Newtown Pride FC is an American soccer team based in the Sandy Hook section of

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury metropolitan area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 censu ...

History

The team was founded in 1998 by father and son Mike and Matt Svanda. In 2019, the team won the National Amateur Cup for the first time in its history, becoming the second team from Connecticut, & first since 1967, to win the Cup. The team beat New Jersey sides Jackson Lions and Cedar Stars Academy to reach the USASA Region I Final against Steel FC (Pennsylvania), which the team won 2–0. In the National Final, the Pride beat RWB Adria (Illinois) in the semifinal before beating Horizon FC (Texas), 4–0, and won both the trophy and $15,000. The team became the second National Amateur Champion to directly qualify for the

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 ...

after U.S. Soccer had started the practice with the 2018 Champions

Milwaukee Bavarian SC Milwaukee Bavarian SC is an American soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Bavarian Majors of the Bavarian Soccer Club compete in the United Premier Soccer League. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at the He ...

. Newtown were due to enter the 2020 U.S. Open Cup in the first round alongside local qualifiers and teams from both the National Premier Soccer League and USL League Two. As National Amateur Cup Champions Newtown also secured a spot in the

2020 Hank Steinbrecher Cup The 2020 Hank Steinbrecher Cup was planned to be the eighth edition of the United States Adult Soccer Association's (USASA) tournament whose winner is recognized with the title of U.S. National Amateur Champions. This edition was canceled in April ...

. The team will compete against defending champion Flint City Bucks and the National Champions of both the NPSL and USL 2 (or the furthest advancing amateur team if the champion is a professional side) to determine the "USA National Amateur Champions." In August 2019, then- U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro announced that Newtown will also host the winners of the

2019 UEFA Regions' Cup The 2019 UEFA Regions' Cup was the 11th edition of the UEFA Regions' Cup, a football competition for amateur teams in Europe organized by UEFA. In the final, Lower Silesia from Poland defeated hosts Bavaria to become the second two-time Regions' ...

Dolny Śląsk Lower Silesian Voivodeship, or Lower Silesia Province, in southwestern Poland, is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is divided. The voivodeship was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Wrocław, Legnica, Wałbrz ...

, in the inaugural ''International Amateur Cup''. The game was originally set to take place on May 19, 2020, but was later postponed to May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Charity

Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, the Pride began to dedicate their matches in honor of the victims and families of the tragedy. The team continues to work wit
Newtown Youth and Family Services
and has played charity matches against larger teams such as the New York Cosmos (2013), New York Red Bulls II (2015),

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Don Thomas Stadium on the campus of ...

(2016), Kingston Stockade FC (2017), and Bethlehem Steel FC (2017).

Honors

* Connecticut Soccer League: Champions (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) * USASA Region I Werner Fricker Open Cup: Finalist (2015) * USASA Region I Amateur Cup: Champions (

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 ...

) * National Amateur Cup: Champions (

) *

: Qualified (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- ...
,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

) *

Hank Steinbrecher Cup 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, NISA ...

References

External links

* Association football clubs established in 1998 Soccer clubs in Connecticut 1998 establishments in Connecticut {{Connecticut-footyclub-stub