Grand Rapids FC

Grand Rapids FC is an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose senior men's team plays in USL League Two. The team was founded in 2014 and its first season was in 2015. It was initially funded by a group of supporters who purchased memberships to cover the operating expenses, as well as by local sponsors.[1]

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Midwest United FC.

Grand Rapids FC
Full nameGrand Rapids Football Club
Nickname(s)The Blues, GRFC
Founded2014 (2014)
StadiumHouseman Field
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Capacity8,000
General ManagerJoe Broekhuizen
Head CoachJames Gilpin
LeagueUSL League Two
20193rd, Great Lakes Conference (NPSL)
Playoffs: DNQ
WebsiteClub website

History

Grand Rapids FC (GRFC) was started by a group of Grand Rapids residents as a community-funded project along the lines of Nashville FC.[2] Fundraising began on February 14, 2014, by word of mouth and was opened to the public a month later. The team applied to the National Premier Soccer League for the 2015 season but their application was denied.[3] Instead, GRFC and AFC Ann Arbor (also denied an NPSL bid in 2015) founded the Great Lakes Premier League.[4] The new league held its inaugural meeting on January 17, 2015, with six teams.

Following a 2015 season in which GRFC finished in second place, averaging 4,509 fans per game, the team announced on September 25, 2015, that they would leave the Great Lakes Premier League to join the National Premier Soccer League.[5]

The 2016 season resulted in a first-place position in the NPSL Great Lakes West conference and qualification for the playoffs by beating AFC Ann Arbor in a 3–1 victory in front of a club record 6,854 spectators. The club reached the final of the NPSL Midwest Regional playoffs and beat Indy Eleven NPSL in front of a record attendance of 6,912, qualifying the team for the 2017 US Open Cup. The following day GRFC lost against 2016 NPSL champions AFC Cleveland on penalties.

On November 1, 2016, the club announced they would add a women's team under the same GRFC banner, which would begin play in 2017 in a new Midwest division of the United Women's Soccer league.[6] The women's team plays at Grandville High School in Grandville, Michigan. The Grand Rapids FC (women) won the 2017 United Women's Soccer Championship in their inaugural season.[7]

On December 5, 2019 it was announced that the club would be moving from the NPSL to USL League Two. Also during this time, the ownership of the women's side was transferred to Midwest United FC and their name was changed to reflect this change.[8]

Stadium
Houseman Field

Houseman Field in the Midtown neighborhood of Grand Rapids has been the home field since the club's inception.[9][10]

Record attendance
  • 6,912 – July 22, 2016, vs Indy Eleven NPSL (second game of a doubleheader, attendance counted both games)
  • 6,854 – July 8, 2016, vs AFC Ann Arbor (single game record)

2020 roster

[11][12] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK  USA Chris Morrish
1 GK  ENG Joe White
2 DF  USA Jake VanderLaan
3 DF  USA Vianny Durand
4 DF  USA Austin Swiech
6 DF  ENG Tony Deakin
7 FW  USA Anthony Bowie
8 MF  USA Eric Conerty
9 FW  IRL Matt Whelan
10 MF  IRL Jack McCarren
11 FW  NZL Scott Doney
12 MF  USA Greg Timmer
13 FW  ZIM Farai Mutatu
14 FW  USA Tyler Fischer
15 DF  USA Luke Morrell
16 MF  IRL Dáire O'Riordan
17 MF  IRL Eoin Broughan
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  USA Jake Ireland
19 MF  ESP Adrian Miling
20 MF  USA Alex Mendoza
21 FW  USA Nick Cassiday
22 MF  USA Tommy Visser
23 DF  USA Drew Van Andel
24 DF  USA Greg Williams
26 FW  USA Manny López
27 DF  RSA Ilias Varnavides
28 FW  ENG James Decosemo
29 DF  USA Franco Calabrese
31 GK  CAN Joshua Doupe
33 MF  NZL Sam Twigg
50 GK  USA Daniel Wunder
77 FW  FRA Nicolas Likulia
98 FW  USA Kadin Shaban

Head coaches
  • George Moni (2015–2017)
  • Lewis Robinson (2018–2019)
  • James Gilpin (2020–present)

Honors

National Premier Soccer League

  • Conference championships (1)
    • Midwest Region – Great Lakes West Conference: 2016

Minor competitions

  • West Michigan Community Cup: 2020

Statistics

Year-by-year
Year Tier League Regular Season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup Average
Attendance		 Average
League
Attendance
2015 5 GLPL 2nd of 5 (3–3–2) ―[A] Ineligible[B] 4,509 3,945
2016 4 NPSL 1st of 7, Midwest-Great Lakes West (7–1–4) Regional final Ineligible[B] 4,315 4,784
2017 4 NPSL 3rd of 8, Midwest-Great Lakes (6–6–2) DNQ First round 2,691 2,588
2018 4 NPSL 2nd of 7, Midwest-Great Lakes (7–3–2) Regional first round DNQ ―[C] ―[C]
2019 4 NPSL 3rd of 8, Midwest-Great Lakes (9–3–2) DNQ DNQ ―[C] ―[C]
2020 4 USL2 Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic[13]
  1. ^
    A No playoffs were held in the inaugural season of the Great Lakes Premier League.
  2. ^
    B To enter the U.S. Open Cup, in the previous season a team must have belonged to an affiliated league with at least 4 teams that played a schedule of at least 10 games.[14]
  3. ^
    C Attendance figures for 2018 and 2019 have not been made public by the organization.

Historic record vs opponents
Legend
0–0–0 Win-Loss-Draw
0–0 Win-Loss
* No games played
Opponent League Playoffs U.S. Open Amateur Cup MI Cup Played Total GF GA GD Win %
AAFC Lumberjacks * * * * 1–0 1 1–0–0 3 0 +3 1.000
AFC Ann Arbor 4–5–1 * * * * 10 4–5–1 15 13 +2 .450
AFC Cleveland * 0–0–1 (0–1 PKs) * * * 1 0–0–1 0 0 0 .500
Ann Arbor FC * * * 1–0 * 1 1–0–0 4 1 +3 1.000
Chicago FC United * * 0–1 * * 1 0–1–0 0 1 −1 .000
Croatian Eagles 1–0–1 * * * * 2 1–0–1 3 1 +2 .750
Dayton Dynamo 2–0–0 * * * * 2 2–0–0 2 0 +2 1.000
Detroit City FC 2–2–4 * * * * 8 2–2–4 13 12 +1 .500
Duluth FC * 0–0–1 (0–1 PKs) * * * 1 0–0–1 2 2 0 .500
FC Columbus 1–3–0 * * * * 4 1–3–0 3 8 −5 .250
FC Indiana 6–0–0 * * * * 6 6–0–0 26 2 +24 1.000
Flint City Bucks * * * * 0–1 1 0–1–0 1 2 –1 .000
Indy Eleven NPSL * 1–0 * * * 1 1–0–0 1 0 +1 1.000
Kalamazoo FC 6–1–1 * * * * 8 6–1–1 18 7 +11 .813
Lansing United 2–1–1 * * * 0–0–1 (0–1 PKs) 5 2–1–2 9 7 +2 .600
Livonia City FC * * * 0–1 [D] * 1 0–1–0 0 1 –1 .000
Michigan Stars FC 3–1–2 * * * * 6 3–1–2 7 5 +2 .667
Milwaukee Torrent 2–0–2 * * * * 4 2–0–2 7 5 +2 .750
Muskegon Risers SC * * * * 2–0 2 2–0–0 5 3 +2 1.000
Oakland United 1–1–0 * * * * 2 1–1–0 4 2 +2 .500
RWB Adria 0–2–0 * * * * 2 0–2–0 2 6 −4 .000
Toledo Villa FC 2–0–0 * * * * 2 2–0–0 6 1 +5 1.000
Total 32–16–12 1–0–2 (0–2 PKs) 0–1 1–1 3–1–1 (0–1 PKs) 71 37–19–15 131 79 +52 .627
  • Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
  • Updated to end of 2019 season.
  1. ^
    D Livonia City FC forfeited this May 4, 2019 match due to fielding an ineligible player. Grand Rapids FC was subsequently disqualified from the 2019 Amateur Cup for fielding too many players in the competition.[15]

Player records
  • Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
  • Updated to end of 2020 season.

Reference:[16]

Club culture
The south side of Houseman Field, with members of the Grand Army supporters group in the foreground. Attendance 3,843.

Supporters

The Grand Army is the supporters group for Grand Rapids FC.[17] Starting in 2015, all pre-game festivities were held at Bob's Bar and a march led through the Midtown neighborhood.[18] In June 2015 a fanzine entitled What if it Rains started publication.[19] The name of the magazine referred to one of the reasons the NPSL originally declined the club's application and celebrated the club's massive support.

References
  1. "A Soccer Club in Grand Rapids?". Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  2. "Many pitch in for hometown soccer franchise". GRBJ.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  3. "sports.yahoo.com". yahoo.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  4. "NPSL denies Ann Arbor semi-pro soccer club's application; owners plan to establish new league". MLive.com. December 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  5. "Grand Rapids Football Club Joins the NPSL – Grand Rapids FC". GrandRapidsFC.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  6. "Grand Rapids FC launches women's team for 2017 season". mlive. November 1, 2016. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  7. "Grand Rapids FC beats Santa Clarita, captures United Women's Soccer championship". MLive.com. July 2017.
  8. "GRFC Announces Collaboration With Midwest United". December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  9. "Houseman Field to become home of Grand Rapids Football Club". mlive. July 10, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  10. Peter J. Wallner (February 8, 2020). "Grand Rapids FC to remain at Houseman Field for upcoming season". MLive.com. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  11. "Grand Rapids FC – Team". GrandRapidsFC.com. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  12. "What if it Rains". WhatIfItRains.net. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  13. "United Soccer League Provides Update on 2020 League Two Season". Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  14. "How do you enter the 2016 US Open Cup? USSF takes over amateur qualifying". Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  15. "Grand Rapids FC disqualified from U.S. Amateur Cup". mLive. May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  16. "What if it Rains". WhatIfItRains.net. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  17. "MOTU VIGET". Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  18. "Game Day FAQ". Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  19. "About". Retrieved July 1, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.