Grand Rapids FC
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| Full name | Grand Rapids Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blues, GRFC | ||
| Founded | 2014 | ||
| Ground |
Houseman Field Grand Rapids, MI | ||
| Capacity | 8,000 | ||
| Owners | Matt Roberts, Chris Deiss | ||
| Manager | George Moni | ||
| League | National Premier Soccer League | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Grand Rapids FC is an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan whose senior men's team plays in the National Premier Soccer League. The team was founded in 2014 and its first season is in 2015. It is funded by a group of supporters who purchase memberships to cover the operating expenses, as well as by local sponsors.[1]
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 successful 2015 season where GRFC finished the season 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] More details of the women's team, including their home field, are yet to be announced.
Stadium
Houseman Field in the Midtown neighborhood of Grand Rapids is the club's home field.[7] Initially, only the south side of the stadium was opened for spectators, but on July 17, 2015 the latest record attendance forced the club to move some spectators at half-time. For the final home match on July 31, spectators were admitted to the north side right away to accommodate the expected record crowd.
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)
Current Roster
[8] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Head Coaches
-
George Moni (2015–present)
Honors
- National Premier Soccer League
- Midwest Region - Great Lakes West Conference Regular Season Champions (1): 2016
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 |
- ^ A No playoffs were held in the inaugural season of the Great Lakes Premier League.
- ^ B To enter the U.S. Open Cup, a team must have belonged to an affiliated league with at least 4 teams that played a schedule of at least 10 games.[9]
Current Season
2016 NPSL Great Lakes West Conference Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Rapids FC (C, Q) | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 11 | +10 | 25 | 2016 NPSL Midwest Region playoffs |
| 2 | AFC Ann Arbor (Q) | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 21 | |
| 3 | Michigan Stars FC | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 19 | |
| 4 | Lansing United | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 14 | +2 | 16 | |
| 5 | Detroit City FC | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 16 | |
| 6 | Kalamazoo FC | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 15 | −3 | 14 | |
| 7 | Dayton Dynamo | 12 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 27 | −19 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head to head; 3) goal differential in head to head results; 4) wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) fewest losses; 7) coin toss
(C) Champion; (Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Historic Record vs Opponents
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| 0-0-0 | Win-Loss-Draw |
| 0-0 | Win-Loss |
| * | No games played |
| Opponent | League | Playoffs | U.S. Open | Played | Total | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 AFC Ann Arbor |
2-1-1 | * | * | 4 | 2-1-1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | .625 |
 AFC Cleveland |
* | 0-0-1 (0-1 PKs) | * | 1 | 0-0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
 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 | 1.00 |
| Detroit City FC |
1-0-1 | * | * | 2 | 1-0-1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | .750 |
 Indy Eleven NPSL |
* | 1-0 | * | 1 | 1-0-0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 1.00 |
| Kalamazoo FC |
1-0-1 | * | * | 2 | 1-0-1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | .750 |
| Lansing United |
1-0-1 | * | * | 2 | 1-0-1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | .750 |
| Michigan Stars FC |
1-0-1 | * | * | 2 | 1-0-1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | .750 |
| 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 |
| Total | 10-4-6 | 1-0-1 (0-1 PKs) | * | 22 | 11-4-7 | 36 | 21 | +15 | .659 |
- Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
- Updated to end of 2016 season
Player Records
Goals
| Rank | Player | Goals | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Noble Sullivan |
6 | 2015-2016 |
| 2 |  Scott Doney |
4 | 2016 |
| Tyler Fischer |
2015-2016 | ||
| 4 |  Domenic Barone |
3 | 2015-2016 |
| Joe Broekhuizen |
2016 | ||
 Elmedin Zukic |
2015-2016 | ||
| 7 | Nick Abdoo |
2 | 2015-2016 |
| Peter Brown |
2016 | ||
 Lito Esquivel |
2015-2016 | ||
| Jared Timmer |
2016 |
Appearances
| Rank | Player | Apps | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyler Fischer |
22 | 2015-2016 |
| Nick Abdoo |
2015-2016 | ||
| 3 | Noble Sullivan |
19 | 2015-2016 |
 Tony Deakin |
2015-2016 | ||
| 5 | Lito Esquivel |
17 | 2015-2016 |
| 6 | Noah Fazekas |
14 | 2016 |
| 7 | Mark Barone |
13 | 2015-2016 |
| Greg Timmer |
2016 | ||
| Joe Sweet |
2015-2016 | ||
| 10 | Scott Doney |
12 | 2016 |
Updated to end of 2016 season.
Note: These statistics are for competitive matches and do not include friendlies.
Reference: [10]
Club Culture
Supporters
The Grand Army is the supporters group for Grand Rapids FC. Starting in 2015, all pre-game festivities were held at Bob's Bar and a march led through the Midtown neighborhood. In June 2015 a fanzine entitled "What if it Rains" started publication. 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
- ↑ "A Soccer Club in Grand Rapids?". Retrieved August 10, 2014.
- ↑ http://www.grbj.com/articles/79703-many-pitch-in-for-hometown-soccer-franchise
- ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/news/meet-grand-rapids-fc-americas-134029221--mls.html
- ↑ http://www.mlive.com/sports/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/12/npsl_denies_ann_arbor_semi-pro.html#incart_related_stories
- ↑ http://grandrapidsfc.com/grand-rapids-football-club-joins-the-npsl/
- ↑ "Grand Rapids FC launches women's team for 2017 season".
- ↑ http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2014/07/houseman_field_agrees_to_becom.html
- ↑ http://grandrapidsfc.com/team/grand-rapids-fc/
- ↑ "How do you enter the 2016 US Open Cup?".
- ↑ What If It Rains - All Time Stats
External links
| Overview | |||||||||||
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| Men's national teams | |||||||||||
| Men's outdoor leagues |
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| Men's futsal leagues | |||||||||||
| Cup competitions | |||||||||||
| Men's college soccer |
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| Women's national teams | |||||||||||
| Women's leagues | |||||||||||
| Women's college soccer |
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| Defunct men's outdoor leagues |
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| Defunct men's indoor leagues | |||||||||||
| Defunct women's leagues | |||||||||||
Sports teams based in Michigan | ||
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| Baseball | | |
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| Football |
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| Hockey |
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| Roller derby | ||
| Soccer |
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| NCAA Division I | ||
| NCAA Division II | ||