The Lehigh Valley’s newest professional sports team has a name and a coaching staff.
On Thursday at the PPL Center in Allentown, it was announced that the Lehigh Valley Spirits will be the name of the team in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL).
The coaching staff was also introduced with Giuliano Oliviero named Sporting Director/Technical Director, William Banahene is the Assistant General Manager/Community Relations, and Jeremy Ortiz is the Associate Head Coach.
The Spirits will kick off its first season the MASL this fall and play in the league’s top division.
Three stars at the top of the emblem represent the region’s three core cities — Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton — standing together under one banner.
The keystone shield framing the crest serves as a nod to Pennsylvania and the rich heritage of the Lehigh Valley.
Oliviero, 52, will guide the Spirits into their inaugural campaign and play a leading role in assembling the club’s roser.
.A native of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, Oliviero brings decades of professional playing and coaching experience to Lehigh Valley. Over the course of a 24-year professional playing career, he spent 11 seasons of indoor soccer primarily with the Milwaukee Wave (1995-97; 2003-14), helping lead the club to championships in 2005, 2011, and 2012. Internationally, he also represented Canada on the U-20 Men’s National Team in 1995.
Since retiring from on-field competition in 2014, Oliviero served as head coach of the Wave for eight seasons from 2014-2025, where he was a three-time finalist for MASL Coach of the Year honors and guided the club to the Ron Newman Cup as league champions in 2019. His No. 21 was later retired by the Wave in recognition of his impact on the organization and the indoor game as a whole.
Most recently, Oliviero served as the inaugural head coach of Rally Madison FC in the USL W League last season and was recently inducted into the Wisconsin soccer Hall of Fame.
In his role with the Spirits, Oliviero will oversee all sporting operations including player recruitment, roster construction, coaching staff management, training, and on-field performance.
Banahene, 32, brings a strong mix of professional playing experience and community leadership to the Spirits.
An eight-year veteran with the Harrisburg Heat and the Milwaukee Wave, he has built a reputation as both a dedicated professional and a passionate ambassador for the sport.
During his time in Milwaukee, he represented the Wave at more than 45 community events over four seasons, building relationships with fans, sponsors, schools, and local organizations while earning a selection to the 2025 MASL All-Star Game in Utica, NY.
Off the field, he founded AFC Rochester in 2019 and has helped grow the club to a projected 1,000-plus registered players for the 2026–27 season. He also operates 10 summer soccer camps annually between Milwaukee and Rochester, serving more than 750 youth participants each year.
Banahene will support the general manager in roster building, contracts, and day-to-day team operations as well as lead the organization’s presence in the local community.
Ortiz, 40, holds strong connections to the region from his time as an NCAA Division I student-athlete at La Salle University. He enjoyed a 12-year professional career in the MASL with the Rochester Lancers and the Baltimore Blast, where he won the Ron Newman Cup as league champion in 2016.
The Spirits’ their first home game at PPL Center is Dec. 5.
For more information, visit LVSpirits.com.
