Minneapolis City SC

Minneapolis City SC (known informally as Mpls City SC or The Crows) is an American soccer club based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2016, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, a national league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and are the reigning NPSL North Conference champions.

Full nameMinneapolis City Soccer Club
Nickname(s)The Crows[1]
Founded2016 (2016)
StadiumEdor Nelson Field, Augsburg University[2]
Capacity1,500[3]
ChairmanDan Hoedeman
Head coachMatt vanBenschoten
LeagueNPSL
20191st, North Conference
Playoffs: Regional semifinal
WebsiteClub website

The team's nickname is The Crows, coined by the club's supporters, which comes from the "Mega Murder" of crows that roost in Minneapolis.[4]

History

Founded in 2016 as an offshoot of Stegman's Soccer Club, team managing director Dan Hoedeman stated that his goal with the team is to re-create the local feeling of the Minnesota Thunder's early days. As such, every player is a Minnesota resident and the team is owned by "members" who make important decisions for the team, such as the league, colors, logo and budget.[5][6]

In their inaugural 2016 season in the Premier League of America,[7] the team finished at three wins, four draws and three losses, good for third place in the league's West Division.[8] Their first competitive game was a scoreless draw against Bavarian SC in Milwaukee.[9] The club's first goal was scored by Matthew Gweh in their first home match, a 2–1 win over Croatian Eagles at Les Barnard Field.[10]

That October, they would win their first qualifying match for the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating league-mates Oakland County FC by a score of 2–1 in extra time.[11]

In 2017 Minneapolis City SC announced it was joining the National Premier Soccer League. The team is a member of the North Conference in the Midwest Region[12]

With the win over Oakland County FC, Minneapolis City became the first amateur team from Minnesota to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup proper, but were disqualified from the tournament for switching leagues.[13]

In 2018, Minneapolis City SC clinched the NPSL North Conference title[14] while going undefeated in conference play, one of only five teams in the NPSL to remain unbeaten in the regular season. Additionally, the Crows were the top offensive team in the entire league with 46 goals scored.

They followed that up with the 2019 NPSL North Conference title. Interestingly, after beating Duluth FC 4-2 in the second-to-last match of the season to clinch the 2018 title, the Crows went to Duluth and beat them 4-2 in the second-to-last match of the season to clinch the 2019 title as well.[15]

Club culture

Called a "ramshackle, DIY soccer club" by The Growler, and not unfairly as the club has embraced that ethos both as a way to harken back to the original days of pro soccer in Minnesota and as a way to create a "people-driven alternative to corporate pro sports".[16][17]

Mural of Martin Browne by Kamp Seedorf

Minneapolis City launched a "throwback" style logo and kit before ever playing a game. The kit and logo were designed by designer Matthew Wolff, from Minneapolis, whose credits include the branding for Los Angeles FC, New York City FC, and others.[18]

In 2019, Dutch street art group Kamp Seedorf was invited to Minneapolis to do murals of some of the club's players. It was the first time the Almere-Amsterdam collective had featured an American club or American players.[19]

Supporters

Minneapolis City is a well-supported club for the NPSL,[20] and the Citizens supporter's group is a large reason why.[21][22]

Known, especially in the North Conference, for being loud, for their tifo, and for humorous in-game heckling, The Citizens are a staple at Crows games.[23]

Rivalries

The Green Line Derby was contested between Minneapolis City SC and Viejos son los Trapos FC. The two clubs played just 2.5 miles (4.0 km) apart and the name of the rivalry game was coined for the light rail line that connects the two cities.[24]

Another in-town rival for the Crows is Minnesota TwinStars, who play in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis. As with any local derby, the games are hotly contested and rife with chicanery and "technical difficulties".[25]

Matches between Minneapolis City SC and Duluth FC are also important to supporters and, typically, to the conference title race.[26] While Crows fans may care more about the local derbies, this remains an important match.

The Minneapolis-Milwaukee rivalry was renewed when Minneapolis City and Milwaukee Bavarians were in the PLA together.[27] This remains a top fixture for supporters, though it happens only irregularly now that the two clubs are in different leagues.

Honors
  • 2017 U.S. Open Cup qualifier
  • 2018 NPSL North Conference Champions
  • 2018 Minnesota Trophy Winners
  • 2019 NPSL North Conference Champions
  • 2020 U.S. Open Cup qualifier
  • 2021 U.S. Open Cup qualifier

Players

Current roster

Where a player has not declared an international allegiance, nation is determined by place of birth. Squad correct as of February 13, 2018.[28]

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Matt Elder  United States
2 Defender Aaron Olson  United States
3 Defender Josue Boutouli  Togo
4 Defender Jonah Garcia  United States
5 Defender Myles Norville  Barbados
6 Midfielder Aidan O'Driscoll  United States
7 Forward Will Kidd  United States
8 Midfielder Max Stiegwardt  Paraguay
9 Forward Justin Oliver  United States
10 Forward Matt Gibbons  United States
11 Forward Mark Boquin  El Salvador
12 Forward Jake Simons  United States
13 Goalkeeper Troy Louwagie  United States
14 Forward Nick Hutton  United States
15 Midfielder Dominick Mesdjian  United States
16 Midfielder Samuel Ruiz Plaza  Spain
17 Forward Medo Youssef  Egypt
18 Midfielder Javier Juarez  United States
19 Defender Mike Riley  United States
20 Midfielder Arthur Parens  United States
21 Defender Abdallah Bah  Sierra Leone
22 Defender Zuheer Al Abase  Iraq
23 Defender Matt Murakami  United States
24 Defender Jack Barry  United States
25 Midfielder Charlie Adams  United States
26 Forward Cole Schwartz  Indonesia
27 Defender Wes Lorrens  United States
28 Midfielder Franco Pretell  Peru

Notable players

Minneapolis City players who went on to play at professional level include Brandon Bye (New England Revolution), Luke Haakenson (Nashville SC), Miles Stockman-Willis (Vrigstad IF) and Andy Lorei (San Diego Sockers).

Additionally, former Minnesota United player Brian Kallman turned out for the Crows in the 2017 season.

Coaching staff
  • Matt vanBenschoten – NPSL head coach
  • Tori Burnett – NPSL assistant coach
  • Trai Chace – performance analyst
  • Michael Prunty – UPSL head coach
  • Kevin Lebahn – UPSL assistant coach
  • Derric Johnson – goalkeeper coach
  • Adam Pribyl – technical director

Statistics

Season-by-season
Season Division League Wins Draw Losses Regular season Playoffs Open Cup
2016 4 PLA (Western Conference) 3 4 3 3rd Did not qualify Did not enter
2017 4 NPSL (Midwest Region, North Conference) 8 1 5 3rd Did not qualify 1st Round, Disqualified[29]
2018 4 NPSL (Midwest Region, North Conference) 10 4 0 1st Regional semi-final 3rd qualifying round[30][31]
2019 4 NPSL (Midwest Region, North Conference) 9 1 2 1st Regional semi-final Did not enter
2020 4 NPSL (Midwest Region, North Conference) - - - cancelled cancelled cancelled

Historic record vs opponents

[32] [33]

Opponent League Record

(W-D-L)

 Open Cup Record

(W-D-L)

 Friendly Record

(W-D-L)

 Biggest

Victory

 Biggest

Defeat

Aurora Borealis* 0-0-0 1–0–0 0-0-0 W 3–2 N/A
Cedar Rapids Rampage United* 0–1–1 0-0-0 0-0-0 N/A L 2-4
Croatian Eagles 1–0–1 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 2-1 L 0-1
Dakota Fusion 5–0–1 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 8-0 L 2-3
Des Moines Menace 0-0-0 0-0-0 0–0–1 N/A L 1-3
Des Moines Wanderers 0-0-0 0-0-0 0–1–0 N/A N/A
Detroit City FC 0-0-1 0-0-0 0–0–0 N/A L 0-2
Duluth FC 2–2–3 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 4-2 L 1-2
FC Fargo* 0-0-0 0-0-0 1–0–0 W 6-0 N/A
FC Minneapolis 0-0-0 0-0-0 1–0–0 W 4-1 N/A
LaCrosse Aris FC 5–1–0 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 8-0 N/A
Madison 56ers* 1–1–0 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 3-2 N/A
Rochester Med City FC 4–1–2 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 3-2 L 1-2
Milwaukee Bavarians 0–1–1 0-0-0 0-0-0 N/A L 0-2
Minnesota TwinStars* 3–1–2 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 1-0 L 0-2
Minnesota United Reserves 1–1–0 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 3-0 N/A
Nebraska Bugeaters 0–0–0 0-0-0 1-0-0 W 3-2 N/A
Oakland County FC 0-0-0 1–0–0 0-0-0 W 2-1 N/A
Rochester Lancers 0-0-0 0–0–1 0-0-0 N/A L 1-2
Sioux Falls Thunder 5–1–0 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 6-1 N/A
Union Dubuque FC 0–0–0 0-0-0 1-0-0 W 7-0 N/A
Viejos son los Trapos FC* 4–0–0 0-0-0 0-0-0 W 5-1 N/A
Total 31–10–12 2-0-1 4-1-1 W 8-0 L 0-2

*Team folded

References
  1. "minneapolis City SC". Premier League of America. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  2. "CITY MOVE TO THE WEST BANK".
  3. "Minneapolis – City By Nature". Minneapolis Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  4. "Thousands of crows roost nightly near downtown Mpls". February 4, 2014.
  5. Marthaler, Jon (February 12, 2016). "Soccer Insider: Minneapolis City seeks to fill the void left by United". Star Tribune.
  6. "Punk Rock Soccer: An Interview With Dan Hoedeman of Minneapolis City SC". American Pyramid Blog. February 6, 2016.
  7. "SSC Minneapolis City Joins PLA". pla-soccer.com. January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  8. "West Division – 2016". Premier League of America. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  9. "Minneapolis City Draws in Debut: Bavarians 0, Crows 0". Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  10. "Crows 2, Eagles 1: Minneapolis City Grinds Out Victory in Home Debut – FiftyFive.One". May 28, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  11. "Minneapolis City 2, Oakland County 1: Crows Extra-Time Winners in Open Cup Debut – FiftyFive.One". October 23, 2016. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  12. "Minneapolis City SC Joins the NPSL" (Press release). National Premier Soccer League. December 14, 2016.
  13. "Minneapolis City SC Disqualified From U.S. Open Cup – FiftyFive.One". February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  14. "Soccer: Marthaler's Short Takes – Star Tribune". July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  15. "Minneapolis City Hands Duluth FC 1st Home Loss". CBS Duluth. July 7, 2019.
  16. "The 'ramshackle', DIY soccer club bringing a new sense fo fun to the pitch". July 6, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  17. "Why Players Pick Minneapolis City SC – FiftyFive.One". January 23, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  18. "A Logo Design from Scratch: The L.A. Soccer Team's Mark – How Design". March 7, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  19. "Kamp Seedorf Are Coming". July 9, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  20. Terada, Souichi (July 5, 2019). "Minneapolis City soccer club fills niche between college, pro levels". Star Tribune.
  21. Norling, Ashle (May 13, 2017). "Meet Minneapolis City SC". E Pluribus Loonum.
  22. "Taking Attendance: The NPSL". November 22, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  23. "Northern Exposure: Minneapolis City Sc". May 8, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  24. "Minneapolis City Win Green Line Derby". June 4, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  25. "Technical Difficulties: And NPSL North Drama". May 22, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  26. "BlueGreens Best Crows in Budding Rivalry". June 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  27. "Punk Rock Soccer". May 14, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  28. "The Team". Mpls City SC. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  29. "Minneapolis City Out of U.S. Open Cup". Minneapolis City SC. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  30. Rueter, Jeff (May 24, 2018). "$10,000 flights and personal credit: How the US Open Cup cripples smaller clubs". The Guardian. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  31. "Minneapolis City out of Open Cup as Stegman's fall to Rochester RiverDogz". FiftyFive.One. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  32. "Minneapolis City Schedule & Results". August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  33. "Minneapolis City SC". August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
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