Cumberland Valley SC will debut this fall in tough Atlantic Division

TAMPA, Florida --- The newest club to join Major Arena Soccer League 3 has two things going for it before every hitting the field – location and opportunity – according to owner Will Tolleson.

Cumberland Valley SC will join the league this fall, and will be part of the six-team Eastern Division in 2025-26, along with the Baltimore Kings, Virginia Marauders (Winchester), Delaware City FC (Wilmington), Maryland Storm (Westminster) and the three-time MASL 3 champion Northern Virginia (Winchester). 

The team will play at the new Hagerstown Field House, a $26 million complex that opened in late 2024. 

“I actually started thinking about MASL 3 a few years ago, but it never seemed to be the right time until now,” Tolleson said. “The opportunity came up this year and we decided to go for it. We're building from the ground up. Indoor soccer is always a blast. It's fast paced, high scoring, a little more physical. That was the appealing part for me, and MASL 3 is a nice entry point for some younger players.”

The league has had a strong presence for several years now in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia region, and Tolleson said the team's location will help as MASL 3 players from the area who have driven some distance to play with past and current league teams can now stay closer to home. 

“We're two hours from D.C.  three  hours from Philly, an hour our so from several other MASL 3 franchises in the area. We're in a real central region, and the area is growing super fast, so it's nice to offer something here locally,” Tolleson added. “We want to be very competitive, but we also realize it just our first year, so we're building awareness as well, but we're excited to get going and grow it from here.”

Cumberland Valley will be coaches by Marcos Garcia Jr. – who is no stranger to the MASL pyramid.

A native of the greater Gettysburg area, he. attended and had his collegiate debut at NCAA Division 1 Robert Morris University then transferred to Division II PennWest California University where he received All-PSAC Second-Team honors in 2019. 

While in college, Marcos was invited to play with the D.C. United U23 team in which he also was invited to train a pair of occasions with the MLS First Team. In 2020 he earned a contract with Deportivo Zitácuaro (Liga Premier - Serie A - Federación Mexicana de Fútbol) but returned stateside due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 he earned a contract with Cedrito FC (Liga Nacional de Ascenso - Honduras) but returned due to international transfer clearance issues. 

He also made a stop with the MASL's Harrisburg Heat, on loan with fellow MASL 3 side Philadelphia Spartans making it to the 2022 semifinal, and Maryland Bobcats FC II. 

Garcia Jr. has also coached at various levels. He is a current Head Coach at Baltimore Celtic Soccer Club and also coached in the Gettysburg Youth Soccer Club, Gettysburg and New Oxford Middle School boys’ soccer programs, and South Central PA Soccer Academy. He is also the former operations, marketing, and technical intern for Loudon United FC of the USL Championship. He is currently in his second year of collegiate coaching at Gettysburg College (PA.)

MASL 3 Commissioner said Cumberland Valley will provide a challenge in a very competitive division.

“The Atlantic is one of our toughest division, but there are several new teams this year in it so that puts a lot of the clubs on more equal footing,” Economides noted. “They have a beautiful brand new field to play on, and I think Hagerstown will come out and support their new team just as fans in Baltimore 

MASL 3 is starting its fifth season of play with more than 20 teams across the United States in. Last year, the RGV Barracudas (Brownsville, Texas) won the league championship, after Northern Virginia had won it the previous three straight seasons.

Each team plays a 10-game regular season schedule, which will be released soon. More information on the league can be found at www.masl3.com, or on Cumberland Valley on the team's Facebook page.