Wilmington Hammerheads FC

Wilmington Hammerheads FC
Full name Wilmington Hammerheads Football Club
Nickname(s) Hammers
Founded 1996 (1996)
Stadium Legion Stadium
Wilmington, North Carolina
Ground Capacity 6,000
Chairman Sam Fink
Head Coach Mark Briggs
League Premier Development League
2016 9th, Eastern Conference (USL)
Playoffs: DNQ
Website Club home page

Wilmington Hammerheads FC is a professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team competes in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

History

The Hammerheads had one championship in 2003, and were a finalist in 2002 & 2012, losing to the Long Island Rough Riders 2–1 in 2002 and losing 0–1 to the Charleston Battery in 2012. Wilmington found great success in the US Open Cup in their later years, regularly drawing MLS teams in the late rounds. Their most famous result occurred in 2003 when they drew the Dallas Burn, an MLS team, in the middle of a particularly bad year. They shocked the soccer world by defeating the Burn 4–1 at Legion Sports Complex before bowing out to D.C. United 1–0 in the quarterfinal round. The Hammerheads regularly drew well over 2,000 fans per game, and had drawn nearly 5,000 for playoff games. On June 30, 2009, the Hammerheads upset the Chicago Fire in the third round of the 2009 US Open Cup 1–0 at home.

The team went on hiatus in 2010 and returned for the 2011 USL PRO regular season, due to local businessman Bill Rudisill and a minority ownership group combining their efforts and financial support to the Port City. Following the 2011 USL PRO regular season, the Hammerheads competed in the division semifinals. In 2012, the Hammerheads finished their regular season with an overall record of 10–7–7 After qualifying for playoffs, they defeated both the Richmond Kickers and Orlando City Lions to obtain their spot in the finals versus the Charleston Battery whom took the 2012 USL PRO Championship title at Blackbaud Stadium after defeating the Hammerheads 1–0. The Hammerheads fell short of qualifying for a playoff position following their 2013 regular season.

In September 2013, the Wilmington Hammerheads announced that after three years of dedicated ownership, Bill Rudisill would no longer be majority owner of the team and that George Altirs, CEO of Capelli New York, has taken the role of Wilmington Hammerheads Owner.

In January 2014, the Wilmington Hammerheads entered a developmental partnership deal with Major League Soccer side Toronto FC that would see a minimum of four Toronto players come to Wilmington with the goal of gaining first team experience.[1] In August 2014, the Hammerheads' longtime head coach, Englishman David Irving, stepped down from his position following fifteen seasons with the club.

New York City FC announced a one-year affiliation with the Hammerheads in January 2015, in which NYCFC can send players to train and play in Wilmington for further development.[2]

On August 1, 2016, it was reported that the Hammerheads was planning another hiatus from the USL, beginning with the 2017 season. This would allow the club to restructure "in order to keep pace with the growth in stature of the USL."[3] Six weeks later, the Washington Post reported that the Hammerheads were a possible contender to move to Baltimore, Maryland for the 2018 season, noting that Wilmington is the smallest of the league's twenty-nine markets.[4] The team self-relegated to the Premier Development League on September 29, 2016. [5]

Stadium

Players and staff

Current roster

As of March 28, 2016 [6]

No. Position Player Nation
0 Goalkeeper Williams, SamSam Williams      United States
1 Goalkeeper Smits, JohnJohn Smits      Canada
2 Defender Parratt, TomTom Parratt      Scotland
3 Defender Doue, PeaboPeabo Doue      United States
4 Defender Mecham, MichaelMichael Mecham      United States
5 Defender Kaba, MoMo Kaba      Guinea
6 Midfielder Miller, LiamLiam Miller      Ireland
7 Forward Martz, AustinAustin Martz      United States
9 Forward Barnes-Homer, MatthewMatthew Barnes-Homer      England
10 Midfielder Moose, JustinJustin Moose      United States
11 Forward Lawal, QudusQudus Lawal      Nigeria
13 Midfielder Soboff, MichaelMichael Soboff      Armenia
14 Forward Miller, LoganLogan Miller      United States
16 Goalkeeper Ati, EricEric Ati      Cameroon
18 Defender Defregger, StefanStefan Defregger      United States
20 Midfielder Taublieb, ZevZev Taublieb      United States
21 Midfielder Binns, MichaelMichael Binns      Jamaica
22 Forward Parker, KyleKyle Parker      United States
23 Defender Perone, BrunoBruno Perone      Brazil
25 Defender Sousa, FerretyFerrety Sousa      Democratic Republic of the Congo
47 Defender Fairclough, AshaniAshani Fairclough      Jamaica

Staff

Notable former players

Head coaches

Achievements

Record

Year-by-year

Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs Open Cup
1996 3 USISL Pro League 3rd, South Atlantic Semifinals Did not qualify
1997 3 USISL D-3 Pro League 5th, South Atlantic Did not qualify 1st Round
1998 3 USISL D-3 Pro League 6th, Atlantic Division Semifinals Did not qualify
1999 3 USL D-3 Pro League 2nd, Atlantic Conference Finals 2nd Round
2000 3 USL D-3 Pro League 2nd, Southern Conference Quarterfinals 2nd Round
2001 3 USL D-3 Pro League 1st, Southern Conference Finals Did not qualify
2002 3 USL D-3 Pro League 1st, Southern Final Did not qualify
2003 3 USL Pro Select League 2nd, Southern Champion Quarterfinals
2004 3 USL Pro Soccer League 2nd, Southern Quarterfinals 3rd Round
2005 3 USL Second Division 4th Semifinals 3rd Round
2006 3 USL Second Division 8th Did not qualify 4th Round
2007 3 USL Second Division 7th Did not qualify Did not qualify
2008 3 USL Second Division 7th Did not qualify Did not qualify
2009 3 USL Second Division 1st Semifinals Quarterfinals
2010 on hiatus
2011 3 USL Pro 2nd, American Division Semifinals 3rd Round
2012 3 USL Pro 5th Championship 3rd Round
2013 3 USL Pro 9th Did not qualify 3rd Round
2014 3 USL Pro 7th Quarterfinals 2nd Round
2015 3 USL 12th, Eastern Did not qualify 2nd Round
2016 3 USL 9th, Eastern Did not qualify 4th Round

Supporters

The primary supporters group is the Port City Firm. The group was founded in 1997 and stuck together during the team's hiatus year in 2010.[7][8] A second group, the East Side Ultras, was founded in 2015 and are identified by their sky blue helmets/hats and black shirts.

References

  1. "Toronto FC announce partnership with USL Pro club – Waking The Red". wakingthered.com. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  2. "NYCFC Announce Affiliation with Wilmington Hammerheads". nycfc.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  3. Hollingsworth, Chad. "Aztex & Hammerheads Out for 2017 USL Season". Scratching the Pitch. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. Goff, Steven. "Are USL's Wilmington Hammerheads moving to Baltimore?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. "Wilmington Hammerheads FC Awarded PDL Franchise". Premier Development League (PDL). September 29, 2016. Retrieved September 29, 2016.
  6. "2016 Roster". Wilmington Hammerheads FC. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  7. Meet the Port City Firm (Press Release), Wilimington Hammerheads, June 4, 2012, retrieved July 21, 2015
  8. USL Pro Supporter Group Q&A: The Port city Firm, Reckless Challenge, March 6, 2013, retrieved July 21, 2015

External links

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