Demize NPSL, formerly known as Joplin Demize, is an American amateur

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, which began play in the fourth-tier

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) in May 2014. The team competes within the Heartland Conference in the NPSL's South Region and plays home games at Lake Country Soccer's Cooper Stadium. It formerly played in the now dissolved South Central Conference.

History

Joplin Demize was announced as an

expansion team on January 31, 2014. Ed and Alison Hershewe, who also own a Joplin-based law firm, were announced as owners while former NPSL &

PDL PDL is an initialism for: Politics *Democratic Liberal Party (Romania), Democratic Liberal Party (''Partidul Democrat Liberal''), a former political party in Romania *Labour Democratic Party (''Partito Democratico del Lavoro''), a former politi ...

player Chris Hanlon would serve as both head coach and Director of Soccer Operations. It was also announced that the team would play home games at the Joplin Athletic Complex. The team, a developmental extension of the

Springfield Demize Saint Louis FC U23 were an American soccer team based in Fenton, Missouri, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), now USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Heartla ...

of the third-tier USL Pro league, is composed of local collegiate and other players from the Four State Area. To fill out the opening day roster, the Demize held open tryouts in March 2014. On March 9, 2017, the team re-branded as "Demize NPSL," and announced its intent to play games in

Branson Branson may refer to: Places ;Canada * Branson, Toronto ;United States * Branson, Missouri, a popular tourist destination in the Ozark Mountains * Branson, Colorado * Branson City, California * The Branson School, in Ross, California * Warrenpoi ...

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, as well as Joplin. During the 2019 season, the team finished its regular season third place in conference with its best record to date and qualified for the postseason for the first time in its history. In the Heartland Conference Semifinals, Demize won its first playoff game when it beat the

Little Rock Rangers The Little Rock Rangers Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in Little Rock, Arkansas. The team was founded in 2016 and played its inaugural season in 2016. The team plays in the USL League Two, a national semi-professional league at the f ...

on penalty kicks after both teams played to a 1–1 draw. Demize then fell to

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. ...

, 2–0, in the Conference Final.

Stadia

*Hershewe Soccer Complex, Joplin, Missouri (2014-2017) *Lake Country Soccer Cooper Stadium,

(2017–present) *

Joplin High School Joplin High School is a public high school located in Joplin, Missouri, United States, founded in 1885. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 and is the only traditional high school in the Joplin School District. History In 1885, Jopl ...

, Joplin, Missouri (2017) *Branson High School Pirate Stadium, Branson, Missouri (2017-2018) *

Waynesville High School Waynesville High School is a public high school in Waynesville, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Wayne Local Schools district. The school colors are orange, black, and white. Athletics Waynesville's athletic program was a charter member o ...

, Waynesville, Missouri (2018)

Year-by-year

References

External links

Demize NPSL official website
Association football clubs established in 2014 National Premier Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in Missouri Sports in Joplin, Missouri Sports in Springfield, Missouri 2014 establishments in Missouri {{Missouri-footyclub-stub