Sky Blue FC

Following the growth of women's soccer in the United States in the 1990s, the first attempt at a fully professional women's league, the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), was founded in 2000.[1] However, after playing just three seasons the WUSA folded in 2003.[1] Almost immediately following the folding of the WUSA, attempts were made to relaunch the league, although each of these initially came to naught. Finally, in December of 2006, an agreement was reached to establish a new professional women's league, consisting of teams from Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., as well as an undetermined sixth city located somewhere in the Western United States.[2] Originally planned to begin play in 2008, the launch of this new league, dubbed Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), was subsequently pushed back to 2009.[3] Boston and the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area were also selected to host clubs to participate in the inaugural WPS season.[3]

Sky Blue FC was originally founded in 2006 as Jersey Sky Blue, playing in the USL W-League in 2007,[4] a semi-professional league that served as part of the second division of women's soccer in the United States. Future Governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy and his wife Tammy Murphy were co-founders of the team,[5] alongside businessman Steven H. Temares and Thomas Hofstetter.[6] The Murphys would later claim that their motivation in founding the club was as an example to their daughter, in order to prove that there was a viable pathway for women in the United States to play professional soccer.[5][7] By September of 2007, the club had been selected to fulfill the New York/New Jersey slot in Women's Professional Soccer and rebranded as Sky Blue FC.[3] Following this move, the Jersey Sky Blue name initially remained in use for a feeder team in the W-League, although it later rebranded as the Hudson Valley Quickstrike Lady Blues. Co-founder Thomas Hofstetter, who served as president of Sky Blue FC until 2013, also served as chairman of the feeder team until their folding in 2010.[6] As of 2018, Phil Murphy was a majority shareholder of the team.[8]

Sky Blue FC named Ian Sawyers as its first head coach and general manager on March 5, 2008. However, it was not until September 9, 2008 that the New York/New Jersey outfit was officially unveiled under the name Sky Blue FC. One week later, the US Women's National Team allocation took place with Heather O'Reilly, Natasha Kai, and Christie Pearce allocated to Sky Blue FC.[9]

On September 24, the 2008 WPS International Draft was held. Sky Blue FC drafted Australian National Team forward Sarah Walsh in the first round, Brazilian National Team members Rosana and Ester in the second and third rounds respectively, finished with Canadian National Team midfielder Kelly Parker in the fourth round.[10] In addition to these picks, Sky Blue FC also named Australian National Team midfielder Collette McCallum and England National Team defender Anita Asante as post-draft discovery players on September 26, 2008 and October 2, 2008 respectively, and were awarded their WPS playing rights.

To further assign player rights, on October 6 the 2008 WPS General Draft took place. Sky Blue FC drafted Cori Alexander, Keeley Dowling, Kacey White, and Jenny Hammond.[11] Ian Sawyers closed out 2008 by choosing Kelly Lindsey to be his assistant coach on December 3.

The new year brought new players. On January 16, the 2009 WPS Draft was held. Sky Blue FC drafted Yael Averbuch, Meghan Schnur, Karen Bardsley, Christie Shaner, Julianne Sitch, Jen Buczkowski, Zhang Ouying, Mary Therese McDonnell, Mele French, and Fanta Cooper.[12]

Sky Blue FC kicked off its inaugural season on April 5, 2009 dropping a 2–0 decision to Los Angeles Sol at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. It played its next game at the venue before moving permanently to Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University.

Sky Blue FC battle in St. Louis during the 2009 postseason

The team stuttered to one win and two draws in their first six games, scoring only 3 goals in the process, before head coach and general manager Ian Sawyers was suspended indefinitely by the team for disagreements on May 23, 2009. He was eventually relieved of his duties as head coach and general manager on May 28, 2009. In his absence, Kelly Lindsey stepped in as the interim and slowly started to turn around Sky Blue FC's on-field fortunes. She was eventually permanently installed as head coach on June 19, 2009 by then General Manager Gerry Marrone.

Lindsey's time at the helm was short-lived as she abruptly resigned from her position on July 30, 2009. She had won five games and drawn three others in her twelve total matches before Christie Pearce was named the second interim of the year and third head coach overall by Marrone. Her position also included playing on the field and was the first player/manager in WPS history. Rampone lead Sky Blue FC into 4th position and secured the final playoff spot for the 2009 playoffs. Sky Blue FC upended both Washington Freedom and Saint Louis Athletica to make the championship game against Los Angeles Sol. A 16th minute Heather O'Reilly strike earned Sky Blue FC the championship on August 22, 2009, beating the Sol on their own home field of The Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

President Obama welcomed Sky Blue to the White House following their championship season.

Sky Blue's victory was seen as an upset,[13] and later described as "an all-time underdog story."[14] Sky Blue were later invited to the White House, where President Barack Obama hailed their success in the inaugural WPS season.[15]

With two additional teams, Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence, joining the league for 2010, Sky Blue FC were destined to lose players from their championship-winning side. On September 15, the 2009 WPS Expansion Draft was held with Jen Buczkowski moving to Philadelphia and Noelle Keselica headed to Atlanta.

Sky Blue FC announced on September 29, 2009 that former Finnish National Team player Pauliina Miettinen would be head coach of the team for the 2010 season after completing her coaching duties with PK-35 Vantaa.

Sky Blue FC started its title defense on April 11, 2010 when it hosted the Chicago Red Stars at Yurcak Field. The team wasted little time in gaining its first goal on the young season, with forward Tasha Kai scoring on a fourth-minute strike to lead her team to an eventual 1–0 victory. Sky Blue FC found itself having some trouble tallying goals as the season progressed and held a 5–6–3 record when head coach Pauliina Miettinen was relieved of her duties. Immediately replacing her was assistant coach Rick Stainton, who led the team to a 2–4–4 record the rest of the way. After settling for three draws to conclude its sophomore campaign, Sky Blue FC finished the year in fifth place in the regular season standings and just missed the postseason.

The 2011 season marked the first at the helm by decorated women's soccer coach Jim Gabarra, who had spent the past decade with the Washington Freedom. Prior to the start of the regular season, Sky Blue FC headed to Turkey for the preseason, playing to the finals of the Alanya International Women's Tournament of Champions, where it fell to team partner LdB FC Malmö, 1–0. Also participating in the tournament were Russian side FK Energiya and Danish club Fortuna Hjørring (who Sky Blue FC defeated in a penalty shootout in the semifinals).

Sky Blue FC kicked off the WPS regular season on April 10, 2011 at Yurcak Field, playing the Philadelphia Independence to a 2–2 draw. The team then hit the road for three games, suffering three consecutive defeats, before returning home for a pair of wins. After two more draws and another victory, Sky Blue FC found itself amid the longest unbeaten streak in franchise history (five matches). The team kicked off that streak on May 21, 2011 with a 3–0 win over the Atlanta Beat, its then-largest margin of victory.

The club went 1–2 in its next three games before entering the final four matches of the regular season. After suffering defeats in each of those games, Sky Blue FC came up just short of the playoffs after finishing even with the Boston Breakers for the final postseason spot (Boston took the season tiebreaker).

After the WPS announced the suspension of the 2012 season, Sky Blue FC announced a partnership with the New Jersey Wildcats of the W-League, which included sharing coaching staff.

In November 2012, it was announced that Sky Blue FC would be one of eight teams in a new women's professional soccer league sponsored by the United States Soccer Federation, the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation.[16] The league, known as the National Women's Soccer League, began play in spring 2013.

Sky Blue FC's lineup before a game against the Washington Spirit during the 2013 season.

For the 2013 season, Sky Blue were allocated seven players from North American federations, including Kelley O'Hara, Jillian Loyden, Christie Rampone, and Sophie Schmidt.[17] On May 19, the club recorded their third consecutive victory and their fifth overall, marking the club's best-ever start to a season.[18] On June 1, 2013, the team extended their run of consecutive victories to five with a 5–1 win over the Boston Breakers at Yurcak Field. In so doing, Sky Blue became the first team to score five goals in a single match in the nascent National Women's Soccer League.[19] The team's form later slumped in the second half of the regular season, though Sky Blue ultimately finished in 4th place, earning a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2009.[20] Sky Blue were later eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, suffering a 2–0 defeat to the Western New York Flash.

The following season, Sky Blue failed to win any of their opening four matches.[21] After defeating the Boston Breakers on May 3, Sky Blue again went on a winless streak until June 25, when they secured a 2–1 victory over the Portland Thorns.[22] The 2014 season ended with a five-game win streak,[23] though this proved insufficient to overcome earlier poor form and Sky Blue finished the season in 6th place, failing to qualify for the playoffs.

The 2015 season was similarly marred by poor form. After winning their opening match of the season, Sky Blue went on a winless streak until July 11. The game marked the debut for Australian international Sam Kerr, who scored the winning goal.[24] Sky Blue ultimately finished the season in 8th place, having won only five games out of 20, and once more failing to qualify for the playoffs.

Following the 2015 season, head coach Jim Gabarra reached an agreement with Sky Blue to be released from his contract, having agreed terms to join the Washington Spirit.[25] Gabarra's assistant, Christy Holly, was later named his successor for the 2016 season.[26]

Sky Blue FC opened its 2016 season at Seattle Reign in thrilling fashion on Sunday, April 17, 2016, winning 2–1 and handing two-time defending NWSL Shield winner its first-ever home loss at Memorial Stadium. The Reign were unbeaten at Memorial Stadium over the previous two seasons[27] Sky Blue FC started six players who had never logged a single NWSL minute before that night.[28] By the end of the season they had racked up with 26 points in 7th place. Playing twenty games this season, they ended up with seven wins, eight losses, and five draws. They scored 24 goals and had 30 against them.[29] Sky Blue midfielder Raquel Rodríguez was named 2016 NWSL Rookie of the Year.[30]

After beginning with a 1–1 draw against Seattle Reign, the 2017 season got off to an uneven start. Sky Blue recorded alternating wins and losses in their next four games. Over the opening 18 matches of the season, Sky Blue recorded only two draws, compared to 7 wins and 9 defeats. Despite these results, Sky Blue were in 3rd place as late as July 15. Ultimately, in 2017, Sky Blue had its most successful season since 2014. They finished in sixth place, but were in playoff contention until mid September.[31] Despite these successes, head coach Christy Holly unexpectedly stepped down as coach on August 16, 2017.[32]

Holly's departure was followed by veteran defender Christie Pearce announcing she would miss the remainder of the season due to injury on August 18.[33] Following Holly's abrupt departure, assistant manager Dave Hodgson was appointed interim head coach.[34]

On August 19, 2017 Sky Blue overcame a 3–0 deficit, to defeat the Seattle Reign 5–4. In that game Sam Kerr became the first player in NWSL history to score 4 goals in one game.[35] Kerr enjoyed a breakout season in 2017, she broke the single season goal scoring record by scoring 17 goals and won the golden boot. Kerr was also awarded the 2017 NWSL MVP award.[36]

Denise Reddy was appointed as the new head coach on November 15, 2017.[37] Sky Blue began the off-season by trading several of their key players. They dealt Taylor Lytle and USWNT defender Kelley O'Hara to the Utah Royals on December 29, 2017.[38] Then at the 2018 NWSL College Draft they traded Nikki Stanton and 2017 NWSL MVP Sam Kerr to the Chicago Red Stars.[39] Sky Blue received forward Katie Johnson and defender Rebekah Stott from the Seattle Reign in exchange for the rights to forward Caitlin Foord.[40] They also added two-time FIFA Player of the year Carli Lloyd in the trade for Sam Kerr.[39]

The results of the field were not good for Sky Blue as they finished in last place with a record of 1–17–6. They broke the NWSL record for the longest winless streak (23 games) as they didn't earn a victory until the final game of the season.[41] Their season was plagued with reports of poor off-field conditions, such an inadequate training facilities as well as housing, travel, and transportation issues.[42] These off-field issues, coupled with Sky Blue's poor results, led to the club being described as "falling apart, on the field and off".[43] The club's training facilities also reportedly lacked running water.[44]

The 2018 season did include promising rookie seasons from Imani Dorsey and Savannah McCaskill. Dorsey scored 4 goals in 13 games and McCaskill had 3 goals and 3 assists.[45] Both players were voted as finalists for the 2018 NWSL Rookie of the year. Dorsey won the award, becoming the second Sky Blue player to win the award after Raquel Rodríguez won it in 2016.[46]

Following the disappointments of the preceding two seasons, the 2019 season got off to a poor start. Before the season even began, Hailie Mace and Julia Ashley declined to sign for the club despite being drafted, citing the team's mismanagement.[47] Sky Blue then failed to win any of their opening nine matches, drawing two and losing seven. Head coach Denise Reddy was subsequently relieved of her duties. At the time of her dismissal, Reddy had won only one of thirty-three matches in charge of the club.[48] Goalkeeping coach Hugo Macedo was named interim head coach following Reddy's dismissal. In his first game in charge, Macedo guided Sky Blue to a 2–1 win over the Chicago Red Stars, their first victory in an away game since September 2017.[49] Under Macedo, Sky Blue amassed a 4–2–4 record. However, on September 4, Macedo returned to his previous role of goalkeeping coach and was replaced as interim head coach by Freya Coombe.[50] Under Coombe, Sky Blue went on to win only one of their final five games of the season. Having had three head coaches in a single season for the second time, Sky Blue finished the 2019 season with a record of 5 wins, 5 draws, and 14 defeats. This saw them finish 8th in the table, ahead of only the Orlando Pride, and failing to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

Off the field, in February co-owner and First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy announced she would be taking an "active role" in the club.[51] In the same statement, Murphy announced that the club had taken steps to improve player housing, as well as relocating its administrative offices, and expanding the size of the club's staff.[51] Murphy also committed to improving Sky Blue's training facilities.[51] Longtime president and General Manager Tony Novo resigned in April, with reports alleging that Novo was forced out of the club.[52] Alyse LaHue, formerly General Manager of the Chicago Red Stars, was named interim GM following Novo's resignation. LaHue was later made permanent General Manager on September 3.[53]

In November 2019, Sky Blue announced that they had reached an agreement with Major League Soccer club the New York Red Bulls to play their home matches for the following season at Red Bull Arena.[54] In December, Freya Coombe's appointment as head coach was made permanent.[55]

Following their previous announcement of a groundshare arrangement, in February 2020 Sky Blue announced that they had agreed a deal to share training facilities with the New York Red Bulls.[56] That same month, Ed Nalbandian joined the club as minority owner and was appointed Vice Chair.[57] Heading into the 2020 season, Sky Blue's off field developments over the preceding year were perceived as having turned around the club's culture.[58][59] The club also took steps to overhaul their roster, bringing in thirteen new players,[59] such as Mallory Pugh, McCall Zerboni, and Margaret Purce, for what was described as a "new-look Sky Blue."[60] These changes led to a belief that the club "was set to make leaps and bounds" and would "compete for playoff spots in due time."[61] The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic halted the new season's momentum before it could even begin, however. On March 12, the team's originally scheduled preseason was cancelled.[62] The start date of the 2020 NWSL season was also pushed back before being cancelled altogether and replaced by the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup.[63]

Veteran defender Caprice Dydasco, new arrival Pugh, and star midfielder Carli Lloyd were ruled out of the Challenge Cup through injury.[64] Midfielder Madison Tiernan also picked up an injury shortly before the start of the tournament.[65] These absences, coupled with the extensive changes that had been made to the club in a short space of time, led to Sky Blue entering the Challenge Cup as "the true underdog".[66] The truncated season was seen as pushing back the club's growth,[61] while at the same time the tournament was perceived as "more of a development opportunity."[59] Heading into the tournament, the team were perceived as least likely to reach the final.[67][66]

Following a 0–0 draw with the OL Reign in their opening game of the tournament and a 1–0 defeat to Utah Royals, Sky Blue recorded a 2–0 win over the Houston Dash, which saw them rise to 2nd in the table.[68] A subsequent 2–0 defeat to the North Carolina Courage saw them slump to 7th, and Sky Blue were pitted against 2nd place Washington Spirit in the quarter-final. The Spirit were perceived as the favorite for the match,[69] though Sky Blue ultimately advanced after winning 4–3 on penalties.[70] In the semi-final, Sky Blue were pitted against the Chicago Red Stars, who had finished as runners-up in the 2019 NWSL Championship. After conceding three goals in the opening 60 minutes, Sky Blue rallied courtesy of a late goal from Evelyne Viens and an effort by Purce which forced an own goal by Julie Ertz. However, Sky Blue were unable to overcome the deficit and the club were eliminated in a 3–2 defeat.[71] Despite these results, goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament by the media, being awarded the Golden Glove.[72] The Philadelphia Inquirer also wrote that Sky Blue's performance in the tournament "shows big potential for the future," and that "if general manager Alyse LaHue can keep her team’s spine together, Sky Blue will enter 2021 with real potential to end its playoff drought."[73]

Following the conclusion of the Challenge Cup, the NWSL announced the continuation of the season with the NWSL Fall Series. Per the rules of the series, Sky Blue were drawn into a three-team regional pod with the Washington Spirit and Chicago Red Stars. Sky Blue opened the Fall Series with a 2–1 victory over the Washington Spirit at Segra Field on September 5,[74] though this was followed by a heavy 4–1 defeat to the Chicago Red Stars.[75] Sky Blue then suffered a 1–0 defeat to the Washington Spirit in their first home game of the season,[76] before closing out the Fall Series with a 3–1 victory at home over Chicago.[77] These results ultimately saw Sky Blue finish the Fall Series in fourth place, just one point behind the third-placed Washington Spirit.

As of February 4, 2021[78]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  CAN Kailen Sheridan 3 DF  USA Caprice Dydasco 4 MF  USA Paige Monaghan 5 MF  USA Nicole Baxter 6 MF  GHA Jennifer Cudjoe 7 MF  USA McCall Zerboni 8 DF  USA Erica Skroski 9 MF  JPN Nahomi Kawasumi 10 FW  USA Carli Lloyd 12 DF  USA Gina Lewandowski 13 GK  BIH DiDi Haracic 14 MF  USA Kenie Wright

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  MEX Sabrina Flores 17 DF  USA Domi Richardson 19 MF  USA Elizabeth Eddy 21 GK  USA Mandy McGlynn 22 DF  USA Mandy Freeman 23 FW  USA Margaret Purce 24 DF  CMR Estelle Johnson 25 FW  USA Ifeoma Onumonu 28 DF  USA Imani Dorsey 35 GK  USA Megan Hinz — MF  KOR Lee So-dam

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 FW  CAN Evelyne Viens (at Paris FC until February 28, 2021)

As of January 30, 2021[79][80][81]

Executive Staff
Position	Staff
Owner	Phil Murphy
Owner and Club Chair	Tammy Murphy
Owner	Steven Temares
Owner and Vice Chair	Ed Nalbandian
General Manager	Alyse LaHue
Chief Financial Officer	Mary Smoot
Coaching Staff
Position	Staff
Head Coach	Freya Coombe
Assistant Coach	Rebecca Moros
Assistant Coach	Becki Tweed
Goalkeeper Coach	Daniel Ball
High Performance Coach	Philip Congleton
Technical Advisor	Marcia McDermott
Head Physio	Joelle Muro
Head Ahtletic Trainer	Sara Carpentieri

As of the 2020 season. Statistics from competitive matches (regular season, playoffs, and domestic cup) only.[82][83] Current players in bold.

Matches played appear in brackets.