Northern Virginia Royals
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Northern Virginia FC (formerly Northern Virginia Royals and Evergreen FC) is an American
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 from
Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Located in the far northea ...
competing in
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 ...
,
USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2022. It was announced on June 8, 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight founding clubs. It follows the USL W-League, a simi ...
,
Eastern Premier Soccer League The Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association and a National Independent Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from the Eastern United States. Currently the league has member ...
and the
Major Arena Soccer League 3 The Major Arena Soccer League 3 (MASL3) is a North American indoor soccer league that serves as the developmental league of the Major Arena Soccer League and MASL2. History Established in the summer of 2020, MASL3 is the third tier of indoor so ...
. The club's women's team was known as the Northern Virginia Majestics, who played in the women's
USL W-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
, and fielded a team in the USL’s
Super-20 League The Super Y League is a youth soccer league with teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1999, the Super Y League is dedicated to the progression of future professional players and has steered the course for development of elite cl ...
, a league for players 17 to 20 years of age run under the
United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
umbrella. Throughout their recent history, NVFC previously enjoyed minor league affiliation with
D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
, the nearby
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
franchise.


History


Professional

Northern Virginia FC was founded in 1998 and joined the USISL D-3 Pro League as an expansion franchise in 1998, entering the team under the name Northern Virginia Royals. They ended their first season in 7th place in the Atlantic Division with a 5-12-1 record. In their second season, they improved, winning 10 of their 18 regular season games, finishing fourth in the Atlantic Division and also qualified for their first
US 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 ...
campaign in 1999, where they were upset in the first round by Florida PDL side
Cocoa Expos Cocoa Expos was an American soccer team, founded in 1993. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2007, when the team left the league and the fran ...
5-3. In the playoffs they beat divisional rivals South Carolina Shamrocks 2-1 in the first round before falling 4-0 to Charlotte in the conference semi-final. The 1998 season and the Royals were featured in the book "Unlucky: A Season of Struggle in Minor League Professional Soccer" by Dave Ungrady, who trained and played briefly for the Royals as well The D-3 Pro League became the USL Pro Select League in 2003, and the Royals finished bottom of the 3-team Southern Division, with just 6 wins for the year. The USL Pro Select League became the USL Second Division in 2005, and dispensed with divisions in favor of a single-table format; for the Royals, this proved to be yet another disastrous season.


Move to PDL

After finishing bottom of the league in the USL Second Division, the Royals management took the decision to self-relegate themselves to the
USL Premier Development League 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 ...
for the 2006 season. The Royals won their first match in the amateur PDL 3-1 over
West Virginia Chaos West Virginia United (formerly West Virginia Chaos and West Virginia Alliance FC) is an American soccer team based in Charleston, West Virginia. Founded in 2003, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. ...
, ultimately finishing fourth in the Mid Atlantic Division in their debut 2006 season. The Northern Virginia Royals were inducted into the USL Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007.


Partnership with D.C. United

In 2015, the Royals rebranded as Evergreen FC and partnered with
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
club
D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...
and formed a joint PDL team called
D.C. United U-23 D.C. United U-23 were an American association football, soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The team last played in the fourth-division Premier Development League and represented the most senior age group within parent club D.C. United's D.C. ...
, who combined their NPSL side with the Royals, to play in the PDL, finishing fifth in the Mid-Atlantic Division.


Evergreen Hammers

After the 2015 season, the Royals transferred their operations and relocated to Loudon County, Virginia in 2016 playing under the Evergreen FC banner as the Evergreen Hammers.


Northern Virginia FC

For the 2021 season, Evergreen which was already part of the Northern Virginia FC club, renamed the
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 ...
club to the Northern Virginia banner. NoVa FC had already operated teams under that name in the lower level
United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The league was found ...
and
Eastern Premier Soccer League The Eastern Premier Soccer League (EPSL) is a United States Adult Soccer Association and a National Independent Soccer Association affiliated Amateur Elite League that includes teams from the Eastern United States. Currently the league has member ...
. On 27 August 2021, NoVa FC announced they would be reviving the women's program with a new side in the
USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a pre-professional women's soccer league in the United States which began play in May 2022. It was announced on June 8, 2021 by the United Soccer League with eight founding clubs. It follows the USL W-League, a simi ...
beginning in 2022.


Logo history


Year-by-year


Professional/USL League Two


Eastern Premier Soccer League


Major Arena Soccer League 3


Honors


League

* Eastern Premiere Soccer League ** Mid-Atlantic Conference Regular Season Champion (1): 2021-22 ** Playoff Champion (1): 2021-22 *
Major Arena Soccer League 3 The Major Arena Soccer League 3 (MASL3) is a North American indoor soccer league that serves as the developmental league of the Major Arena Soccer League and MASL2. History Established in the summer of 2020, MASL3 is the third tier of indoor so ...
**East Division Regular Season Champion (1): 2022 ** Playoff Champion (1): 2022


Cups

*'
Metropolitan DC-Virginia Soccer Association
'' **'
MDCVSA State Cup
'' (1): 2021 * US Adult Soccer Association Region I ** National Amateur Cup Region I (1): 2022 * US Adult Soccer Association **
National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S ...
(Runner-Up): 2022


Head coaches

* Silvino Gonzalo (1998–2007) *
John Pascarella John Pascarella (born 1966) is an American soccer coach who is currently on the staff of Forward Madison FC in USL League One. Playing career Raised in Vineland, New Jersey, Pascarella played prep soccer at Vineland High School together with G ...
(2007–2008) *
Tom Torres Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''List of Beavis and Butt-Head characters#Local r ...
(2009–2010) * Richie Burke (2011–2012)Royals Hire Burke as PDL Coach
/ref> * Grady Renfrow (2013–2014) * Richie Burke (2014–2015) *
Brian Welsh Brian Welsh (born 23 February 1969) is a Scottish football coach and former player, who is currently owner and head coach of American club Northern Virginia United. He began his playing career with Dundee United, where he made 140 league appea ...
(2014–2015) * Ian Bishop (2016) * Grady Renfrow (2017) * Paul Ngend (2018–2019) * Grady Renfrow (2021–)


References


External links


Official website


{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1998 USL League Two teams Sports in Northern Virginia Leesburg, Virginia Soccer clubs in Virginia D.C. United USL Second Division teams 1998 establishments in Virginia