Western Mass Pioneers

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Western Mass Pioneers
West Mass Pioneers.png
Full nameWestern Mass Pioneers
Nickname(s)Pioneers
Founded1998;26 years ago (1998)
Stadium Lusitano Stadium
Ludlow, Massachusetts
Capacity3,000
Owner Celso Correia
Head Coach Federico Molinari
League USL League Two
2023 2nd, Northeast Division
Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Website Club website

Western Mass Pioneers is an American soccer team based in Ludlow, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

Contents

The team plays its home games at Lusitano Stadium, where they have played since 1998. The team's colors are red, black and white.

History

In August 1997, the USISL announced it had awarded an expansion franchise to Gremio Lusitano, an amateur soccer club based in Ludlow, Massachusetts. The USISL had set a condition for new teams which prohibited ethnic team names which prevented the club from using the name Gremio or Lusitano. Therefore, the region's newspaper, the Springfield Union-News, held a week-long "name the team" contest which resulted in the selection of Pioneers. [1] In October 1997, general manager Rick Andre named Leszek Wrona, who had both played for and coached Gremio Lusitano, as head coach of the Pioneers. [2] In September 1999, the Pioneers expressed an interest in moving up to the A-League after winning the USL D-3 Pro League. [3] However, the team elected to remain in the D-3 Pro League. In 2001, John Voight replaced Wrona has head coach. Wrona would return in 2005, leave in 2007 and return again in 2008. By 2003, the team was fielding ten Junior Pioneer youth teams which competed in the Super Y-League. [4] Through all these years, the team has remained under the ownership of Gremio Lusitano.

On December 22, 2009, following the exodus of teams from the USL to the new North American Soccer League, the Pioneers announced that they would self-relegate, and play in the USL Premier Development League in 2010. [5]

Players

Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Year-by-year

Year Level LeagueReg. SeasonPlayoffs U.S. Open Cup
1998 3 USISL D-3 Pro League 3rd, NortheastDivision Semifinals2nd Round
1999 3 USL D-3 Pro League 1st, NorthernChampiondid not qualify
2000 3USL D-3 Pro League5th, NorthernConference Finalsdid not qualify
2001 3USL D-3 Pro League7th, Northerndid not qualifydid not qualify
2002 3USL D-3 Pro League1st, NorthernQuarterfinalsdid not qualify
2003 3 USL Pro Select League 3rd, Northerndid not qualifydid not qualify
2004 3 USL Pro Soccer League 3rd, Northerndid not qualify2nd Round
2005 3 USL Second Division 1stFinal3rd Round
2006 3USL Second Division6thdid not qualifydid not qualify
2007 3USL Second Division6thdid not qualify2nd Round
2008 3USL Second Division6thQuarterfinals2nd Round
2009 3USL Second Division7thdid not qualify2nd Round
2010 4 USL PDL 6th, Northeastdid not qualifydid not qualify
2011 4USL PDL3rd, Northeastdid not qualify1st Round
2012 4USL PDL3rd, Northeastdid not qualifydid not qualify
2013 4USL PDL4th, Northeastdid not qualifydid not qualify
2014 4USL PDL3rd, Northeastdid not qualify2nd Round
2015 4USL PDL5th, Northeastdid not qualify1st Round
2016 4USL PDL2nd, NortheastDivisional Playoffdid not qualify
2017 4USL PDL3rd, Northeastdid not qualify1st Round
2018 4USL PDL3rd, Northeastdid not qualify1st Round
2019 4 USL League Two 1st, NortheastConference Finaldid not qualify
2020 4Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 4USL League Two1st, NortheastNational Semifinalsdid not qualify
2022 4USL League Two2nd, NortheastConference Semifinals2nd Round
2023 4USL League Two2nd, NortheastConference Quarterfinalsdid not qualify

Honors

Head coaches

Stadia

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References

  1. ↑ Soccer invades WMass Union-News (Springfield, MA) – Tuesday, August 12, 1997
  2. ↑ Wrona will coach Pioneers Union-News (Springfield, MA) – Tuesday, October 14, 1997
  3. ↑ Pioneers explore new route Union-News (Springfield, MA) – Friday, September 17, 1999
  4. ↑ Pioneers notebook – Andre to head soccer operation Union-News (Springfield, MA) – Wednesday, February 19, 2003
  5. ↑ "Pioneers head to PDL in 2010".
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