Battery's Neagle fitting right in

It was supposed to be a feel good story. You know the kind, local kid makes good.

So, it seemed like a perfect fit last winter when Lamar Neagle -- the local kid from Tacoma, Wash., who had made a name for himself on the fields outside of Seattle -- signed with the Sounders in their inaugural season in Major League Soccer.

He was the neighborhood kid who was going to play and eventually star for the local club.

"Signing with Seattle felt like a natural fit for them and for myself," Neagle said. "It felt like everything had fallen into place for me."

It was a dream come true, only this story doesn't have fairytale ending -- at least not yet.

A natural forward or attacking midfielder, the Sounders moved Neagle to outside defender, a position he had never played.

"I wasn't very comfortable back there," Neagle said. "I had never played the position before so it was a tough adjustment. They had so many big names and power guys going forward that they couldn't find a place for me up front.'

With veterans like Fredy Montero, Roger Levesque and Steve Zakuani standing in the way, Neagle never got off the bench in his rookie season with the Sounders. He realized that he needed a change of scenery to advance his professional career.

Enter Sounders assistant coach Brian Schmetzer. Schmetzer was the long time head coach for the Sounders when the club played in the USL First Division. He knew that Charleston Battery head coach Mike Anhaeuser was looking for forwards and gave his old rival a call.

He was right.

Neagle came for a tryout during the Carolina Challenge Cup and proved right away that he belonged.

"You could tell that he had played at a high level before," Anhaeuser said. "His quality showed from the beginning and he had really good habits on the field. I made him an offer pretty quickly."

Neagle had other team interested and mulled over another offer from Austin, in the USL First Division, but eventually settled on Charleston. Despite growing up on the other side of the country, he had relatives nearby.

"My dad's side of the family is from Valdosta (Ga.)," Neagle said.

"I've got a lot of relatives that are pretty close by. My grandmother still lives there, so being close to my family was important for me."

Neagle came off the bench in the Battery's first three games. Finally two weeks ago, he got his first start against Charlotte and responded with a goal off a set piece. Last week, he followed that up with another goal against Harrisburg.

Two starts, two goals.

"I feel pretty comfortable out there," Neagle said. "I was used to playing on the outside, so being a center midfielder has been an adjustment, but I like it. It gives me more time on the ball and better vision to make passes."

Charleston captain Stephen Armstrong, who assisted on both of Neagle's goals, said the former UNLV star has a bright future.

"He's been a huge asset to the club and you can tell he's come from an MLS organization," Armstrong said. "He's very strong athletically. He's not the biggest guy, but he's very good in the air. Being strong the in the air is as much about timing as it is about size and jumping ability."

Neagle said he hopes to return to Seattle one day and play for his hometown team. But for now he's happy being with the Battery.

"The Sounders still keep in touch and maybe one day I'll go back," Neagle said. "I know I need to get as many games under belt as I can. Right now, I think this has been a perfect fit for me."

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com and check out the Charleston Battery 'Battery Shots' blog at www.postandcourier.com/blogs/battery.