Annapolis Blues FC

Last updated
Annapolis Blues FC
Annapolis Blues FC Logo.png
Full nameAnnapolis Blues Football Club
FoundedJune 2022;2 years ago (June 2022)
Stadium Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, Maryland
Capacity34,000
OwnersMichael Hitchcock
Kyle Beckerman
Alex Yi
Head coachColin Herriot
League National Premier Soccer League
2023 Regional Semifinal
Website Club website
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Annapolis Blues FC is an American soccer club. It currently competes in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of the National Premier Soccer League, considered the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system.

Contents

The team's home field is the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

History

In June 2022, the National Premier Soccer League announced a new expansion team would be placed in Annapolis for the 2023 season. [1] The ownership effort was led by former DC United front office member Michael Hitchcock, former United States men's national soccer team player Kyle Beckerman, and former FC Dallas player Alex Yi. [2] The latter two are Maryland locals while Hitchcock owns multiple NPSL teams including Appalachian FC and 2021 national champion Denton Diablos FC. During the summer the team held an online poll where fans could choose between four potential team names and crests; Annapolis Blues FC, Annapolis Kraken SC, Annapolis Seawolves SC, and Annapolis Yard FC. The name Annapolis Blues FC was announced on August 16 after over 1,200 votes had been cast. [3] It was also announced around this time that the team would play its home games at the Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. [4]

The Blues announced Colin Herriot as the team's first head coach on December 13. [5]

The team's first game was a pre-season friendly against Philadelphia Union Development Squad on Wednesday, May 10 at Memorial Stadium. The Community Shield match saw 3,915 fans and raised money to support local charity Rebuilding Together Anne Arundel County. [6] Following three away games to start the season, Annapolis played its first regular season home game on Saturday, June 3 against FC Frederick and set an NPSL attendance record with 8,368 fans. [7] [8] The Blues won the match, 4–2. The next home match against Virginia Beach City FC drew 7,665 attendees. [9] The following month they broke the conference championship record again as a crowd of 8,480 watched the Blues defeat the Alexandria Reds in the conference final. [10]

Attendance

Home Attendance
SeasonRegular Season TotalRegular Season AveragePlayoffs TotalPlayoffs AverageHighestCombined TotalCombined AverageRef.
2023 38,7707,75415,5627,7818,48054,3327,762 [10] [11] [12]

Players & staff

Coaches

Front office

Current squad

As of 24 June 2023 [13] [14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Aidan Abril
— GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Owen Allegro
— FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Gordon Bernlohr
— FW Flag of Japan.svg  JPN Toshi Davis
— MF Flag of Argentina.svg  ARG Matias de Jesus
— DF Flag of Brazil.svg  BRA Elton De Oliveira Santos
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Luke Dunne
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Luke Eberle
— DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Liam Giblin
— FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Eric Gwadz
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Justin Harris
— GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Griffin Hemmendinger
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Miles Lam
— DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA James Lee
— DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Brian Lenzer
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Morgan Lussi
No.Pos.NationPlayer
— DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Nathan Macek
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Myles Mansfield
— MF Flag of South Africa.svg  RSA Jade Mesias
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Francis Meyer
— GK Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Lucas Muller
— FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Jacob Murrell
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Leo Palomo
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Evan Rabush
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Jackson Ruckman
— FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Manuel Ruiz
— FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Andrew Schug
— GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Connor Smith
— DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Laurence Smith
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA TJ Walker
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Ethan Wright
— MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Webb Kosich

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Flash</span> Soccer club

San Diego Flash was an American soccer team based in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1998, the team returned to competitive play in 2011 and most recently played in the Southern Conference of the West Division of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. For the 2001 season the team was known as San Diego F.C..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium</span> Stadium of the US Naval Academy

Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium is an open-air stadium located off the campus of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Opened in 1959, it serves as the home stadium of the Navy Midshipmen college football and lacrosse teams, and was the home of the Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse. The stadium is also the host of the Military Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Bays</span> Soccer club

The Baltimore Bays were a professional soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1967 as one of the ten charter members of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). When the NPSL and the rival United Soccer Association (USA) merged in 1968 to form the North American Soccer League (NASL), the team moved to the new league. The Bays played its home matches at Memorial Stadium during its first two seasons and moved to Kirk Field, a high school football stadium, in 1969. The team folded at the conclusion of the 1969 NASL season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Premier Soccer League</span> Football league

The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. It is the successor of the Men's Premier Soccer League, a regional league originally based in the Western United States, which has now expanded nationwide to encompass teams from 29 states. The league's motto is "A National League with a Regional Focus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chattanooga FC</span> Soccer club

Chattanooga Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 2009, the team is in MLS Next Pro starting in 2024. Prior to joining MLS Next Pro, the club played in the National Independent Soccer Association and the Southeast Division of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miami FC</span> American soccer team

Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit City FC</span> Professional American soccer club

Detroit City FC (DCFC) men’s team is an American professional soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independent Soccer Association in 2020 and 2021. Detroit City plays its home matches at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Motown</span> Soccer club

FC Motown is an American soccer club based in Morristown, New Jersey. Founded in 2012, the team currently fields teams in both the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two. In 2020, the team joined the newly formed Northeast Elite Soccer League (NESL) and formed a U23 team that competed in the EDP 23U league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Armada FC</span> Soccer club

Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were founded in 2013 as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of American soccer, and played until the league folded in 2018. Armada FC then moved to the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, during the 2018 season before going on hiatus. They are set to resume play in MLS Next Pro in 2025.

The 2014 National Premier Soccer League season was the 102nd season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States, and the 12th season of the NPSL. The season began in May 2014. RVA Football Club were the defending champions, having won their first NPSL title the previous season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AFC Ann Arbor</span> Soccer club

AFC Ann Arbor is an American soccer club based in Ann Arbor, Michigan with a men's team that has played in USL League Two since 2020 and a women's team that has played in USL W League since 2020. The men's team played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2016 to 2019, and the women's team played in the United Women's Soccer during its inaugural 2019 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Wichita</span> Soccer club

FC Wichita is a soccer club based in Wichita, Kansas that plays in USL League Two's Heartland Conference. The club was a member of the Heartland Conference in the National Premier Soccer League, a national semi-professional league at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, up until the end of the 2019 season.

Soccer has enjoyed longstanding popularity in Los Angeles. As of 2023, Los Angeles County has three top-level professional teams. The LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC play in Major League Soccer, and Angel City FC plays in the National Women's Soccer League. The Greater Los Angeles area is also home to one 2nd division professional team, Orange County SC, of the USL Championship, and four 3rd division professional teams, LAFC2 and LA Galaxy II, of MLS Next Pro, and Los Angeles Force and California United Strikers FC of the National Independent Soccer Association. There are also many semi-professional clubs and leagues including the United Premier Soccer League, SoCal Premier League and National Premier Soccer League, among others. In 2019, two more professional teams, Cal FC and California United Strikers FC joined a new, unsanctioned, professional league called the NPSL Founders Cup They both later left, with Cal FC joining the United Premier Soccer League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic City FC</span> Soccer club

Atlantic City Football Club (ACFC) is an American soccer team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 2017, the team plays in the NPSL. The Club is headquartered inside Tilton Fitness Atlantic City at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino The team uses Stockton University's Soccer Stadium in Galloway for home matches. The team's colors are purple, black and white.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland SC</span> Soccer club

Cleveland SC is an American semi-professional soccer club based in the Greater Cleveland, Ohio region. Cleveland competes in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) as part of the Midwest Region's Great Lakes Conference. The club was established on February 19, 2018, taking over from the recently defunct AFC Cleveland as the city's representative in the NPSL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakland Roots SC</span> American professional soccer team

Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, the club joined the second division USL Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Bobcats FC</span> Soccer club

Maryland Bobcats FC, formerly World Class Premier Elite (WCPE), are an American soccer team and academy based in Montgomery County, Maryland, which was founded in 2016. The organization's professional team competes within the National Independent Soccer Association in the third division of U.S. Soccer. The Bobcats also field teams in both the Maryland Super Soccer League and Eastern Premier Soccer League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne FC</span> Association football team

Fort Wayne Football Club is a pre-professional soccer club in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States. The club currently competes in the Valley Division of the USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. Fort Wayne FC played home games in its first two seasons at Shields Field Stadium at Bishop Dwenger High School. On January 10, 2023, the club announced it would play home games in the 2023 and 2024 seasons at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium on the campus of the University of Saint Francis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian FC</span> Semi-professional soccer team in Boone, North Carolina

Appalachian Football Club is an American soccer team based in Boone, North Carolina, that currently plays in the National Premier Soccer League, on the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The team plays its home games at the ASU Soccer Stadium.

The 2023 National Premier Soccer League season is the 21st season of the National Premier Soccer League and part of the 111th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States. It is also the league's 20th anniversary of its founding in 2003.

References

  1. ↑ "The NPSL is Coming to Annapolis, Maryland in 2023". National Premier Soccer League. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Wagner, Bill (6 July 2022). "Major League Soccer great Kyle Beckerman helping to bring amateur franchise to Annapolis". Capital Gazette. Retrieved 24 June 2023.(subscription required)
  3. ↑ Baumgart, Jacob (18 August 2022). "New Semi-Pro Soccer Team Coming To Annapolis Announces Name, Home Field". Annapolis, MD Patch. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "New Annapolis Professional Soccer Team To Play at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2023". Eye On Annapolis. 9 August 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Colin Herriot Makes Blues History As Clubs First Head Coach". Annapolis Blues FC. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "Community Shield Raises Money for Rebuilding Together Before 3,915 Fans". What's Up? Media. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  7. ↑ Wagner, Bill (4 June 2023). "Annapolis Blues FC soccer club sets NPSL attendance record in home opener; 8,368 watch 4-2 win over FC Frederick". Capital Gazette. Retrieved 24 June 2023.(subscription required)
  8. ↑ "Annapolis Blues FC soccer club sets NPSL attendance record in home opener; 8,368 watch 4-2 win over FC Frederick". Annapolis Blues FC. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  9. ↑ Vasudevan, Anish (12 June 2023). "From a record crowd to a signature coffee, Annapolis embraces its new soccer team". The Baltimore Banner. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  10. 1 2 "CROWD OF 8,480 SEES ANNAPOLIS BLUES DEFEAT ALEXANDRIA REDS IN MID-ATLANTIC CONFERENCE FINAL". NPSL. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Annapolis Blues limited to one goal by Alexandria, suffer first loss in regular-season finale". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Peterson, Sam (13 July 2023). "Severna Park grad leads Annapolis Blues to first playoff win, 4-1 over Grove United". Capital Gazette. Retrieved 15 July 2023.(subscription required)
  13. ↑ "Roster". Annapolis Blues FC. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "ANNAPOLIS BLUES FC". annapolisbluesfc.bonzidev.com. National Premier Soccer League. Retrieved 24 June 2023.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.