# 2011 Atlanta Silverbacks season

The 2011 Atlanta Silverback season was the club's fifteenth year of existence, and their first year in the North American Soccer League (NASL). It's the team's first year back after a two-year hiatus from competitive play.
On January 25, the Silverbacks announced their full schedule in the NASL. The Silverbacks will host each NASL opponent twice over the course of the season.
On March 8, the Silverbacks announced three preseason games against Southern Polytechnic State University, Georgia State University and Clayton State University. All three games resulted in a scoreless tie.

## Background

The 2011 season marked the Silverbacks return to American soccer following a two-year hiatus, that did not see the organization field a senior men's team throughout the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

## Review

The return season was arguably an abysmal campaign for the Silverbacks, as the club lost 20 of its 28 regular season matches, drawing and winning four matches apiece. During the regular season, the Silverbacks were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention with seven weeks left in the NASL regular season. José Manuel Abundis, then the head coach, was fired following the season replaced by then-assistant coach, Alex Pineda Chacón, whom played for the Silverbacks from 2003 to 2004. The announcement came on November 7, 2011.

## Club
### Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | MEX | Felipe Quintero |
| 2 | DF | USA | Tyler Ruthven |
| 3 | DF | USA | Shane Moroney |
| 4 | DF | USA | Patrick Robertson |
| 5 | MF | USA | Ciaran O'Brien |
| 6 | MF | USA | Jordan Davis |
| 7 | MF | USA | Jose Parada |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Lucas Paulini |
| 12 | MF | PUR | Fernando González |
| 13 | DF | USA | Willie Hunt |
| 14 | MF | USA | Nico Colaluca |
| 14 | DF | MEX | Mario Pérez Zúñiga |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | JPN | Kohei Matsushita |
| 16 | DF | USA | Josh Casarona |
| 17 | MF | LBR | Moussa Toure |
| 18 | FW | USA | Matt Horth |
| 19 | MF | SCO | Grant Kerr |
| 20 | GK | USA | Jimmy Maurer |
| 21 | MF | USA | Raphael Cox |
| 22 | FW | USA | Jon Cox |
| 23 | DF | SUI | Mattias Schnorf |
| 25 | FW | USA | Conor Chinn |
| 26 | GK | USA | Eric Ati |

### Technical Staff

* José Manuel Abundis – Head Coach
* Alex Pineda Chacón – Assistant Coach
* José Pinho – Goalkeeper Coach
* Rodrigo Rios – Director of Soccer

## Competitions
### NASL
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 28 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 35 | 36 | −1 | 38 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 5 | FC Edmonton | 28 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 36 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 6 | NSC Minnesota Stars (C) | 28 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 36 | Playoff quarterfinals |
| 7 | Montreal Impact | 28 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 35 | |
| 8 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 28 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 25 | 63 | −38 | 16 | |
* 1 2 EDM: 8 pts; MIN: 2 pts

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: September 22, 2012. Source: Match results

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Stadium | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | L | W | D | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | L |

#### Match results
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | NASL | NASL |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | MEX | Felipe Quintero | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | USA | Tyler Ruthven | 22 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Shane Moroney | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Patrick Robertson | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | USA | Ciaran O'Brien | 19 | 4 | 19 | 4 |
| 6 | MF | USA | Jordan Davis | 23 | 1 | 23 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | USA | Jose Parada | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | BIH | Emsad Zahirovic | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | HON | Junior Sandoval | 15 | 2 | 15 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | ARG | Lucas Paulini | 22 | 2 | 22 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | PUR | Fernando González | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | USA | Willie Hunt | 22 | 3 | 22 | 3 |
| 14 | MF | USA | Nico Colaluca | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | MEX | Mario Pérez | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | JPN | Kohei Matsushita | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | USA | Josh Casarona | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | LBR | Moussa Toure | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | USA | Matt Horth | 22 | 6 | 22 | 6 |
| 19 | MF | SCO | Grant Kerr | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | COL | Cristian Quiñones | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | USA | Jimmy Maurer | 13 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Raphael Cox | 22 | 2 | 22 | 2 |
| 22 | FW | USA | Jon Cox | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | SUI | Mattias Schnorf | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | USA | Conor Chinn | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | USA | Eric Ati | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 65 | MF | MEX | Paco Rueda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Source:
Last updated: August 30, 2011

### Clean sheets

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | NASL | NASL |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Clean sheets | Apps | Clean sheets |
| 1 | GK | MEX | Felipe Quintero | 10 | 1 | 10 | 1 |
| 20 | GK | USA | Jimmy Maurer | 13 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
* Source:

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Player | Total | Total | Total | NASL | NASL | NASL |
| 1 | GK | Felipe Quintero | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | DF | Tyler Ruthven | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Robertson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Ciaran O'Brien | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Jordan Davis | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Jose Parada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Lucas Paulini | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Willie Hunt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Mario Peréz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Kohei Matsushita | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Josh Casarona | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Moussa Toure | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Matt Horth | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | Raphael Cox | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Jon Cox | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | DF | Mattias Schnorf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: August 30, 2011 Source: NASL Only competitive matches.

## Transfers
### In

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 15 | DF | Kohei Matsushita | 25 | Ehime | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 23 | DF | Mattias Schnorf | 26 | Winterthur | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 18 | FW | Matt Horth | 21 | Gordon College Fighting Scotts | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 3 | DF | Shane Moroney | 22 | Berry College Vikings | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 12 | MF | Fernando González | 21 | South Florida Bulls | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 8 | FW | Emsad Zahirovic | 22 | | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 7 | MF | Jose Parada | 23 | Tulsa Golden Hurricane | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 4 | DF | Patrick Robertson | 24 | Puerto Rico Islanders | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 14 | DF | Mario Pérez | 28 | Club Atlas | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 10 | MF | Lucas Paulini | 21 | Mississippi Brilla | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 6 | MF | Jordan Davis | 28 | Atlanta Silverbacks U23 | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 2 | DF | Tyler Ruthven | 22 | Harrisburg City Islanders | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 1 | GK | Felipe Quintero | 31 | Atlanta Silverbacks | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 5 | MF | Ciaran O'Brien | 23 | Colorado Rapids | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 22 | FW | Jon Cox | 24 | Georgia Southern Eagles | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 20 | GK | Jimmy Maurer | 22 | New York Red Bulls | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 13 | DF | Willie Hunt | 23 | Mississippi Brilla | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 21 | MF | Raphael Cox | 24 | Real Salt Lake | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 16 | DF | Josh Casarona | 18 | Deportivo Español | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 65 | MF | Paco Rueda | 27 | La Piedad | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 17 | MF | Moussa Toure | 25 | Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy | Transfer | Pre-season | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 25 | FW | Conor Chinn | 23 | Real Salt Lake | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | NASL.com |
| 14 | MF | Nico Colaluca | 25 | Norrby IF | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | NASL.com |
| 14 | GK | Eric Ati | 22 | Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | NASL.com |
Last updated: February 2013

### Out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 14 | DF | Mario Pérez | 29 | Estudiantes Tecos | Transfer | Summer | Undisclosed | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 65 | MF | Paco Rueda | 27 | | Released | Summer | – | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 19 | DF | Cristian Quiñones | 19 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Loan terminated | Summer | – | NASL.com |
| 8 | FW | Emsad Zahirovic | 23 | | Breach of contract | Summer | – | NASL.com |
Last updated: February 2013

### Loan in

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee | Source |
| 9 | MF | Junior Sandoval | 20 | Puerto Rico Islanders | Loan | Pre-season | August 12, 2011 | – | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
| 19 | DF | Cristian Quiñones | 19 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Loan | Summer | 2011 | – | NASL.com |
| 19 | MF | Grant Kerr | 26 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Loan | Summer | 2011 | – | NASL.com |
Last updated: February 2013

### Loan out

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee | Source |
| 23 | DF | | Mattias Schnorf | 27 | SC Young Fellows Juventus | Loan | Post-season | – | AtlantaSilverbacks.com |
Last updated: February 2013