Lorain County Leviathan FC

Last updated

Lorain County Leviathan FC
Lorain County Leviathan FC crest.png
Founded2025(0 years ago) (2025)
Stadium
CoachBlake New
League USL League Two
Website loraincountyleviathanfc.com

Lorain County Leviathan FC is a semi-professional men's soccer club based in Lorain County, Ohio. Led by an ownership group headed by Andrew McDonnell with the infrastructure ran by the staff of the Lake Erie Crushers MLB Partner League baseball of the Frontier League, the team was founded in 2025. It is set to begin play in 2026 as a member of USL League Two, an amateur league in the United States soccer league system, and home games will be played at ForeFront Field in Avon, sharing a home with the aforementioned Crushers.

Contents

History

On August 23, 2025, it was reported that North Ridgeville resident Andrew McDonnell (an ownership partner in Akron City FC) was heading up an ownership group that was in talks to start a USL League Two franchise for Lorain County to begin playing at the then-Crushers Stadium for the 2026 season. [1] , with an agreement reportedly being reached two days later. [2]

On November 12, 2025, USL League Two officially announced the new Lorain County team would be joining the league for the 2026 season as part of its Great Forest Division and play its home games at the now-ForeFront Field. [3] [4] On November 24, 2025, Oberlin College men's soccer head coach Blake New was announced as the new team's inaugural head coach. [5]

A name-the-team contest was held between four finalists (with crests readily made for each option), those finalists being Lorain County Blast FC, Lorain County FC, Lorain County Leviathan FC and Lorain County Quarrymen FC. Fan voting was held until December 1, [6] with the Leviathan name and crest announced as the winner on December 9. [7] [8]

Stadium

The club plays their home matches at ForeFront Field, a 5,000-seat stadium in Avon with an artificial turf surface which opened in 2009. In addition to Leviathan FC, ForeFront Field is home of the Lake Erie Crushers independent baseball team in the Frontier League, an MLB Partner League.

Club culture

Colors and crest

The team's colors are dark blue, light blue, teal (in two shades) and yellow. Though the name was inspired by the Great Lakes' various sea monsters (including Bessie, the Lake Erie monster which is also the namesake of the Cleveland Monsters hockey team), the mascot is an original leviathan character named Jack Nolan. [9]


References

  1. ↑ Guerrieri, Vince (August 23, 2025). "Professional soccer team planned for Lorain County". The Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  2. ↑ Ross, Catherine (August 25, 2025). "Pro soccer coming to Lake Erie Crushers stadium". WEWS-TV .
  3. ↑ "New Lorain County club to join USL League Two in 2026". USLLeagueTwo.com Staff.
  4. ↑ Bona, Marc (November 12, 2025). "NE Ohio lands soccer team to start play in 2026". The Plain Dealer . Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Head Coach Blake New Tabbed to Lead New Lorain County USL2 Soccer Team". Oberlin College . November 24, 2025. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  6. ↑ Editorial Board (November 15, 2025). "Right play to let residents choose name of soccer team". The Morning Journal . Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  7. ↑ Wicinski, Clara (December 12, 2025). "Lorain County FC launches new name, branding and merchandise". The Morning Journal. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  8. ↑ Cook, Glenn (December 15, 2025). "Lorain County Leviathan FC Rises from the Depths to Join USL League Two". SportsLogos.net . Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ Guerrieri, Vince (December 9, 2025). "Lorain County soccer team to be Leviathan". The Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
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