Jacksonville Armada U-23

Last updated
Jacksonville Armada U-23
Jacksonville Armada U-23.png
Full nameJacksonville Armada U-23
Founded2010;15 years ago (2010)
Ground Southern Oak Stadium
Capacity1,000
Head Coach Tommy Križanović
League National Premier Soccer League
Website http://www.armadafc.com
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Jacksonville Armada U-23 are an American soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, and are part of the development system of the Jacksonville Armada FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL). They started play in 2016, replacing Jacksonville United FC in the NPSL. The team currently plays its home games at Southern Oak Stadium on the campus of Jacksonville University.

Contents

As Jacksonville United FC, the club won the NPSL Championship in its first year in the 2011 season.

History

Jacksonville United FC was founded in 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida, and began play in the 2011 season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), considered at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team was owned by Barry Dixon. While the team started their first season with four straight losses, they finished the season on an 8-game winning streak through the playoffs, finally defeating the Hollywood United Hitmen to claim the NPSL Championship with a 3–2 victory on July 30, 2011, in Madison, Alabama. Tommy Krizanovic was named Jacksonville's MVP, scoring a hat-trick in the final. [1]

In 2016, Jacksonville Armada FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL) announced they would establish an under 23 team to compete in the NPSL as part of the club's development system. Jacksonville Armada U-23 replaced Jacksonville United in the league for the 2016 NPSL season. The Armada retained head coach Pat Cannon. [2]

Following the 2017 NASL season, the league was denied Division II sanctioning by the United States Soccer Federation and canceled its 2018 season while legal proceedings played out. [3] During this time, many NASL teams fielded teams in the NPSL including the Jacksonville Armada. [4] The main team took part in league play with a mix professional and amateur players while the U-23 side went on hiatus for the season.

For the 2019 NPSL season Armada U-23 returned to the league and announced Aaron Pitchkolan as the new head coach. [5] The team reached the playoffs for the first time since 2014 but fell in the conference semifinals to eventual national champions Miami FC.

In late 2019 the club announced it would be a founding member of the NPSL's new Gulf Coast Conference, joining teams from the Gulf Coast Premier League and a returning New Orleans Jesters for the 2020 season. [6]

On April 5, former Armada player Tommy Križanović returned to the organization as the team's third-ever head coach. [7]

Coaching Staff

Current Technical Staff

RoleName
Head coach Flag of Croatia.svg Tommy Križanović
Assistant coach Flag of England.svg Jack Burns
ManagerFlag placeholder.svg Richard Santos

Head Coaches

NameNationalityTenure
Pat Cannon Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2011–17
Aaron Pitchkolan Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2019
Pat Cannon Flag of the United States.svg  United States 2020
Tommy Križanović Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 2021-

Results

Year-by-year

SeasonLeagueDiv.Pos.Pl.WDLGFGAGDPts.
2011 NPSL Southeast 1st106041612+418
2012 NPSL South-Southeast-East 4th103252123-211
2013 NPSL Sunshine 1st8620207+1320
2014 NPSL Sunshine 2nd10622147+720
2015 NPSL Sunshine 4th103521014-411
2016 NPSL Sunshine 2nd105232613+1318
2017 NPSL Sunshine 3rd126423117+1420
2018 On Hiatus
2019 NPSL Sunshine 4th103611332-1910
2020 Cancelled
2021 NPSL Gulf Coast Conference 1st1412023712+2536

Honors

References

  1. ↑ "Krizanovic Leads JUFC to NPSL Championship". NationalPremierSoccerLeague.com. July 30, 2011. Archived from the original on August 27, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Armada FC announce launch of U-23 team". www.news4jax.com. WJXT. February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  3. ↑ "North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation Of 2018 Season". www.nasl.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  4. ↑ "Statement from Armada FC Owner Robert Palmer". www.jacksonvillearmada.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  5. ↑ "Armada FC to Field U-23 Team in 2019 NPSL Season". www.jacksonvillearmada.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-20. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  6. ↑ "JACKSONVILLE ARMADA U-23 JOINS NEW NPSL GULF COAST CONFERENCE". Jacksonville Armada. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. ↑ "U-23 Coaching Announcement". www.jacksonvillearmada.com. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "Jacksonville United 2011 NPSL National Champions". 2 April 2018.
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