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Cleveland SC

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Cleveland SC
Full nameCleveland Soccer Club
FoundedFebruary 19, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-02-19)
StadiumGeorge Finnie Stadium
(Berea, Ohio)
Capacity7,800[1]
OwnerSamuel Seibert
Head coachVlad Muresan
LeagueNational Premier Soccer League
2021Rust Belt Conference: 1st Playoffs: National Semifinals
Websitehttps://www.clevelandsoccerclub.com

Cleveland SC is an American amateur soccer club based in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio region. Cleveland competes in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) as part of the Midwest Region's Rust Belt Conference.[2] The club was established on February 19, 2018, taking over from the recently defunct AFC Cleveland as the city's representative in the NPSL.

Samuel Seibert, a local Cleveland banker and administrator, founded the club after being approached by a group of former AFC Cleveland players who wanted to see competitive soccer retained in the Cleveland area. The club plays home matches at George Finnie Stadium in Berea, Ohio. During the club's first four seasons of existence, CSC played at Don Shula Stadium, Lakewood Stadium, Krenzler Field, and Sparky DiBiasio Stadium.

Cleveland has a rivalry with fellow Ohioan NPSL club FC Columbus, named the Cheese Barn Derby by supporters. Former professional players to have appeared for the club include Riley Grant and Ben Fitzpatrick, while Louie Rolko served as an assistant coach.

History

For the previous six seasons, from 2012 to 2017, AFC Cleveland had represented the city of Cleveland in the National Premier Soccer League. That run had included an NPSL national championship in 2016, as well as two appearances in the U.S. Open Cup. However, the club was expelled from the NPSL due to "not [being] in good financial standing with the league."[3] That announcement came on December 12, 2017, just months before the new NPSL season was set to begin.

Inaugural season

"Cleveland SC is going to bring a fanbase filled with pride. Cleveland has a soccer fan base that is a sleeping giant and we intend to tap into that immediately. Cleveland has the best sports fans anywhere and our opponents will learn that quickly."

—Samuel Seibert, club owner and president[4]

The catalysts for founding Cleveland SC were two former AFC Cleveland players, Coletun Long and Chris Cvecko. According to Long, the two "started having a conversation in the car and talked further in a Chipotle parking lot outside the city. We wrote down ideas and called teammates and others previously associated with AFC Cleveland.”[5] One of those people contacted was Samuel Seibert, a native of Northeast Ohio who had been on the media relations staff for AFC Cleveland. He would go on to take the lead on the NPSL expansion process, culminating in an official announcement of Cleveland SC as an NPSL expansion club on February 19, 2018.[6][4] That announcement came just 90 days before the club was set to play its first regular season match.

Prior to the season beginning, CSC announced that the club would be playing its inaugural season at Don Shula Stadium, located in University Heights, Ohio on the campus of John Carroll University.[7] In conjunction with local designers, a crest and kits featuring an orange and black color combination were launched in mid-March, less than a month before the club's inaugural match.[8] Ryan Osborne was announced as the club's first head coach and the first two matches in club history took part in April, the inaugural edition of the Cheese Barn Derby against FC Columbus.[5] The first-ever league match in CSC history took place on May 19, 2018, ending in a 2–0 victory over Rochester Lancers courtesy of goals from Declan McGivern and American futsal international Antonio Manfut.[9] After a second-place finish in the Midwest-East, the club qualified for the playoffs and defeated Erie Commodores in the quarterfinals before falling to AFC Ann Arbor in the regional semifinals.[10]

Stadium

During the 2018 season, Cleveland SC played home matches at Don Shula Stadium, located in University Heights, Ohio on the campus of John Carroll University. The stadium has a capacity of 5,416,[11] which made it the second-largest stadium in the Midwest-East behind only Marina Auto Stadium. Cleveland played its first match at Shula Stadium on May 19, 2018, defeating Rochester Lancers 2–0[12] in front of a crowd of a couple hundred.[13] Cleveland finished with four wins, one draw, and one loss in home matches during its lone season at the stadium.

Due to renovation work at Shula Stadium over the summer of 2019, Cleveland moved to Baldwin Wallace University's George Finnie Stadium, located in Berea, Ohio.[14] The 7,800 capacity stadium still holds the title of being the second-largest stadium in the Midwest-East, behind Marina Auto Stadium.[1] Cleveland debuted at Finnie Stadium on May 5, 2019, with a 2-1 win an international friendly match against Monarcas Morelia Reserves.[14]

Supporters

The primary supporters' group for Cleveland SC is 6th City Syndicate, an "independent supporters' group for Cleveland soccer."[15] 6CS is unaffiliated with the club, and as such also provides support for WPSL club Cleveland Ambassadors. Prior to the foundation of Cleveland SC, 6th City Syndicate had supported AFC Cleveland,[16] migrating to the new club after AFC Cleveland folded in December 2017.

Club culture

Broadcasting

Although the NPSL does not require clubs to stream matches, Cleveland SC streamed every home match in 2018 on Mycujoo.[17] Vince McKee served as the main commentator for the duration of the season, while the color commentator role was filled by a rotating cast of analysts.[18]

Rivalries

Although the two clubs are in different conferences, Cleveland has a friendly rivalry with fellow Ohioan NPSL club FC Columbus. Both clubs were founded in 2018, and their inaugural matches came against each other in a home-and-home friendly series in April 2018.[19] Supporters of the clubs dubbed the rivalry the Cheese Barn Derby,[20] named after a landmark business that sits just off Interstate 71 in Ashland, Ohio.[21] The actual barn is roughly equidistant between the cities of Cleveland and Columbus. In 2018, the first year of the rivalry, neither team was able to claim the Derby title: both Cleveland and Columbus won their away game 3–2, meaning the inaugural Cheese Barn Derby ended in a 5–5 tie.[22]

Players and staff

Current squad

As of March 22, 2022[23]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF United States USA Boban Cancar
4 MF United States USA Mike Derezic
5 DF United States USA Corban McAvinew
8 DF United States USA Alec Nagucki
9 FW United States USA Vinny Bell
10 MF Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Admir Suljevic
13 FW United States USA Andrew Nicholas
15 DF Italy ITA Alex Rumleanschi
16 DF United States USA Chris Cvecko
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF Sweden SWE Lukas Hackaa
18 MF Japan JPN Kokai Minami
20 MF Scotland SCO Kieran Toland
21 DF United States USA Benjamin Hryszko
22 MF United States USA Daniel Koniarczyk
23 FW Sweden SWE Filip Sparavec
31 GK England ENG Conor Cable
99 GK United States USA Liam McIntosh

Team management

Front office
Owner and president Samuel Seibert
Coaching staff
Head coach Vlad Muresan
Assistant coach Marko Gvozdenovic
Manager Stephen Trudic

Last updated: June 4, 2021
Source: [1]

Forest City FC

Founded in 2020, Forest City FC operates as the reserve side for Cleveland SC. The name and crest take homage from the Cleveland Forest Citys baseball team. The team will compete in the Northern Ohio Soccer League in 2021, along with participating in the Ohio Heart Cup.[24]

Year-by-year

Season League Regular season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup
2018 NPSL 2nd, Midwest-East Won Midwest quarterfinal (Erie, 4–0)
Lost Midwest semifinal (Ann Arbor, 0–1) 		Ineligible
2019 1st, Midwest-East Won Midwest semifinal (Rochester, 6–4)
Won Midwest final (Detroit, 2–2, 3–2 pen)
Lost National semifinal (Miami, 1–4) 		Did not qualify
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[25] First Round, Cancelled[26]
2021 1st, Rust Belt Won Midwest quarterfinal (Pittsburgh, 4–0)
Won Midwest semifinal (Milwaukee, 2–1)
Won Midwest final (Minneapolis, 2–0)
Lost National semifinal (Denton, 4–3 AET) 		Eligible, Did not qualify

References

  1. ^ a b "The George Finnie Stadium". Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets. Baldwin Wallace University. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  2. ^ NPSL staff (February 19, 2018). "Cleveland SC Joins the NPSL". National Premier Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  3. ^ @NPSLSoccer (December 12, 2017). "NEWS: The #NPSL today announced the termination of the memberships of AFC Cleveland (@AFCCleveland) and Sports Club Corinthians USA (@SCorinthiansUSA) in line with the NPSL Bylaws for teams not in good financial standing with the league" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ a b Green, Chris (February 26, 2018). "Cleveland Adds Pro Soccer Team". Stadium Journey. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Burden, Brian (December 11, 2018). "Being as Cleveland as Possible". Protagonist Soccer. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "Cleveland SC added to National Premier Soccer League". WKYC. Tegna Inc. February 19, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  7. ^ McKee, Vince (March 6, 2018). "Cleveland SC Announces Venue For 2018 Season". NEO Sports Insiders. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  8. ^ McKee, Vince (March 23, 2018). "Cleveland SC Unveils New Crest And Logo". NEO Sports Insiders. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  9. ^ "Cleveland SC victorious in inaugural NPSL match". National Premier Soccer League. May 21, 2018. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  10. ^ Ekman, Tesh (April 30, 2019). "Cleveland's Other Football Team". Pressure Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "Don Shula Stadium at Wasmer Field". John Carroll Blue Streaks. John Carroll University. November 28, 2007. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "Cleveland SC 2–0 Rochester Lancers". National Premier Soccer League. May 19, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  13. ^ Kleps, Kevin (June 10, 2018). "New Cleveland semipro soccer team is off to a hot start". Crain's Cleveland Business. Crain Communications. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Club will play on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University". Cleveland SC. February 20, 2019. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  15. ^ "6th City Syndicate – Cleveland's Soccer Supporters". 6th City Syndicate. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  16. ^ "AFC Cleveland supporters". AFC Cleveland. Retrieved July 22, 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^ "Cleveland SC at mycujoo". MyCujoo. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  18. ^ McKee, Vince (March 26, 2020). "NPSL Cancels Season". KEE On Sports Media Group. Retrieved April 11, 2020. Our very own Vince McKee, Eli Mooneyham and Cole McDaniel have been the voice of Cleveland SC of the NPSL.
  19. ^ McKee, Vince (March 27, 2018). "Cleveland SC And FC Columbus To Compete In Preseason Series". NEO Sports Insiders. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  20. ^ @SoccerCLE (May 10, 2019). "#CheeseBarnDerby whose ready?!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Crea, Joe (March 9, 2016). "Grandpa's Cheese Barn opens new location closer to Cleveland". The Plain Dealer. Advance Publications. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  22. ^ "FC Columbus and Cleveland SC brave rain in second leg of debut series". National Premier Soccer League. April 17, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  23. ^ @SoccerCLE (March 22, 2022). "Here is our complete U.S. @opencup roster if you missed our player announcements the past few days. Come out to George Finnie Stadium this evening and join us in supporting the players. #WeAreCLE..." (Tweet). Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Forest City FC becomes eighth team in NOSL". www.noslsoccer.com. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  25. ^ "A message from Kenneth Farrell, NPSL Chairman of the Board". NPSL.com. National Premier Soccer League. March 26, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  26. ^ Carlisle, Jeff (August 17, 2020). "U.S. Open Cup cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Retrieved May 8, 2021.


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