Full name | Oklahoma City Energy Football Club | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Founded | July 2, 2013 | |||
Stadium | Taft Stadium Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | |||
Capacity | 7,500 | |||
Owner | Prodigal LLC | |||
President | Bob Funk, Jr. | |||
Head coach | Vacant | |||
League | USL Championship | |||
Website | Club website | |||
Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. Although having not officially ceased operations, the club is not fielding a roster and has relieved head coach Leigh Veidman, having canceled their 2022 and 2023 seasons. The club cites inability to meet league requirements for field conditions.
Oklahoma City businessman Robert "Bob" Funk, Jr., was awarded a United Soccer League franchise on July 2, 2013, and in November, the club announced its name would be Oklahoma City Energy FC. The ownership group, Prodigal LLC, formerly Express sports, which operated the Oklahoma City Barons of the American Hockey League and formerly oversaw the Oklahoma City Dodgers (formerly Oklahoma/Oklahoma City Redhawks.) baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the owned Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League. [1] Recently retired Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen was named Energy FC head coach for the inaugural season. Tim McLaughlin, founder of Fields & Futures, joined the club as an ownership partner prior to the start of the 2014 season. Energy FC won their first match away to Orange County Blues FC on April 5 and played their first home match against Orlando City SC on April 26 at Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School's Pribil Stadium. The season ended with a 10th place finish – four points short of a playoff spot and averaging 3,702 in attendance for home matches. The club moved to the newly-renovated Taft Stadium for the 2015 season and finished second in the Western Conference, making the playoffs for the first time. Energy FC advanced to the Western Conference Final, where they lost to LA Galaxy II.
For the inaugural (2014) season only, all games were broadcast on KXXY-FM radio with former Oklahoma sports personality Jack Damrill. For the 2016 and 2017 season Energy FC games were on local television on KSBI on Cox Cable Oklahoma channel 7 and simulcasted on Cox digital HD channels 707. Currently the Oklahoma City Energy FC has no radio or television deal in place.
In 2016, the team finished 7th in the Western Conference and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals. Energy FC also advanced to the fourth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after defeating cross-town rival Rayo OKC 2–1 in extra time. That year also saw Energy FC host Club Deportivo Guadalajara in a friendly match played in front of 6,687 fans at Taft Stadium. Energy FC made the playoffs for a third consecutive season in 2017 after finishing 6th in the Western Conference. Back-to-back road wins earned the team a berth in the Conference Final for the second time in three years. Energy FC lost the match to Swope Park Rangers in a penalty shootout that saw both sides attempting 10 shots each, with the deciding goals coming down to each teams' goalkeepers. That year also saw the club host another international friendly, against 2017 Champions League winners CF Pachuca.
Prior to the 2018 season, Steve Cooke was named head coach of the club, a year after serving as interim head coach at MLS side Colorado Rapids. Energy FC narrowly missed the USL Playoffs competing for a spot until the final month of the season. Cooke was succeeded by John Pascarella in 2019. On June 4, 2021, following a winless start to the 2021 USL Championship season, Pascarella and the OKC Energy mutually agreed to part ways. [2]
Although having not officially ceased operations, the club is currently not fielding a roster and has relieved head coach Leigh Veidman, [3] having canceled their 2022 and 2023 seasons. The club cites inability to meet league requirements for field conditions. [4]
For the 2014 season, home games began being played at Pribil Stadium on the campus of Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School and introduced their team kits and logo. [5] [6] [7] In 2015, the club moved to Historic Taft Stadium following extensive renovations made to that facility. [8]
On December 10, 2019, Oklahoma City voters approved MAPS 4, a sales tax extension planned to fund 16 major projects over 8 years. MAPS 4 allocates $37 million towards the construction of a multipurpose stadium that would serve as the new home field for the Energy. [9] As of October 2021, the city government is working to determine a final site and design for the stadium. [10]
OKC Energy have five recognized supporters groups: The Grid, [11] La Furia Verde, OKC Breakers, Northend United, and Main St. Greens. [12]
OKC Energy's main rivals are FC Tulsa, with both teams being located in Oklahoma. The teams compete in the Black Gold Derby. The supporters group of both teams established a trophy, a 4-foot wrench painted with the colors of each team on either side, which is awarded to the regular season winner of the derby. [13] OKC lead the series against Tulsa in all competitions with a record of 10–8–5 (W-D-L). OKC have secured the wrench four years out of the seven that the rivalry has been in existence, in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.
The club was formally associated with FC Dallas of Major League Soccer from 2015 through 2018. [14] [15] They were affiliated with Sporting Kansas City from 2014 through 2015. [16]
Local, family-owned First Fidelity Bank became the inaugural jersey sponsor in 2014. [17]
Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|
2014–2016 | Admiral | First Fidelity Bank |
2017–2019 | Under Armour | |
2020–present | Adidas | |
Year | Division | League | Regular season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Avg. attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | 3 | USL Pro | 10th | Did not qualify | Third round | 3,784 |
2015 | 3 | USL | 2nd, Western | Conference finals | Fourth round | 4,635 |
2016 | 3 | USL | 7th, Western | Conference semifinals | Fourth round | 4,950 |
2017 | 2 | USL | 6th, Western | Conference finals | Fourth round | 4,293 |
2018 | 2 | USL | 10th, Western | Did not qualify | Second round | 4,298 |
2019 | 2 | USLC | 15th, Western | Did not qualify | Fourth round | 4,442 |
2020 | 2 | USLC | 17th, Western 5th, Group D | Did not qualify | Cancelled | N/A |
2021 | 2 | USLC | 5th, Atlantic Division | Did not qualify | Cancelled | N/A |
2022 | Did not play [18] | |||||
2023 |
Coach | Nationality | Start | End | Games | Win | Draw | Loss | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jimmy Nielsen | Denmark | December 20, 2013 | November 16, 2017 | 136 | 54 | 38 | 44 | 39.71 |
Steve Cooke | England | December 20, 2017 | October 22, 2019 | 72 | 23 | 18 | 31 | 31.94 |
John Pascarella | United States | November 22, 2019 | June 4, 2021 | 23 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 4.35 |
Leigh Veidman | England | June 4, 2021 | January 30, 2023 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 32.00 |
Total | 256 | 86 | 76 | 94 | 33.59 |
# | Name | Career | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Danni König | 2015–2017 | 27 |
2 | Alex Dixon | 2017–2018 | 20 |
3 | Kyle Greig | 2014–2015 | 19 |
4 | Deshorn Brown | 2018–2019 | 17 |
5 | Michael Thomas | 2014–2016 | 12 |
Villyan Bijev | 2021 | 12 | |
7 | Wojciech Wojcik | 2016–2017 | 11 |
José Angulo | 2017–2018 | 11 | |
Miguel González | 2017–2018 | 11 | |
10 | Sebastian Dalgaard | 2015–2016 | 9 |
Christian Volesky | 2018 | 9 |
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the league. The club was founded in 1995 as the Dallas Burn before adopting its current name in 2004.
Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. They were formerly known as the Swope Park Rangers. The club is headquartered alongside Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
Taft Stadium is a WPA-built stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is the current home to teams from Northwest Classen High School, John Marshall High School, Classen School of Advanced Studies, Oklahoma Centennial High School, as well as a professional soccer team, Oklahoma City Energy FC. Built in 1934, the stadium closed in 2013 and reopened in 2015 following substantial renovation. As part of the renovation the seating capacity was reduced from approximately 18,000 to approximately 7,500, with the red-stone facade being the only feature left unaltered. A new all-weather track replaced a dirt track which was installed in 1946.
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began play in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation as a Division II league since 2017, placing it under Major League Soccer in the hierarchy. The USL is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
Hugh Alexander Dixon is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger for USL Championship club Monterey Bay FC.
Oklahoma City FC was a men's soccer team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). Founded in 2013, the team played in the USL Premier Development League in their first year before shifting to the NPSL. The organization also runs the Oklahoma City FC women's team in the Women's Premier Soccer League and the proposed Oklahoma City FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The team folded in 2014.
The 2014 Orlando City SC season was the club's fourth season of existence in Orlando, and their final season playing in the lower divisions. A Major League Soccer expansion franchise with the same name began play in 2015. The team entered the season as the defending USL Pro champions, beating Charlotte Eagles in the Championship Game after finishing second in the regular season.
LA Galaxy II is an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, United States founded in 2014. It is the reserve team of the LA Galaxy. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league system, having previously played in the USL Championship.
The 2014 Sacramento Republic FC season was the club's inaugural season of existence. The club played in USL Pro, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The season began March 29 and concluded on September 6. The Republic won the USL Pro Championship, defeating the Harrisburg City Islanders 2–0.
Oklahoma City is home to several professional sports teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder is the city's second "permanent" major professional sports franchise after the now-defunct AFL Oklahoma Wranglers and is the third major-league team to call the city home when considering the temporary hosting of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 NBA seasons.
The 2016 USL season was the sixth season of the United Soccer League and the twenty-second season of USSF sanctioned Division III play organized by the United Soccer Leagues.
The 2016 Oklahoma City Energy FC season was the club's third season in existence, and their third season playing in the United Soccer League (USL), the third tier of the American soccer pyramid.
Sebastien Uchechukwu Ibeagha is a professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club FC Dallas. Born in Nigeria, he represented the United States national under-20 team.
The Black Gold Derby is an American soccer rivalry between the two USL Championship (USLC) clubs based in Oklahoma: OKC Energy FC and FC Tulsa. The winner of the regular season series is awarded a four-foot wrench.
Emmanuel "Ema" Twumasi is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays for Major League Soccer club FC Dallas.
Texas United is an American soccer club that currently competes in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at the John Clark Stadium.
John Pascarella is an American soccer coach who is currently on the staff of Forward Madison FC in USL League One.
The 2021 Louisville City FC season was the club's seventh season of competition. City competed in the USL Championship, the second tier of soccer in the United States.
The 2021 OKC Energy FC season was the club's eighth and final season of existence, and their eight consecutive season in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The season covers the period from October 3, 2020, to the beginning of the 2022 USLC season. The 2021 season was the second for OKC coach John Pascarella. On June 4, 2021, following a winless start to the 2021 USL Championship season, Pascarella and the OKC Energy mutually agreed to part ways.
Leigh Veidman is an English professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of USL League One club Spokane Velocity.
USL PRO expansion team OKC Energy FC has landed First Fidelity Bank as a founding partner and jersey sponsor for its inaugural season.