FC Motown is an American soccer club based in
. Founded in 2012, the team currently plays in both the
National Premier Soccer League
The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, 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 ...
(NPSL) and
USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...
. 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.
The team plays its home games at
Drew University
Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three scho ...
's Ranger Stadium and
Montclair State University
Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...
's
MSU Soccer Park. Since 2022, the club's NPSL team has been coached by former
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
player
Gideon Baah.
Motown has one league championship in the franchise history, winning the
2022 National Premier Soccer League National Championship.
History
FC Morristown was founded in 2012 by Scott Kindzierski and Dan Karosen and began play in the
Garden State Soccer League
The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues.
The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...
(GSSL), an amateur soccer league for teams based in the state of New Jersey. While fully amateur, the team
qualified for the
2017 U.S. Open Cup
The 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 104th edition of the oldest ongoing competition in American soccer.
FC Dallas entered the competition as the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sporting Kansas City. First ...
by beating tournament regular
Lansdowne Bhoys FC
Lansdowne Yonkers FC (formerly Lansdowne Bhoys FC) is an American soccer club based in Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1997, the team plays in Region I of the United States Adult Soccer Association. The club, also known as the ‘Bhoys’, was fo ...
, 3–2. The team advanced to the second round by beating NPSL side
New Jersey Copa FC
New Jersey Copa FC are an American pro-am soccer club fielded by the soccer/football academy FC Copa Academy from Metuchen, New Jersey. It was founded in 2004 and fields men's, women's, and youth teams in a number of different amateur and semi-p ...
, 2–1, before falling to
Rochester Rhinos
Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States.
Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...
of the
United Soccer League
United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...
, 3–0.
In 2017, the team began working with NPSL side Clarkstown SC Eagles and supplied most of Clarkstown's players and staff. Following the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Clarkstown Eagles re-branded as FC Motown in late 2017.
The following year, Motown finished atop the
Keystone Conference table (regular season record of 9–1–0) before winning the
conference playoffs all-together by beating
West Chester United SC
West Chester United SC is an American soccer club based in West Chester, Pennsylvania that currently competes in both the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) and USL League Two. The organization also fields a side in the United Soccer League o ...
in the final. In the
Regional and National Playoff, Motown reached the national final by beating
FC Baltimore
FC Baltimore Christos (founded as FC Baltimore 1729) was an American soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2018, the team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth ti ...
,
New York Cosmos B
New York Cosmos B were an American soccer team based in the New York metropolitan area that played in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system, as the reserve team of New York Cosmos.
History
T ...
, and
FC Mulhouse Portland
International Portland Select Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon playing in the National Premier Soccer League.
History
In late 2013, the NPSL announced Spartans Futbol Club as an expansion team ahead of ...
with a combined score of 8–3. In the final, the team would fall at home to Miami FC 2, 3–1, in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,143.
Motown still fields a team in the GSSL and are eight-time Super Division Champions, winning the title in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. Entering the 2018 season, FC Motown had a 23-game undefeated streak in the GSSL before falling to Jackson Lions FC in the middle of the season.
In addition the team was also a Fricker Cup Region 1 finalist in 2016 and regional semifinalist in 2017. The team was also an Amateur Cup Region 1 semifinalist in 2014 and 2015.
Motown took part in the inaugural Lower League eCup during the summer of 2020, a lower league eSports FIFA competition, winning the PS4 title with player Deiver Lopez.
Once back on the field in 2020, the team won the NJ State Cup title defeating Clifton, and the GSSL Super Division title defeating Clifton. The team also formed a U23 team which competed in the EDP and went 7–0 winning the men's central red division.
On January 13, 2021, Motown joined
USL League Two
USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...
alongside its NPSL squad, U23 team, and local amateur sides. Northern Ireland native and NPSL assistant coach Alan McClintock was named head coach of the USL side on March 15, 2021.
FC Motown won the
2022 National Premier Soccer League season
The 2022 National Premier Soccer League season was the 20th season of the National Premier Soccer League and part of the 110th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States.
The regular season began on March 19 and ended on July 16. In to ...
Championship beating
Crossfire Redmond
Crossfire Redmond, previously the Seattle Wolves and Washington Crossfire, is an American soccer organization based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of ...
4–3 in the championship game. The final at
MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field
MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field is a soccer-specific stadium on the campus of Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Built on the site of a former baseball field, MSU Soccer Park opened in 1998 as the home of the Montclair State Re ...
was attended by 2,065 people. The team defeated teams such as West Chester United,
Appalachian FC
Appalachian Football Club is a National Premier Soccer League expansion team that began play in March 2021. As a result of the Appalachian State Mountaineers men's soccer team being cut in May of 2020 due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 ...
, and
Tulsa Athletic
Tulsa Athletic is an American soccer team and are based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. 2013 was their inaugural season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), which is a national league at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. ...
en route to the final. Earlier the same year Motown competed in the
2022 U.S. Open Cup
The 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 107th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. After the 2020 and 2021 competitions were suspended and ultimately canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the United St ...
tournament and finished with its best performance to date. The team reached the third round, beating West Chester and
National Independent Soccer Association
The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season format with a ...
side
AC Syracuse Pulse
Syracuse Pulse, initially AC Syracuse Pulse is an American professional soccer club based in Syracuse, New York. The Pulse field a men's team in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), the 3rd tier of the US soccer pyramid, and a w ...
. The team fell to Rochester New York FC (formerly the Rochester Rhinos) in penalty kicks in the next round but earned $25,000 as the farthest reaching Open Division that year.
FC Motown has had multiple players sign professional contracts off its squad during its brief history such as
Joe Fala
Joseph Fala (born December 29, 1997) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender.
Career Youth
Raised in the Cape May Court House section of Middle Township, New Jersey, Fala attended Middle Township High School, where he played bask ...
with
New York Red Bulls 2 and has signed professional talent such as former
New York Red Bulls
The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...
star
Dilly Duka
Dilaver "Dilly" Duka (born on September 15, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for FC Motown in the National Premier Soccer League.
Career Youth and college
Duka grew up in Montville, New Jersey, to an Alb ...
and
New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to
* New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada)
* New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...
midfielder
Jimmy Mulligan among others. The team has had friendlies against professional teams such as
New York City FC
New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...
,
New York Red Bulls II
New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid.
History
Red Bull New Yo ...
, the
Ecuadorian U-20 National Football Team, Peruvian side
Sport Boys
Sport Boys Association, commonly referred to as Sport Boys or simply Boys, is a Peruvian football club based in the port city of Callao. It was founded on 28 July 1927. Its classic and historic rival is the Atlético Chalaco against whom dispute ...
, and a controlled scrimmage with the
Ecuador national football team
The Ecuador national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Ecuador) represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later.
Di ...
.
Players & staff
Coaches
*
Šaćir Hot
Šaćir Hot ( sq, Shaqir Hot; born June 10, 1991) is an American soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of FC Motown of the National Premier Soccer League and USL League Two.
Career
College and amateur
Hot grew up in F ...
(2012–2022) NPSL Head Coach
*
Gideon Baah (2022– ) NPSL Head Coach
* Alan McClintock (2018– ) U23 Head Coach, (2020– ) USL2 Head Coach (2023– )
Current squad
Notable players
''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.''
Record
Year-by-year
Honors
U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...
*Participants (4):
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
,
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
*Additional qualification (1):
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
References
External links
*
{{Soccer in New York City
National Premier Soccer League teams
USL League Two teams
Soccer clubs in the New York metropolitan area
2012 establishments in New Jersey
Association football clubs established in 2012