KC Courage (WPSL)

So let's start off with you. Who are you and how did you get involved with KC Courage?

Before the KC Courage, I coached for 12 years at Johnson County Community College and resigned in the spring of 2013 to spend more time with my older kids as they were nearing the end of their high school years. That summer I had the opportunity to coach the Kansas City Shock, the first WPSL team in Kansas City. That team folded after only one season and I knew it was important to keep a team going so I started my own team, the KC Courage.

Were you ever tempted to spell Courage with a K?

Heavens no, my third grade spelling teacher would be appalled.

How long have the KC Courage been playing and what level of talent have you produced?

The KC Courage was formed in the spring of 2014 and has played in the WPSL for seven seasons. Including my player pool for the Shock in 2013, I’ve coached seven players that have gone on to play professionally. I’ve also had two players go from pro to amateur status to continue their playing careers with the KC Courage.

I think it’s also important to mention ALL of the players that didn’t go on to play professionally but that still play at a high level and have careers in other fields. Our players are nurses, teachers, coaches, police officers, physical and occupational therapists, accountants, managers, probation officers and business owners.

After college, a female player has a couple of choices depending on level of play and commitment that she wants. Most big cities have the option of adult recreational leagues or another option would be an employer based sports league. Both the WPSL and UWS are set apart because they’re well organized by a constitution and by-laws with a set of minimum standards, which results in a very competitive, high level of play.

The KC Courage matched it's best win total in 2019. How can the club build on that for next year?

Our level of play gets better every year and our players have always been our best recruiters. They enjoy their time spent with the KC Courage and tell their friends and teammates. Every year, we get a good bit of interest from internationals, and while we do have some players from outside of the KC area, I tend to favor the local players for filling out our roster. It’s important to me to provide a team for local women to play and continue to get that high level of soccer. Many of our college players attend school out of state. The opportunity for them to play back at home during the summer where their friends and families are, gives us a pretty solid fan base.

How much emphasis does your club put on wins and losses? What are some other priorities?

There was a time in my life that I could spout out every stat and score in the book, but if I’m being honest I’d have to say that I don’t put an emphasis on any of that anymore. I put more of an emphasis on playing pretty soccer than on winning or losing. That’s not to say that I’m okay with losing, but life is about way more than what the scoreboard shows at the end of a game.

“Better than the day before” is my mantra. For our college players prepping for their upcoming seasons, it’s a priority that they improve their game. For our post-college players, it’s a priority that they stay fit, healthy and able to continue playing the game that brings so much joy to their lives.

Inclusion, empowerment and giving back to the community are our top priorities. It’s important to me that every player feel accepted and a part of our soccer family. It’s also important to me that my players feel like they have a voice. Nearly all of my post-college players are coaches at some level and I treat them as equals. I respect the opinions of all of them and even when I don’t agree, they know that at least they were heard and are a part of a culture where all suggestions are welcome. And finally, the KC Courage looks for opportunities to “give back” in the form of free soccer clinics to under-served populations, assistance with college tuition and partnering with like-minded organizations in the Kansas City metro.

Tell us about a player or two.

Impossible. I’d want to tell you about all of them! They’re all strong, independent, empowered women and I’m so proud of each and every one of them.

What club is your biggest rival?

I don’t really see any one club as our biggest rival. Lindsay Kennedy-Eversmeyer, the owner and coach of Fire & Ice, is good friend and it’s always fun to play her team. She’s a fierce competitor and runs her team with class.

How has the protracted offseason been for you, your players, and the club?

For me, it’s been a much needed break – an opportunity to be present and spend time with my family. This is the first summer I’ve had free in seven years.  But, being away from the game has really made me miss it. I’m ready for this pandemic to be over! I know my players have missed playing as well. It’s been hard to see every weekend since the end of May pass by knowing that they should’ve been playing. Hopefully we’ll get through this and come out on the other end with a renewed passion and appreciation for the game.

Any chance of playing matches later in the season?

In 2020, no.  With the resurgence on Covid-19 cases, I just don’t see any scenario for that happening.

Anything else we should know about your club?

Yes, our website is www.kccourage.com and you can follow us on Instagram and Twitter @KCCourageSoccer.

St. Louis Lions (WPSL)

So who are you and how did you get involved with St Louis Lions?

My name is Geoff Lorimier and I am the Head Coach of the team and Director of Coaching for our youth club (TG Lions Academy).  Three years ago I and our General Manager, Kevin Hecht, approached our Club Director (Tony Glavin) about starting a WPSL team.  We have had a men’s team in USL2 since 2006 and we had always been looking to add a women’s team to the club.  We began to do some research on the league and the quality of the teams around us.  We wanted to know if this was something we could start up for our club.  After talking with other coaches in the league about how they operate, and our experience with our men’s team, we thought we had a great opportunity to do something in our area.

What's the history of the club?

Our club started in 1994 as a youth club (TG Lions Academy) to boys and girls from the ages of U8-U19.  One of the goals set forth by our Club Director, Tony Glavin, was to make sure we had a complete player pathway for those players who wanted to seek out a higher level of soccer at the older ages. In 2006 we formed the St. Louis Lions men’s’ team as a part of the PDL (now USL2).  This was a great opportunity for the boys in our club to strive to play at a higher level after the U19 season.  Then in 2018 we formed the St. Louis Lions women’s’ team as a part of the WPSL.  By doing so we were able to have a pathway for the boys and girls in our club.

Last season your club was competitive, but ended up third in a very challenging conference. What lessons did you learn?

We were really happy with our season.  Coming off of the 2018 season, which was our first in the league, we thought we had a better understanding of the competitiveness of the play.  We improved in many statistical categories from year 1 to year 2 and that was a tribute to the hard work of the players during training.  However, we were able to take away things from the season that will help us prepare for others to come.  The main thing that I learned was that the depth of the squad that we put out on the field is very important to the overall success of the team.  The league is set up where we play 8-10 games in about a month in a half.  This can be very challenging due to playing multiple games during a week while still learning the nuances of each player.  Getting the players to adapt to a style of play in that short time frame can be hard for everyone.  Therefore, the depth becomes an issue so that the players can have the rest needed in order to perform at the level that is required for success in the league.

Maddie Brewer plays the ball forward.

You scored a lot of goals, 26 in 10 matches. How would you describe your clubs style of play?

I want to see our players building out of the back, showing comfort and composure on the ball, possession with a purpose through midfield, and players showing creativity and having the ability to take players on in the attacking third of the field. We like to see the ball moving quick with 1-2 touch passes to keep the ball moving to create space for attacking opportunities.  We believe if we move the ball quick then we can take advantage of the space in behind our opponents and not let them organize defensively.

Defensively we like to press high up the field with numbers behind the ball and staying compact through the middle of the pitch. We don’t want to get have many gaps in our lines.  If we lose the ball we want immediate pressure.

These are things that we work on in all of our sessions as we want to try and implement our style of play in a very short time frame.  We have a lot of players coming from other schools who may play a different style and we want to bring them altogether very quickly.

Can you tell us about 1 or 2 of your players?

Hannah Larson – Hannah has played for us both years and would have been preparing for her third season this year had the season not been cancelled.  She just finished her senior year in high school and is committed to St. Louis University for the fall season.  We have seen her growth in the game in the short time she has been with us.  She is an attacking mid player for us, could probably benefit from using her speed to play out wide.  However, she is one of the most dynamic players on the ball in the league.  She scored 3 goals and assisted on 3 others to finish with 9 points in just 8 games.  Hannah is a tough player who doesn’t get knocked off the ball and can play high intensity for 90 minutes.

Maddie Bauer – Maddie had her first season with us last year.  She is a junior at Quincy University.  Maddie plays the #9 (forward) position for us but I have also used her out wide.  She is a strong player who can play with her back to the goal and come to receive the ball to allow for us to get numbers up, but she is also quick on the ball and can take players on.  She was tied for the lead in goals on our team with 6 (Hannah Friedrich also had 6) and she began to really take off and adjust to the league in the back half of the season.  I had spoken to a few other coaches that I wish we had about 4-5 more games because Maddie was really beginning to breakout and adjust.  We are excited to have her back.

These are just two of the players but we really have quality in all of our players.  It is hard to just mention two of them. I could mention Stacie Muehling (defender) who has played in the most games in our, short, franchise history (18). Cristina Rodriguez who came through our youth club all the way to the WPSL team and is our leading scorer in franchise history (7 goals, 5 assists, 19 points).  We have been very fortunate to have two outstanding goalkeepers in Olivia Silverman (who is now my assistant coach) and Mary Niehaus.  So I must say the quality of the players, and the quality of the league, is top notch.

With the extended offseason, how are you keeping in contact with your players and preparing for 2021?

It has been tough especially with restrictions on meeting and training.  I have tried to keep in contact via emails just to continue to check in and see how things are going.  I want to make sure they know that we are here for them beyond the 1-2 month season.  This includes giving them things that they can be working on their own with or just answering their questions that they may have about the game.

As far as preparations for 2021, we will first reach out to those players on the squad who we hope to have back for the season.  Once we have an idea on who is coming back then we can look at the areas that we may need to fill.  I have a pretty good relationship with a number of college coaches and we try to stay in contact with potential players who would benefit from this type of playing environment.  I also try to get out to as many high school and college games that I can to get a look at players who may fit in to our style of play.  This process takes a bit of time, but we really want to make sure that our club can be competitive in the league and represent the league in a positive manner.

Hannah Larson muscles past a defender.

St. Louis is known as a hotbed for soccer talent, what's your focus as a club? Is it talent development, winning the league, growing the brand, or something else entirely?

St. Louis is a very competitive market for the game.  Our roster is typically about 80% local players.  We have some very good players in the area who can play at this level.  That said from our youth club on up, we have always been about individual player development.  Don’t get me wrong, we want to win every time we step on the pitch, however, we don’t want to do it at the expense of the development of each.  Player development is so important to continue to allow each player to succeed in their goals of the game.  It doesn’t matter if it is a youth player just starting in the game or a collegiate player who may be looking to advance into the professional side.  Every player has got to continue to work on the technical side of the game.

I believe that if the player development continues for our team/club then winning the games will happen as well.  We went from winning 2 games (2 wins 2 losses 4 ties) in 2018 to winning 7 games (7 wins 2 losses 1 tie) in 2019.  As the players development within the league improves so will the quality of our results.

Who do you see as your biggest WPSL rivals?

Our biggest rival is the Fire and Ice.  They are about 40 minutes from us in Belleville, Illinois and a lot of our players know each other and have played with each other.  The Fire and Ice have a very competitive squad year after year and they elevate the quality of the play in the league.  They won the National Championship in 2017 and continue to be a tough opponent.  We have fared well with them in our matches as we tied both our matches in 2018 and we went 1-1 with them in 2019.  We were actually the first team to beat them on their home pitch in 7 years.  Before that they had never lost at home.  So that match really elevated our progress within the league.

We also have a decent rivalry with Elite Girls Academy out of Omaha, Nebraska.  They are a very competitive squad who were new to the league last year.  They won our conference and we lost to them at their place and tied them at home.  We enjoy playing them as they have been very competitive matches.

Anything else we should know about your club?

We just want to continue to give these players the opportunity to play/train in a competitive environment that will allow them to continue to focus on their goals in the game.  I think it is important to ensure that the roster maintains a level of high quality players so that each player can benefit from all during training.

That said, I think it is important for our youth players to see what they can do, and the level they have available to them, if they continue to work hard in the game.

SouthStar FC (WPSL)

So let's start off with you. Who are you and how did you get involved with Southstar FC?

My name is John Saeger and I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. I’ve been involved in North Texas soccer for almost 20 years, first as a parent, now as an owner of a few “soccer related” businesses including SouthStar FC.

I experienced my first WPSL season a few years back when a number of players and young coaches played for FC Dallas’ WPSL team. I thought it was great that the women had another vehicle to continue playing (during their college career and beyond). What I also saw was an MLS club not putting in the same resources for the women players as they did for men. That pissed me off! I’m on the board of a local youth club and I reached out to the WPSL to see what it would take to start a WPSL team. I had a few conversations with Sean Jones. I thought about it. What I realized though is in order to get the top talent in the area, I needed to be Switzerland, not affiliated with any of the youth clubs here as they’re UBER competitive against each other. To a fault. I also wanted to have a club that treats their players with the same resources as men’s teams have. They deserve it!

I was still on the fence. I was at the United Soccer Coaches show in Chicago a few years back for my portable soccer field lighting company (SouthStar Systems), and I met with the WPSL folks. I decided then and there I’d start a team for the upcoming season. 2019 was our first year. 

Where are you based out of and how did you come up with the name Southstar?

We are based in Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas. We practice in Dallas and play our HOME games at TCU in Ft. Worth. SouthStar FC came from my business (SouthStar Systems) that sells portable lighting. Soccer clubs are one of my biggest customers for portable soccer field lighting. I have met and work with so many great people from great clubs from all over the world. I’ve learned so much (and continue to do so) from them. I absolutely love what I do! 

Messiah Bright in action for SouthStar FC.

How long have Southstar been playing and what level of talent have you produced?

2019 was our 1st year. I must give all the credit to the coaching staff, Susan (Bush) Quill, Lauren Alkek and Jay Fitzgerald. They had the relationships and were able to attract a lot of talented players. We have some amazing players who will be playing at the next level for sure.

 The club finished second in your conference last year, how do you plan to build on that success?

In 2019, we set a great tone and we’ll build upon that. We’ve heard from quite a few new players who want to come out. We keep in constant contact with the players from a social perspective, follow their collegiate games and try to keep the brand out in front year around. We want to be THE club that these great players from the area want to play for. 

Your conference lies in a very competitive area, that North Texas/Oklahoma border region, what's the level of competition in your conference?

No question, this area has produced some great women players. We play in the Red River Conference – North.  Tulsa and Oklahoma City are always tough. Quite a few of our players play in the Big 12 conference so they all know each other as teammates or the competition. There are no easy games! 

Tell us about a player or two.

Messiah Bright (Forward, TCU) is an absolutely explosive player and she’s only getting better. She was the Freshman of the Year in the Big 12. She can break away at any time and score so you have to pay attention. So fun to watch!

Courtney Sebazco (Midfield, SMU) is tough as nails. Never gives up on the ball, great vision, leads by example. Always impressed by her play. She has the honor of scoring the first goal ever for the club! 

Courtney Sebazco dribbles past a Tulsa opponent.

What are your goals for your club? Do you focus on matches, final record, trophies, player development, social impact, or something else entirely?

My goal(s) for the club are just giving these women an opportunity to play. We’ve added a few goals now as we learn. We want to help them play at the next level, either in the US or abroad. We want to help them transition to coaching or other aspects of the business of soccer if they want.

We are a Not for Profit (501(c)3 and all of our resources go to the players and coaches. They pay for nothing. 

North Texas has been hit pretty hard by the pandemic, how's the health and safety of your players?

We’re fortunate that to date, no player has contracted COVID-19. Health and safety are paramount so we’ve practiced as much caution as we possibly could. We’re helping them get ready for their respective collegiate season by holding small group fitness sessions.

Will the club be playing in 2020? 

No 2020 Season. It’s unfortunate that the 2020 WPSL Season is cancelled but we’ll be doing some things with the players later in the year and getting ready for the 2021 WPSL Season. 

Anything else we should know about the club?

Our long-term goals remain consistent and who knows what might happen. I’m hoping that we can eventually become a Women’s Professional Club, maybe part of the USL or some other league that allows more women the opportunity to play after college. Maybe a men’s side and a youth component.

I’m optimistic in the future of the game. I’m just so fortunate to be in the position I’m in, working with so many great people who all have a passion around this great game.

Savannah Spirit (WPSL)

While we were gearing up for a massive WPSL season preview, we reached out to several clubs, ongoing and brand new, to get a feel for the direction the 2020 season was going to go. Chris Davidovicz head coach of Savannah Spirit, was happy to respond at the first time of asking and provided a few answers for the piece. Unfortunately, a lot has changed since that first contact. However, Chris was kind enough to answer a few more questions when we decided to just make the whole piece a good old-fashioned Spotlight – so now we shed the light on the apparitions and ghosts of the WPSL’s South Regions, Carolina’s Conference, South Division.

Why did you choose to join the WPSL - has your club existed at a lower level or is this the organization's debut into the soccer world?

This is a brand-new club.  The WPSL team is our debut into the soccer world.  There were several elements that influenced the team's entry into the WPSL.  Both owners (DJ Spisso & Josh McIntosh) have children that play youth soccer. DJ has 3 daughters, one of which plays at a pretty good level in our area.  Josh has run a club (Savannah SC) in the area for a couple of years.  They have a passion for youth soccer and love the city of Savannah.  Their vision is to bring a first-class sports organization to Savannah that can engage the community.  They want the team to be a pathway to help young women turn into positive influential leaders.  With DJ having a daughter he wanted to provide an option for her down the road to continue playing the game if she has that as one of her goals.  There was a huge gap in the market in our area when it comes to women's soccer and we want to fill that. 

After doing the research it was evident that the WPSL was the perfect league to join.  The leadership has a great vision for the league and they have shown over the last 3 years their commitment to putting together a first-class league and grow the women's game.  With a strong presence in the south it allows us to create rivalries while helping to keep travel costs low.  

Are there any teams in particular that you're looking forward to playing this season?

Our south division of the Carolinas conference is filled with a great group of teams.  For sure playing last year's division winner, the Charlotte Eagles, is a team we are excited to play.  They set the standard last year and we want to find out how we stack up so we know where we need to go to reach our goals.  Of course, the local derbies with Beaufort FC are going to be matches that we have marked on the calendar.  We are only 30 minutes apart and we have several players that come from the Hilton Head, Bluffton and Beaufort area.

Newcomers Savannah Spirit are looking forward to taking on conference powerhouse Charlotte Eagles (photo: Charlotte Eagles Facebook)

What will success look like in 2020? (Now 2021)

We will measure success several different ways.  Top priority for us is that our players have a great experience, that our team chemistry and culture is strong, and that our players feel prepared for their fall seasons.  We want to be a positive influence in Savannah through multiple community engagement projects.  We want to get to July and have amazing stories about the people that felt loved, cared for and encouraged via their interactions with our club.  Our fan experience and how connected they feel to our group will be something we will pay a lot of attention to. 

We want to give Savannah a team they can be proud of.  Another goal of ours will be to assist our players with moving onto the professional level.  We have several players that have aspirations of taking their career to the NWSL or leagues in Europe.  We want to provide these players with the training and environment to help them grow into a player that a pro team wants.  

For sure we have aspirations of winning.  For us the main talking point with the players will be how we approach each day.  We want to be a unified group, compete to the maximum and do the necessary work every day in training.  We will have ideas of how we want to play.  As a coaching staff we will definitely measure ourselves against our vision and the tactics that we believe will put the team in the best position to win each game.  

All across the lower leagues in the US, for women and men, clubs often either have their own youth organization or are affiliated with one; is this also the case for you? Do you have any plans on working with a youth club to create the adult end of a development funnel?

Right now, we do not have our own youth club or a direct affiliation.  One of our owners (Josh McIntosh) has a small club (Savannah SC - formerly Chatham SC).  Our other owner (David Speeso) has a daughter that plays for Tormenta FC.  I work with the pre-Academy for Tormenta on Hilton Head. 

As we have moved forward with putting the WPSL team together we have gained some momentum and interest from players and parents about starting a new club.  I think this whole virus mess has actually opened the door even more for this.  I don't see how clubs can keep operating on the same model of charging people crazy amounts of money to play soccer.  So, we are looking at how we create a new model and deliver more value to everyone.  I think the starting point for us will be to create a 04 girls’ team and possibly a 07 girls’ team.  Making sure both teams are run extremely well then look to grow from there.  As we develop this, I will keep you updated and will be happy to go on the record to share the vision and what we are doing.  

Supporters help the world go 'round - has anybody in your community fallen in love with what you're putting together and started any sort of fanbase? Some clubs don't even have bleachers or stands for fans to show up and sit in - what's your stadium situation; is there room for fans if they want to show up? 

We are pretty fortunate with our venue set up.  We have an agreement to play at Memorial Stadium in Savannah. www.savannahsportscouncil.com/facilities/memorial-stadium/ Fantastic venue for our fans.  In one of the end zones there is a hospitality room where we plan to host a VIP area.  

We don't have an official fan base yet.  I have connected with one individual thru Twitter that has taken a huge interest in us.  He is keen on being part of our "Ultra" group.  One of the names I have kicked around for our supporters’ group is "Ghost Protocol."  A play on the Spirit name and the ghost stuff in Savannah.  

Before all of the quarantines we had a group of players playing in a 6v6 league in Savannah on Sundays.  The complex hosts a variety of adult leagues all day.  Easily a 1,000+ soccer people out there each Sunday.  Our plan was to tap into this group and work on generating interest among these people that already have a passion for the game. Once the quarantines are lifted, we will be back playing in the league.  We also plan to use the summer 6v6 league for our reserve players to develop the younger players for the future.  

Certainly, the coronavirus has had a deep impact on everybody's schedule - if the WPSL season is scrapped for the health and safety of everyone, will you be able to survive? Will you be back for 2021? Do you have a webstore where people can help out the club? 

If the league is scrapped, we will still get our team together to train and help the girls get ready for their fall seasons.  We are also going to work on reaching out to other WPSL teams as well as NWSL teams to set up exhibition games.  We want to help our players stay active.  We also want to try to develop some brand recognition in our market as we give people a chance to watch a live sporting event and feel normal again.  

For sure we will be forging ahead to be even stronger in 2021. 

We haven't set up any type of fundraising account yet.  We have talked about that idea but have not added that to our program yet.  Fortunately, our owners have done a great job with fundraising for us.  We have a couple of sponsors that got on board early.  

Fire and Ice Academy (WPSL)

The 2020 Women’s Professional Soccer League season is on hold for the time being, but we thought we could take a look back at previous winners to see where they came from and to gauge who’s on track to once again challenge for that top spot. For this week’s Spotlight article, we reached out to 2017 WPSL Champions, Fire & Ice Soccer Academy and their WPSL Head Coach and Academy Club Director, Lindsay Eversmeyer was kind enough answer our questions.

The League was founded over two decades ago - but when was Fire & Ice SC founded and have you been in the WPSL since then?

Fire & Ice was founded in 2013 and we have been in the league ever since.  We have a WPSL all-time record of 53-16-7, 185 Goals For, 65 Against, and 33 Shutouts.  We have won 1 National Championship, 2 Final Four Appearances, 2 Central Region Championships and 3 Conference Championships.  

There are five levels in your development pathway, so clearly fielding a WPSL club is not your primary objective; what is the mission of the organization and has that changed over time?
  

Actually, our academy just started in 2019.  So, the primary mission started as providing college players with a high-level playing environment during their off seasons and for players out of college to continue playing to possibly reach the professional level.  Now that we have expanded to have a youth academy underneath, our mission is to guide and empower young women through soccer while providing a complete pathway.  

They’ve changed their badge since then, but nothing will change the fact that they won it all in 2017.

Having multiple tiers within the club, the younger players have a built-in and clear-cut development funnel; how important is that to young girls - to see that they can have a future in soccer if they want to and that they get to see examples of what their grit and determination gets them?

It is VERY important.  It is the main reason that I started the academy to begin with.  Having myself, alongside former USWNT Captain Lori Chalupny, provides these young girls and women with realistic role models as well as a great sounding board for how to reach the highest level of the game.  

In the league's twenty-plus years there have been a handful of teams who have won multiple titles, and if they weren't winning, they ended up as runners-up; after winning in 2017 do you have what it takes to push for another title?

This league's competitive level continues to grow each year, which is amazing!  With that being said, I think that every year our team has what it takes. We always have talented players.  Sometimes the ball falls our way, and sometimes it doesn't.  That's what makes soccer such a beautiful game.  In 2017, we played teams that on paper looked like they could smash us, and I'm sure those teams felt that way when they saw our roster.  But as the saying goes, "Hard work outdoes talent, when talent doesn't work hard."  So, it really depends on our mentality going into the season, making sure everyone stays healthy, playing with the most heart and making the fewest mistakes on the field! 

WPSL has done an amazing job of preparing student-athletes for their jump to the professional ranks - do you have any players or coaches of note who have been drafted into the NWSL or made it to the next-level internationally?

YES!  We have two players that played for us that went on to play in the NWSL, Tessa Gavilsky (now Florio) played for the Houston Dash, and Rachel Tejada was drafted to the Chicago Red Stars.  We've currently had 6 others go on to play overseas.  Should be a couple more added to that soon, however, they haven't made an announcement yet, so I can't confirm. I've attached the link if you want more information on each of them. 

https://www.fireandicesoccer.com/page/show/4736740-wpsl-to-the-professional-league

One of the most enjoyable parts of soccer is fan support and rivalries, does Fire & Ice have a derby? What about supporters - is there a core group of fans who make an atmosphere of note?

Yes, we have a derby against a team from Missouri called the St. Louis Lions. They came into the league a couple years ago.  We have THE BEST group of soccer fans in St. Louis.  One is called the St. Louligans and the others are the American Outlaws STL Chapter.  They both eat, sleep, and breathe soccer and have done an amazing job of promoting our team since the beginning.  They show up to our games, make noise, and completely support us.  We are very fortunate to have them in our corner.

For more information about Fire & Ice Academy Soccer: https://www.fireandicesoccer.com/home

For more information about the WPSL: https://www.wpslsoccer.com/

Mankato United SC

WPSL seems to be adding new teams every time we blink, we wanted to go back to one of 2019’s addition and play catch up. Mankato, Minnesota, a city of around 40,000 residents, is about two hours south by southwest of Minneapolis and the Soccer Club itself was founded in 1986 to serve the community. Protagonist contacted Mankato United during the WPSL annual conference and they were gracious enough to reply with in-depth answers and a few great photos. Thank you to Rustin Luedtke, MUSC WPSL General Manager for taking the time to reply at such a busy time for the league, and for the club.

Judging by the WPSL website, it looks like 2019 was your first year in the league - was it the first year for your women's squad, or had it played at another level prior? Why was the team founded and how does that fit into the mission of the entire Mankato United Soccer Club mission?

2019 was our first year in the WPSL.  We did not play in another league, and the WPSL was our first entrance into this level of play.  We entered into the WPSL for several reasons.  First, as our club has grown, we wanted to provide an opportunity for our college players to have a place to play and train when they came home on summer break.  Second, having a team at this level gives our younger players a visual representation of what they can aspire towards in the future.  Third, Mankato has really grown as a soccer community and our early suspicions about how the community would embrace us absolutely turned out to be true.  Our WPSL team is 100% an extension of our mission and has greatly rounded out our development continuum.  A next future step for us as a club will be to consider adding a men's team in the upcoming years.

What a season it was too, Mankato Utd. finished top of the Central Region / Northern Conference, having only lost one match only gave up 8 goals all season. Is it just me, or did you miss out on the playoffs despite having beat Salvo 2-1 in your final game of the year?  

It was a great season!  We didn't start out the way that we wanted, but ended up winning 5 games in a row to round out the season.  We expected to be competitive in our first year, but it was really our players that took us to the next level throughout the season.  They had a ton of GRIT and just loved to compete.

Jennifer Vetter had 3 goals and 2 assists, Dakota Wendell had 3 goals and 3 assists, and Annie Williams also bagged 3 goals. Are you expecting you scoring leaders back in 2020? Will we see any changes in formation or philosophy to add more goals to the total?

We will have several of our top scorers back, as well as look to attract additional scoring talent.  Jenny Vetter was an All American this fall season for MSU Mankato and will look to lead our attack, but don't be surprised if you see several other players challenging Jenny for that top scorer position this summer.  In general, we play an attacking style of soccer.  We missed a ton of opportunities last year that I would expect us to put in the back of the net this summer.

Maggie Smither was solid as a rock - had 13 saves, 1.00 GAA, and maybe 4 clean sheets? It looks like she entered the NWSL draft too! Although it doesn't seem like she was taken in the draft, she may be on the radar of an NWSL team. How proud is your organization to have a player in the draft? If she were to go, who do you have waiting to fill in between the posts? 

Maggie is a special player and person.  She helped inspire and lead our team last summer.  We are very hopeful that Maggie is able to continue her dream of playing professionally, whether that is being a developmental player for an NWSL team, or playing internationally.  She will be a positive contributor to any team that she plays on, regardless of where that might be.  To have a player in the NWSL draft has been amazing.  As a first-year program, to be able to attract talent like Maggie Smither or Annie Williams was truly special for us....it is something that we absolutely want to build on!

What are you most looking forward to in 2020? What defines success this Year?  

The summer of 2020 is shaping up to be fantastic.  We have roughly half of our roster at this point, and will be recruiting pretty heavily from now until May.  The thing that I personally am most looking forward to most is the fun that our team has.  It is a special group and we look to do a lot more than play and train during the summer.  We are active in the community, we hang out and visit our sponsors often, and in a very short period of time become a family.  Success will be defined by the players that we continue to attract, the product that we put on the pitch, and the positive experience that we provide for the young ladies that are part of our program for the Summer.  Our soccer goal is obviously to be competitive and win the conference every year, but the Mankato WPSL team is about more than just soccer.  We help our players to find internships, home-stays, lead sessions on mental toughness, and more.  Success for us is the whole package.

For more information about Mankato United SC: https://www.mankatounited.org/

For more information about the WPSL: https://www.wpslsoccer.com/

Vancouver TSS Rovers

While we’ve covered men’s programs here, and women’s programs there, we’ve yet to get a two-for-one in a Spotlight; well, wait no longer. Protagonist has reached out to our Canadian friends in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the TSS Rovers organization to tell us a little bit about both their top women’s and men’s sides. Brendan Quarry, TSS Academy co-owner and Girls’ programs technical director, answered the email and sent in a few photos for us to see what they’re up to, up there.

Tell us about TSS Rovers - what does it stand for? What's your organizational mission? When were you founded and when did you add your top men's and women's teams?

TSS Academy has been around since 1997. We are the most established soccer academy in the province of British Columbia. In addition to providing supplemental training in our indoor soccer facility, we also run a soccer club called TSS FC, which started in 2011. We have girls’ and boys’ teams ranging from U11-U18. As an evolution of TSS FC, we wanted to have a level of adult soccer to which our youth players could aspire. That's what started the TSS Rovers. We purchased a PDL franchise from the Washington Crossfire back in late 2016 and fielded our first Rovers men's team in the spring of 2017. A year later, we decided to do the same on the female side and purchased a WPSL franchise for the spring of 2018.

TSS Rovers Men’s program competes in USL League 2 against some of the most competitive lower divisions sides in the region.

How many of your youth players transition to the top squads? Are you dependent on that development funnel or do you bring in polished men and women players from outside the program to fill out your rosters?

In our first year of the PDL, we weren't able to transition any youth players since our oldest boys’ team at the time was U15. But in our 2019 season, we were able to field 3 of our youth players ranging from 15-16 years old. Obviously, they weren't starting players at that age but they were able to get invaluable experience training with the men's teams and getting some playing time minutes. In fact, our 3 youth players received 450 minutes of playing time last season. In the coming years, we plan to field more and more male players from our youth system as our oldest boys are now at the U18 age.

On the female side, we could field many more players who originated from our youth system since that part of our program has been fielding U18 players for the last 8 years. As a result, our 2019 Rovers WPSL squad had 11 of the 20 players come from our youth system ranging in age from 17 to 25 years old.

Did TSS Rovers see an increase in attendance during this World Cup year? Do you have a group of supporters outside of the natural interest from within the club?

We wish that could have been the case but no, we did not see an increase. There's a real challenge in our soccer community to get people interested in supporting soccer beyond the immediate interests of their own child's participation.

We do have a supporters group called the "Swangardians" in reference to Swangard stadium out of which the Rovers play. These supporters use to attend Whitecaps games when they played out of Swangard stadium before they joined the MLS. When these supporters heard about the Rovers bringing soccer back to the iconic stadium, they came out in support with much fanfare. I've attached a photo of the Swangardians.

The Swangardians, supporters named for the stadium in which they express their support, do show up to boost the Rovers squads

Which league do your men play in and what league do the women play in? Do you put those on par in terms of relative competition? Do both squads get equal travel accommodations?

The Rovers men's team play in USL 2 (formerly PDL). The women play in the WPSL. The WPSL is considered a tier 2 league since the only league above it is the NWSL professional league. USL 2 is considered tier 4 since there is USL League 1, US Championship, and then MLS in that order. That being said, we now have the CPL (Canadian Premier League) which is having its inaugural season. That is the Tier 1 Canadian league so the Rovers men are just below that.

The teams get equal accommodation but the women's league has half the number of games in the playing season so it's more manageable financially.

Have you had any players or coaches move on from TSS Rovers to play in a fully professional organization? Have any coaches taken the reigns elsewhere and manage their own clubs?

Yes, we had 3 players from our Rovers men's squad selected into the CPL, which is a significant achievement. So, in reality, we had some players step directly from USL 2 into the status of professional soccer player. None of our coaches have left the club.

The Rovers’ WPSL side competes at the highest level available, aside from the NWSL, in the region and battles Seattle’s Sounders women as well as Vancouver Whitecaps’ women.

Generally speaking, do clubs have an obligation to job placement or helping players advance to new opportunities? Do TSS Rovers help young players find colleges or trials with professional clubs?

The vast majority of Rovers, both men and women, are either already playing university level soccer or they're graduates of that level. We do a great deal to help our U17-U18 players play at that level. In fact, over 90% of our grade 12 players have been recruited to university level soccer. In terms of professional clubs, our main goal is to push these players to higher levels of the game. We regularly communicate with CPL coaches on the progress of players. In fact, our Rovers coaches attended the CPL combine last year.

For more information about TSS Rovers

For more information about WPSL

For more information about USL League 2

OSA Seattle (WPSL)

Soccer in the US, whether men’s or women’s, is made up by a variety of clubs in so many different leagues that it can make the head spin. While we had previously covered OSA Seattle’s NPSL side, we remembered that their WPSL squad was built a little different than others. From teaming up with local development academies in order to fill out their roster and provide top-level soccer to locals to providing an exchange program to Italian internationals, club President Giuseppe Pezzano of OSA Seattle shows the world that there is more than just one way to build an organization.

---

When OSA Seattle was first set-up in 2013 your women's side were instantly successful and won their conference. Now that the rest of the Pacific Northwest is starting to catch up and several new teams are joining WPSL and the NWPL, have you noticed any impact on the talent and competitiveness?

This is a team that we couldn’t put together again because women’s soccer in Italy has exploded. Our 2013 team was a very strong team made up of talented players, some of whom played on the Italian World Cup team (Guagni and Giacinti).

The WPSL has added so many new teams in our area that the level of the conference has diminished, because the player pool is so even more divided between the teams. For players to have a chance to improve, they have to play at a high level, against other strong players, but the way our conference is now there just isn’t enough of that consistent talent. This was one of the main reasons I choose to merge and partner with Crossfire Premier, to give opportunities to their young talented academy players to play in an adult league and improve.

In the USA both men’s and women’s leagues have other business priority, and they lose the ability and focus to really help the development. I am hopeful that things will eventually change and begin to mirror how soccer is run throughout the rest of the world.

Valentina Giacinti and Alia Guagni, teammates for Italy in the World Cup, were once teammates in Seattle for OSA

Some clubs are directly connected to youth programs, providing an adult end to a development funnel, while some clubs don't have access to players like that and are made up mostly of college women from around the region. Which type are you and do you see a difference in the long-term ability to remain in business?

We do not have a youth program of our own, but have partnered with Crossfire Premier, which has a very strong program, giving us access to players, and giving players opportunities to develop. We also have great connections in Italy and always try to bring some players over to give an on the pitch exchange experience where everyone is learning from each other.

Women's soccer has lacked a sense of stability; leagues come and go. Why have you stuck with the WPSL when the UWS, UPSL Women's League, or even the regional NWPL are options?

We are always looking at the competitive national league landscape to see what's available. The pro league has only 9 teams and a franchise already in the Seattle area, so it’s not an option. The WPSL is just one step below the pro league and it has a lot of teams nationally, so it has been the best option for us so far. The other leagues are regional, so I am not interested.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion surrounding the pyramid, which makes things confusing for players as these leagues are not necessarily good for their development, and fans as they continue to be confused about the proper pyramid structure.

Soccer is not an American made sport like football or baseball there’s an already established structure that should be followed with the other soccer federation.

OSA has teamed-up with Washington development powerhouse XF to provide local players and select internationals the highest-possible level of soccer available, without competing with existing NWSL sides, in the Northwest.

The men have access to the US Open Cup and National Amateur Cup, do you think it’s time for Women's soccer to have an Open Cup as well? If it existed, would OSA Seattle pursue it? What obstacles would the concept of a women's open cup have to overcome?

Yes, I think it would be a good thing to have more games and tournaments and I’d be interested in pursuing it, however, in the past when I proposed more games or tournament ideas to the other local teams, they all declined. Some didn't want to spend the money; another excuse was that adding more games was too complex to work into the schedule. I don’t agree with this mentality, but I have to accept it. (This year with 9 clubs in the conference we play only 8 games)

How important is drawing support? Did the recent World Cup bring anybody out; did you see any interested fans or players from other OSA squads come to the women's matches this year?

Unfortunately, we didn’t see fan base increase but we have seen a lot of interest for my consulting services and the OSA organization as it was integral in the explosion that Italian women’s soccer has seen.

What's the most important aspect to operating a women's team?

Passion and love for this beautiful sport. Soccer is soccer, there’s no women’s or men’s soccer, it’s all soccer!

The OSA XF squad competes in the WPSL, head here for more information.

California Storm

The California Storm are one of the winningest teams in women’s soccer, having won the WPSL three times since they helped found the league back in 1997. Their history goes back even further than that, really, as they were themselves founded in 1995 and began play in the USL W-League when they helped found that league as well. While in the W-League, they went by the Sacramento Storm, and made their way to the National final two out of the three years in their tenure there. When they switched and contributed to the beginning of the WPSL in 1998, they switched their name to California Storm and continued their domination of women’s soccer. We wanted to know more about their past, pedigree, but also of their present, so we reached out to the organization and current owner and head coach, Jamie Howard-Levoy was considerably generous with her time and answered all of our questions.

---

The California Storm have 10 Division titles and 3 WPSL League titles; Tell us more about the organization - when were you founded? Have you always been the California Storm?

The California Storm was founded in 1997 in Sacramento by Jerry Zanelli. Official name is California Storm of Sacramento. I have been with the California Storm since 2010.

Some soccer clubs exist as an adult end to the development funnel, and some squads don't have a connection to a youth program; how is your club built and what's the overriding mission? Developing elite players is the dream of most soccer programs; after the development, how should clubs help players advance their athletic and professional goals?

The great thing about thing about the California Storm is that we are not one club affiliated. We cater to every club primarily in the Sacramento region but not limited to just those clubs. We focus on growing the game of soccer for both girls and women. We do this by providing free soccer clinics and free girls soccer festivals in the community. The Storm partners with the clubs, the clubs advertise it to their players and then together we put it on.

Our mission for our team is to play at the highest level possible. If it is one of our players' goal to play in the NWSL or overseas, we will do whatever we can to help them achieve that. Our goal in the community is to be the role models for girls so they have someone to look up to and to get them excited about the game. It is also important for us to teach girls about goal setting, confidence building, healthy choices and injury prevention.

For developing elite players to play at the next level, it is important to stress to players that they have to do the work. So many players rely on their natural talent and don't completely dedicate themselves to playing to their fullest potential. As coaches, it is our job to network and develop contacts for these players. It does take time and work on our part which can be tough after a full day of being out in the hot sun. As a coach, we should be excited for them to take that next step and be thankful that we were part of their journey. This is their time, their chance, and if there is anything we can do to help them get achieve their dreams we must do it.

Now that the World Cup is over do you expect any reduction in attendance for your club? How dependent are you on funds from the turnstiles? Have any players, or even coaches, moved on from California Storm to play for NWSL or even any national teams?

The World Cup brought a lot of attention to our team which is something we needed. We have had great players play for the California Storm such as Sissi, Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, Leslie Obsborne, Aly Wagner and Julie Foudie to name a few. Alex Morgan played for the California Storm and is now playing in the NWSL and for the US National Team. We just had one of our goalkeepers, Abbie Faingold, sign a professional contract and is playing over in Japan.

This team has always played at a high level, but we fell behind in marketing the team on social media and in the community. I believe that our attendance will continue to grow because of we are out in the community building relationships with players. This past year, we did not charge for admission into games which was new for us. This really helped us build a fan base. Since we don't charge admission, we rely heavily on team sponsors to pay for game day expenses.

Sacramento has a lot of options for soccer fans, with The Republic, Sacramento Gold, and even a short drive to Davis - are there any cross-promotions with men's sides? Do any supporters’ groups come out to Storm matches?

This year we partnered with UC Davis Health and the Sacramento Republic FC which has been huge for us. Both of them have been so supportive of us and share our passion to better the community. We recently did a 4v4 Watch Me campaign with the Sac Republic. This event focused on building the girls game. The players competed at Papa Murphy's Park and the California Storm players warmed the players up and officiated the games. The California Storm also played the first round of the conference playoff at Papa Murphy’s Park before a Sac Republic game. The partnership with the Sacramento Republic FC has brought more awareness to the women's game and we have more fans as a result. Building our fan base is a constant focus for us.

What is the future of your organization? Will we see Storm return to the WPSL in 2020? If anybody is interested, how can they support your organization?

The California Storm will be playing in the WPSL season in 2020 and we are very excited about the upcoming season. We have grown tremendously in 2019 but have so much more to accomplish this upcoming year. If anyone is interested in supporting the team, we are looking for team sponsors and you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For more information about WPSL Soccer.

For more information about California Storm.

Or check out their Facebook.

ISC Gunners

The WPSL recently called it a wrap on the 2019 regular season – and with it, Issaquah Soccer Club (ISC Gunners), one of 119 clubs in the league. They were founded in 1980, but it wasn’t until 2012 that the women’s side were brought into the organization’s fold. WPSL Hall of Famer, Macy Jo Harrison, is the Gunners’ WPSL Program Director, as well as the league’s Associate Director for the West. We at Protagonist were elated to have somebody of such high regard take the time to answer our question for this week’s Spotlight article!

Issaquah Soccer Club, founded in 1980, has probably seen a lot of change in the community since then. When and why did the organization, founded as a youth club, choose to add a women's team?

ISC Gunners chose to add a women’s team back in the summer of 2012. We wanted to provide a top of the pyramid women’s team within our club for all of our female youth to aspire to be on, train with and learn from. Over the years, our women’s team has provided great leadership and role modeling for the youth within the club, and we really pride ourselves in that.

Why the WPSL? With a regional league available in the Pacific Northwest; what is the vision of the club for the women's squad which prompted it to join, what is technically, a national league system?

The vision of the club was to provide an elite women’s team for the youth within the club and the surrounding area to aspire to play on as mentioned before, and also to ensure that ex-professional, current professional players on break, current collegiate players etc… to have a place to play in the summer months when their on their summer breaks.

The WPSL is the largest women’s soccer league in the world with competition from all over America, Canada, Mexico etc. We chose to join the WPSL instead of the regional league provided in the Northwest to ensure we gave our women’s team the best opportunity to compete against teams from all of these locations nation/worldwide, at a higher level of play.

There are several types of club setups, some of which are open to fan support and even charge at the gate. While others focus solely on player development and providing opportunity for personal and technical growth. Where do ISC Gunners fall in that spectrum?

Our ISC Gunners WPSL team hits both ends of the spectrum. We strive to compete and win the Northwest Conference with players we bring in from England, Spain and throughout America for the summer months, and we look to get our youth players involved who are on our oldest/second to oldest girls teams within the club. We stress the importance of our oldest girls teams/players to join in with training, and potentially games throughout the summer to ensure they are prepared for their college endeavors and to ensure that they are improving significantly in playing with very experienced players who’ve been around the block a few times!

In the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to have two huge NWSL clubs in both the Reign and the Thorns, but does that make it hard to draw talented players to the squad? Conversely, do the local big clubs ever reach out for talented players? Do NWSL scouts ever come looking?

We’ve not seen a negative effect in having the two NWSL clubs in the Pacific Northwest as of yet. We continue to draw in talent as best as we possibly can and we have several committed, loyal players who come back to our squad each year because of the camaraderie and family feel that we create within the squad. Back in 2013, our ISC Gunners WPSL team was the official Reserve team for the Seattle Reign, so several of our players were invited into first team training throughout the summer. In 2014 and 2015, we were not the official Reserve team, but we kept that relationship alive with the Seattle Reign FC. We’ve not seen any NWSL scouts at our WPSL games in the Pacific Northwest conference, but they might have been there without us knowing. It’s difficult for them as their season is in full swing as well, so there’s not always time to do these things.

At the U23s level, I imagine most of the women are also college players and cannot accept payment without risking NCAA eligibility - how does that affect training and how do you maintain motivation?

You’re correct - a ton of our WPSL players are current collegiate athletes who are on their summer breaks and we are NOT allowed to provide them with any sort of payment. We’ve been very adamant with our players that they are to attend as many training sessions as possible, and we demand commitment from our players year in and year out. We maintain motivation by ensuring our training sessions are full of learning experiences as well as making them fun and entertaining. The family feel our ISC Gunners WPSL team has is one of the major reasons we continue to draw players back to us each year - we are family. We also do not charge our players any money to play on our women’s team - instead, we require them to attend our club tournament and events each summer as volunteers to give back to the club.

The very nature of women's soccer seems politicized, at least at the national and even NWSL-level; do these tendencies reach your level? Do you have any players who really take current events, such as equal pay and gender equality, to heart? Or do the players and the club steer clear of politics and focus on the soccer?

I wouldn’t say that the politics side of women’s soccer is prevalent in the WPSL. The league owners and commissioners are all for women in sports so I haven’t seen a negative political presence personally in the WPSL. We absolutely have players who take the current events such as equal pay and gender equality to heart, myself being one of them. With that being said, we do steer clear of the politics and focus on the soccer side more often than not on a team and club level and we ensure our main focus is on the soccer at hand.

For more in formation about the ISC Gunners’ programs

For more information about the WPSL

Vancouver Island FC

Just as 2019 World Cup was coming to an end, the WPSL was also quietly wrapping up it’s 2019 regular season. In their inaugural season, Vancouver Island FC finished second in the Northwest Conference with five consecutive wins to close out their fixture list. However, it wasn’t enough to secure a playoff spot and after a great first season, Vancouver Island FC have to sit-out the post season. Protagonist was interested in getting to know a little more about our semi-professional Canadian neighbors, so we reached out to their organization and Head Coach Neil Sedgwick was happy to reply to our questions about their identity, mission, and…

I love your badge - often I run across club crests which are borrowed directly from an associated men's team or just taken from a template online. What's the story with the badge elements, the colors, and the name?

We provided the designer with a number of ideas, Vancouver Island concepts which we wanted them to consider within the design. As ever, they came back with several designed which we offered feedback on. From there we took these designs to our first community meeting and they selected, almost unanimously the design. We followed a similar process for the name. The group came up with a number of variations, they discussed them and then voted on the name. We wanted this team to be owned by the community. It was important that there was input.

As for the colours, we have taken the same colours as Pacific FC. We believed that it was important that the top men's and women's teams shared certain aspects, and colours were something which we felt made complete sense.

Vancouver Island FC, a Canadian pro-am women’s side, play their soccer in the WPSL.

What is the primary objective of the women's side? Vancouver Island has a unique soccer history all to itself, with famous men's clubs from bygone eras; has there ever been women's soccer in Victoria or on the island? What's the history of the women's game there and where are you taking this squad?

There has been a W-League team with the Victoria Highlanders FC, however, it has been 4-5 years without that opportunity. We simply wanted to provide the opportunity for players to compete at a high level whilst providing the opportunity for young players to watch the top female players from the island. We can only become what we see, and it was important to us to be advocates for the women's game when there are so many wonderful things going on for the men.

Where do we want it to go? We are looking to create this as a sustainable opportunity for players and spectators on Vancouver Island.

It’s hard running a club in any league, some organizations have certain advantages like built-in youth teams to funnel players up, or ownership of the facilities to reduce overhead. What, if any, advantages do your club have, are they effectively wielded, and what assets or advantages do you wish you had?

We have been connected to BCSPL as a coaching staff and a number of our current VIFC players have worked with us in this environment or in academy environments. That is a natural connection and gives them a reason to come watch. But we are hopeful that other clubs and academies also encourage the young girls to come out and watch these players.

Cascadian rivalries transcend leagues, as Vancouver Island FC’s Rachel Baird (left) tries to a beat Seattle Sounders Women player to the ball. (Photo: League Website)

Your club seem brand new, I don't imagine you've had any player or coaches move into the ranks of NWSL squads? Are there any notable players or coaches from other locales who have decided to join you at Vancouver Island FC?

We are fortunate to have a number of players who have had fantastic careers and there are players who are still on the rise. People like Mariel Solsberg, Katie Krautner, Liz Gregg have all been in professional environments. Ashley Cathro, Cecilia Way, Emily McCue have been part of the REX program. Then so many university players who are currently contributing or have been strong contributors to programs such as North Dakota State, UBC, UVIC, UNBC, Queen's, UCalgary, Stoneybrook, to name a few. We have a strong group of players on this island who are training and playing at really good levels.

We're in a World Cup year for women's soccer and there seems to be a heightened level of interest, is the future of the women's game as bright as it seems? Do you see fan interest increasing? For any new teams forming, what words of wisdom would you offer to grow that club? What is a pitfall to avoid?

We may see more Canadian teams enter our conference. I think there is a good level of interest there. We hope that this will bring more interest from Victoria soccer community. I believe we have a lot of soccer fans who would enjoy what they see on the field, we just have to get the word out. We are not operating with a large budget so we rely on a few means to market the program. But the word is spreading, however, we are near the end of our season. With a point in our last game, we finish 2nd behind the Seattle Sounders in our first season. The only team the Sounders have lost to is us... a great start.

Bin-4-Burgers, a community restaurant, have gone all-in and become a sponsor of their local soccer team.(Photo: Island Independent Sports News)

For more information or to follow Vancouver Island FC, check them out here:

http://wpslvancouverisland.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/vancouverislandfc_wpsl/

https://twitter.com/VanIslandFC

Fortuna Tulsa

One of our new favorite things at Protagonist Soccer is digging into WOSO all across this country. Tulsa Fortuna is a second year club, but one that is already making waves, playing in the WPSL National Playoffs this weekend. We spoke with Wayne Farmer, General Manager for the club, to find out more about this team from Oklahoma.

So tell us about Fortuna Tulsa. Your league, your club origins, etc.

Fortuna Tulsa finished its inaugural season last year in the 2018 WPSL. Overall, we saw the first season as a success in setting the WPSL league attendance record of 1,720 people on May 25th 2018 vs Oklahoma City FC. We also won Franchise of the Year, as well as other WPSL recognitions for social media, marketing, and game day broadcasting.

Your crest looks like it borrowed its look from Fortuna Dusseldorf, any particular connection to that club? Just like the look?

Some similarities, but we take pride in the uniqueness of our logo. The meaning of Fortuna spoke to team owners Barry Williams and Dave Hibbard. The specialty of reading ‘Good luck Tulsa’ also had a great ring to it. After entering the league and announcing our brand, the following and support continued to grow.

Image courtesy of Tulsa Fortuna. Photographer - Lori Scholl

We follow Tulsa Athletic (of the NPSL), how's the overall soccer scene like in Tulsa? Is the enthusiasm equal for the women's game?

The soccer scene in Tulsa is great! I just came from the park watching the A’s play against Ozarks FC. We have 2 great amateur teams with the Athletics and Fortuna Tulsa that both won conference championships this season, and a USL Championship team in the Roughnecks that is pushing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. The enthusiasm around the women’s game is fantastic, this can be seen in the anticipation around our games and the attendances.

Where do you draw your talent from?

Yolanda Thomas, our Head Coach, has done a great job selecting players that reside in Tulsa but now attend some of the best schools around the nation. It is important to note that our team is not just made up of college players. Yolanda selected the best elite players that live in Tulsa that have graduated college as well as the 3 high school players to complete the roster.

Which player(s) should we be focusing on from your squad?

Taylor Malham is a US youth national team player who is currently at the University of Arkansas. Taylor, has played both seasons with us and continues to be a huge attacking threat. We could also highlight our captain, Rachel Hummingbird-Garcia, a player who has graduated from playing division 1 soccer at the University of Tulsa. Rachel is a mother, works full time, and still makes time to prepare and play at the elite WPSL level. The coaching staff have done a great job forming a team with true depth, where most positions are 2 or 3 deep with little drop off from the last player.

How does your club create connections to your local community?

We have a very strong connection through our media platforms where we provide a true insight into training and games, but also keep that connection while the players are out of season with us. We are very active in the community attending local festivals and events, as well as hosting youth soccer clinics.

If someone just found your club, what's the first thing they should know about your club?

Great question! Barry Williams (Fortuna Tulsa owner), has instilled into the club the saying ‘treat people how you want to be treated’. We hope that is something individuals experience when coming to a game as a fan, an opposing team, or in everything we do.

Your club is making a strong run in the WPSL Playoffs currently, how's that run been and who's your next opponent?

So far our games both home and away have been a lot of fun, with Yolanda and her staff giving a lot of players playing experience. We play Salvo SC in St Paul, MN. Salvo are a first year team that need to be congratulated for their season so far. The team travels up Friday morning and play the regional semifinal Saturday at 1:00pm. I would invite all Tulsa fans and readers to tune in and support Fortuna Tulsa this weekend.

For more information about Tulsa Fortuna check out their website or follow them on Twitter.