must produce results fast or else Marfuggi might be seeing another early exit from the AFL.
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