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SAN ANTONIO – Goalkeeper Craig Hill, 25, who earned all-American honors while playing at Reagan High School in San Antonio, will rejoin the San Antonio Scorpions FC for the 2013 North American Soccer League (NASL) season that begins April 6.

“Craig gained a great deal of experience in his first year as a pro last season,” said Head Coach Tim Hankinson.  “It’s great that he’s returning so we can capitalize on what he learned.  No doubt he will help the team bond and be very competitive.”

After graduating from Reagan, the 6-foot, 2-inch Hill went on to star for the Southern Methodist University Mustangs.  During the 2008 season, he started all 18 games and recorded six shutouts for the year.  He became team captain in 2009 and registered three shutout games for the season.  The following year, he continued in his role as captain and started all 20 games.

In 2011, FC Dallas selected the 6-foot, 2-inch Hill in the Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft, and he later joined the Scorpions for their inaugural season.    

Hankinson said Hill and other Scorpions players will report for training camp March 1 and their first look at the team’s new home, Toyota Field, currently nearing completion at Thousand Oaks Drive and Wurzbach Parkway adjacent to Morgan’s Wonderland in Northeast San Antonio.    

The Scorpions, NASL 2012 regular-season champs, will open the 2013 season on the road April 6 versus the Minnesota Stars FC and play their first home game April 13 against last year’s playoff champs, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, at Toyota Field.  The colorful, 8,000-seat stadium will host concerts, community activities and special events in addition to soccer.

Scorpions season tickets are now on sale, said team President Howard Cornfield, and Meet Your Seat events have been scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays so fans can visit Toyota Field and select their season-ticket seats.  For more information, visit www.SanAntonioScorpions.com.

The Scorpions franchise is unique in that all net profits from the team and Toyota Field go to help expand programs and services for the special-needs community through non-profit Morgan’s Wonderland, the world’s first and only ultra-accessible theme park, Cornfield noted.   

Sensing an opportunity to benefit Morgan’s Wonderland for the long run, San Antonio philanthropist Gordon Hartman launched Soccer for a Cause, a successful campaign to build community support for pro soccer, and three years ago secured an NASL franchise.  The Scorpions played their first NASL match April 15, 2012.