2020 Birmingham Legion FC season
The 2020 Birmingham Legion FC season was the club's second season of existence and their second in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer.[1] This article covers the period from November 18, 2019, the day after the 2019 USL-C Playoff Final, to the conclusion of the 2020 USL-C Playoff Final, scheduled for November 12–16, 2020.[2]
| 2020 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owners | List
| |||
| Head coach | Tom Soehn | |||
| USL Championship | Conference: 7th Group G: 2nd | |||
| USLC Playoffs | Conference Quarterfinals | |||
| 2020 U.S. Open Cup | Cancelled | |||
| Biggest win | MIA 0–4 BHM (September 16) | |||
| Biggest defeat | BHM 1–3 CLT (September 12) MEM 3–1 BHM (October 3) TBR 4–2 BHM (October 10) | |||
|
| ||||
Roster
- As of January 22, 2020[3]
| No. | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps. | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||
| 0 | Joe Nasco |  | GK | June 18, 1984 | 2019 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Matt Van Oekel | | GK | September 20, 1986 | 2019 | OKC Energy | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Trevor Spangenberg | | GK | April 21, 1991 | 2019 | Richmond Kickers | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders | ||||||||
| 3 | Kyle Fisher | | DF | June 19, 1994 | 2019 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Montreal Impact | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Eric Avila | | DF | November 24, 1987 | 2019 | Las Vegas Lights | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Akeem Ward | | DF | January 6, 1996 | 2019 | D.C. United | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Gael Mabiala |  | DF | June 7, 1994 | 2019 | UAB Blazers | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Mathieu Laurent | | DF | February 28, 1996 | 2019 | UAB Blazers | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Benjamin Kucera | | DF | August 10, 1994 | 2019 | Birmingham Hammers | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Razak Cromwell |  | DF | October 3, 1994 | 2019 | Dreams FC (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Kyle Culbertson | | DF | November 3, 1992 | 2019 | Saint Louis FC | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders | ||||||||
| 2 | Marcos Ugarte | | MF | December 2, 1992 | 2019 |  Ringkøbing | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Mikey Lopez | | MF | February 20, 1993 | 2019 | San Antonio FC | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Anderson Asiedu | | MF | June 12, 1996 | 2019 | Atlanta United | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Joe Holland |  | MF | April 21, 1993 | 2019 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Daniel Johnson | | MF | September 8, 1995 | 2019 | Chicago Fire | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Daigo Kobayashi |  | MF | February 19, 1983 | 2019 | Las Vegas Lights | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Zachary Herivaux |  | MF | February 1, 1996 | 2019 | New England Revolution (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards | ||||||||
| 7 | Brian Wright | | FW | March 24, 1995 | 2019 | New England Revolution (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Chandler Hoffman | | FW | August 17, 1990 | 2019 | Real Monarchs | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Prosper Kasim | | FW | December 15, 1996 | 2019 |  IFK Göteborg | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | JJ Williams | | FW | January 4, 1998 | 2019 | Columbus Crew SC (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Tyler Savitsky | | FW | July 5, 1996 | 2019 | Næstved | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Edward Opoku | | FW | August 1, 1996 | 2019 | Columbus Crew SC (loan) | 0 | 0 |
| 88 | Femi Hollinger-Janzen |  | FW | December 14, 1993 | 2019 | New England Revolution | 0 | 0 |
Competitions
Exhibitions
| February 8 Preseason 1 | Birmingham Legion | 2–3 | Atlanta United FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 3:30PM CDT | Brett  48' (pen.) Mensah 80' |
BIR report ATL report |
Barco 44' Mulraney  51' Jahn 67' (pen.) Rossetto 90+2' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Attendance: 6,722 |
| February 16 Preseason 2 | Birmingham Legion | v | TBD | Birmingham, AL |
| CDT | Stadium: BBVA Field Attendance: Closed |
| February 19 Preseason 3 | Birmingham Legion | 3–0 | Forward Madison FC | Hoover, AL |
| 1:00 PM CST |
|
Report | Stadium: Hoover Metropolitan Complex Attendance: Closed | |
| Note: 70 minute scrimmage | ||||
| February 22 Preseason 4 | Birmingham Legion | v | Atlanta United 2 | Marietta, GA |
| CDT | Stadium: Atlanta United Training Facility |
| February 22 Preseason 5 | Antigua GFC  | v | Birmingham Legion | Antigua, Guatemala |
| 12:45PM CDT |
USL Championship
Standings — Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte Independence | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 28 | 1.75 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 2 | Birmingham Legion FC | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 25 | 1.56 | |
| 3 | North Carolina FC | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 21 | −4 | 19 | 1.27 | |
| 4 | Memphis 901 FC | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 16 | 1.07 |
Source: USL
Match results
In the preparations for the resumption of league play following the shutdown prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, Birmingham's schedule was announced on July 7.[4]
| July 15 1 | Birmingham Legion | 3–0 | Memphis 901 FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Lapa 22', 41' Servania 30' Wright 31' A. Crognale 52' |
Report | da Silva 27' Carroll  58' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Matthew Thompson |
| Note: Televised live on ESPN2 | ||||
| July 19 2 | Charleston Battery | 1–2 | Birmingham Legion | Charleston, SC |
| 6:00 PM CDT | Lewis 29' Daley 51' |
Report | Wright 12' A. Crognale 40' Rufe 45+1' Cromwell 48' Lapa 54' Akinyode 82' Servania |
Stadium: MUSC Health Stadium Referee: Kevin Broadley |
| July 25 3 | Birmingham Legion | 1–1 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:30 PM CDT | A. Crognale 16' Akinyode 45+1'Asiedu 66' |
Report | Lasso 13' Guenzatti 51' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Chris Ruska |
| August 1 4 | North Carolina FC | 1–0 | Birmingham Legion | Cary, NC |
| 6:00 PM CDT | Donovan 29' Fortune 51', 90+2' Kristo 87' |
Report | Akinyode 33' Brett 45' |
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Referee: Kevin Broadley |
| August 5 5 | Birmingham Legion | 4–1 | Charlotte Independence | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Dean 5' Brett 11', 66' Lapa 52' |
Report | Vadalá 29' Martínez 76' (pen.) |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Matthew Thompson |
| August 8 6 | Birmingham Legion | 1–0 | Atlanta United 2 | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | A. Crognale 27' Kasim 45+1' |
Report | Jadama 36' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Muhammad Hassan |
| August 12 7 | North Carolina FC | 1–1 | Birmingham Legion | Matthews, NC |
| 6:00 PM CDT | Etou 52' Kelly 82' |
Report | Lopez 3', 90+3' E. Crognale 47' Kasim 56' Asiedu 68'  80' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Referee: John Matto |
| August 15 8 | North Carolina FC | 0–2 | Birmingham Legion | Cary, NC |
| 7:30 PM CDT | Donovan 48' |
Report | Servania 18' Brett 21' (pen.)A. Crognale 42'Akinyode 46'Van Oekel 59'Lopez 60' |
Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Referee: Matthew Franz |
| August 22 9 | Birmingham Legion | 2–2 | Memphis 901 FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Lapa 12' Asiedu 24' Akinyode 28' Brett 90+8' (pen.) |
Report | Mentzingen 18', 90+4' Marsh-Brown 29' (pen.), 52' Gonzalez 45' Hague 90+2' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Muhammad Hassan |
| August 29 10 | Charlotte Independence | 1–4 | Birmingham Legion | Matthews, NC |
| 6:00 PM CDT | Etou 82' Kelly 86' |
Report | A. Crognale 24' Servania 26' Brett 33', 49' E. Crognale 42' 58' Asiedu 63' Wright 83', 90+1' |
Stadium: Sportsplex at Matthews Referee: Sergii Demianchuk |
| September 2 11 | Birmingham Legion | 1–2 | North Carolina FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Kobayashi 45+1' Kasim 59' Brett  90' |
Report | Albadawi 24' Fortune 62' (pen.) |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Lukasz Szpala |
| September 5 12 | Memphis 901 | 1–1 | Birmingham Legion | Memphis, TN |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Baxter 25' Marsh-Brown 28' Metzger 61' 73' |
Report | E. Crognale 43' Lapa 48' (pen.), 89' |
Stadium: AutoZone Park Referee: Jervis Atagana |
| September 12 13 | Birmingham Legion | 1–3 | Charlotte Independence | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Brett 34' Asiedu 48' 60' |
Report | Kelly 17', 30', 45' Etou 23' Lacroix 81' Gebhard 86' Johnson 88' 90' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Matthew Thompson |
| September 16 14 | Miami FC | 0–4 | Birmingham Legion | Miami, FL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Rozeboom 52' |
Report | Brett 35', 55' Dean 38' A. Crognale 42', 45+1' |
Stadium: Riccardo Silva Stadium Referee: Alyssa Nichols |
| September 26 15 | Birmingham Legion | 1–2 | North Carolina FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Cromwell 23' Servania 67' Williams 87' |
Report | Perez 7', 37' Fortune 26' Kristo 90+6' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Jonathan Bilinski |
| October 3 16 | Memphis 901 | 3–1 | Birmingham Legion | Memphis, TN |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Jennings 36', 54', 86' Muckette 43' Marsh-Brown 79' |
Report | A. Crognale 23' Lopez 33' Lapa 41' Williams 66' |
Stadium: AutoZone Park Attendance: 901 Referee: Ben Meyer |
USL Cup Playoffs
| October 10 Conf. Quarterfinals | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4–2 | Birmingham Legion | St. Petersburg, FL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Doherty 8' Guenzatti 38' Mkosana 78' Fernandes 80' |
Report | Crognale 10' Lopez 20' Williams 42' Kasim 57' Lapa 63' Cromwell 85' |
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 1,098 Referee: Eric Tattersall |
U.S. Open Cup
As a USL Championship club, Birmingham will enter the competition in the Second Round, to be played April 7–9.[5]
| April 7 2nd Round | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC  | P–P |  Birmingham Legion | Chattanooga, TN |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Stadium: Chattanooga Christian School | |||
| Note: Match postponed due to coronavirus pandemic[6] | ||||
References
- Humphries, Clayton (December 14, 2018). "Inaugural Legion FC match set for March 9, 2019". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- "USL Championship Unveils 2020 Schedule". Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- "Birmingham Legion roster". BHMLegion.com. Birmingham Legion FC. Retrieved January 22, 2020.
- "Legion FC Releases New 2020 USL Championship Schedule". bhmlegion.com. July 7, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
- "Restructured Competition Format For 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Provides Opportunity For More "David vs. Goliath" Matchups In 107th Edition Of U.S. Soccer's National Championship". U.S. Soccer Federation. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
- "U.S. Soccer Temporarily Suspends 2020 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Due to COVID-19 Outbreak". ussoccer.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
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