Lionsbridge Football Club, or Lionsbridge 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 based on the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...

, which comprises the cities of

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

Poquoson Poquoson (), informally known as Bull Island, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,460. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Poquoson with surrounding York Count ...

, and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and James City counties. The club was founded in 2017, and play 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 ...

. The club's colors are blue, black and white, and the club is named for the Lions Bridge, the iconic Peninsula landmark that has stood along the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

and in the

Mariners' Museum The Mariners' Museum and Park is located in Newport News, Virginia, United States. Designated as America’s ''National Maritime Museum'' by Congress, it is one of the largest maritime museums in North America. The Mariners' Museum Library, conta ...

Park since 1923. The team plays its home games at TowneBank Stadium on the campus of

Christopher Newport University Christopher Newport University (CNU) is a public university in Newport News, Virginia. It was founded in 1960 and is named after Christopher Newport, captain of Susan Constant, one of the ships which carried settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, Jam ...

Background

The original founders include Mike Vest, Kevin Joyce, and Dan Chenoweth, all of whom are Virginia Peninsula residents. Lionsbridge FC announced its launch on June 9, 2017, via a social media release. At the time of the team's announcement, the club invited fans to help determine its crest via a fan vote on social media. More than 600 people voted and the team unveiled the winning design in July 2017. The crest integrates four identifying features of the Virginia Peninsula - the Lions Bridge, the team's location and launch year, the James and York Rivers, and the region's importance as a hub of the United States military. Lionsbridge FC announced its league affiliation (Premier Development League) and TowneBank Stadium (then known as Pomoco Stadium) agreement (with Christopher Newport University) during a press conference on November 14, 2017. The team named

Chris Whalley Chris Whalley is the head coach of Lionsbridge FC of the USL League Two and the Chowan University men's soccer team. He is the former head coach of Lees-McRae College and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Whalley was named head coach of Li ...

as its first head coach on February 14, 2018.

Notable former players

* 2018-19 Ivan Militar - Academy Director for

El Paso Locomotive El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Club crest and colors The Locomotive brand was unveiled on October 4, 2018, beating ...

in USL Championship. * 2018 Tom Devitt –

Gateshead FC Gateshead Football Club is a professional football club based in Gateshead, England. The team compete in and play at the Gateshead International Stadium. Established in 1977 after Gateshead United folded, the club are known as the "Tyneside ...

, Blythe United, Stranraer FC, Hebburn Town * 2018 Josh Spencer – Hinckley A.F.C. * 2018 Joe Rice –

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

New England Revolution II New England Revolution II is a professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in the MLS Next Pro, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer c ...

Loudoun United FC Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History On July 18, 2018, the team was offi ...

Detroit City FC Detroit City FC (DCFC) is an American professional soccer club based in Detroit, Michigan, that competes in the USL Championship. The club played in the National Premier Soccer League from 2012 to 2019 and the National Independent Soccer Associ ...

. * 2018 Fortia Munts – Valentine Eleebana Phoenix (Australia), Unio Esportiva Vic * 2018, 2020-21 Simon Fitch –

* 2019 JP Scearce –

Union Omaha Union Omaha Soccer Club is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2020, the team made its debut in USL League One (USL1). History In 2019, USL1 awarded a franchise to Alliance Omaha Soccer ...

* 2019 Adrian Rebollar -

Monterey Bay FC Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league system ...

in USL Championship. * 2019-20 Rich Dearle - Eltham Redbacks in Australia. * 2019 Oscar Ramsay –

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memorial ...

, North Shore United * 2019 Luke Brown – Hitchin Town FC, Stowmarket Town FC * 2019 Rene White –

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

of MLS * 2019 Thibaut Jacquel –

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

of MLS and

CS Fola Esch Sporting Circle Fola Esch (french: Cercle sportif Fola Esch), usually abbreviated to Fola Esch or simply Fola, is a football club, based in Esch-sur-Alzette, in south-western Luxembourg. They play their home games at Stade Émile Mayrisch, in the ...

in Luxembourg. * 2020 Alex Touche –

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. History Former teams The state of New Mexic ...

of USL Championship and

of USL League One. * 2021 Matthew Bentley – MLS Draft Pick of

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American So ...

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

and

in USL League One.

Year by year

Honors

Best Regular Season Record Champions:

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 ...

Eastern Conference Champions:

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Chesapeake Division Champions:

Franchise of the Year: 2019 *

Eastern Conference Attendance Leaders: 2018, 2022 *

Southern Conference Attendance Leaders: 2019, 2020, 2021

Jersey sponsors

Lionsbridge FC's inaugural season sponsors included

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Coll ...

(Official Jersey Sponsor), Riverside Health System (Official Sports Medicine Provider), Planet Fitness (Official Health Club), Nike (Official Apparel Supplier) and Financial Security Group.

References

{{Virginia Sports Soccer clubs in Virginia 2017 establishments in Virginia Association football clubs established in 2017 Sports in Newport News, Virginia