What a year it was for North Carolina FC.
From the rebrand and #919toMLS to a great year on the pitch, 2017 proved to be special in more ways than one for North Carolina FC.
First off, I think its required for me to give the club a shout out for actually hiring me to a full-time position. I started the 2017 campaign as a fan in the stands – I was a big fan of soccer and North Carolina, so it was an easy decision to come check out a few matches. Through some really good luck, I ended up joining the front office as a communications manager in April. Even when the going gets tough here, I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m #blessed to be part of the front office at NCFC.
Thanks to the two-game ticket deal, I ended up at an exhibition against Atlas FC and the NASL home opener against Miami FC – both fiery games in front of big home crowds.
Those two games helped me confirm that soccer in North Carolina was on a whole new plane. The energy surrounding the stadium was different than it was a year ago. It wasn’t just a new season, it was a new beginning. People were excited and ready for this team to represent North Carolina…and win.
And that’s what the team did, it kept on winning all the way through April and May – save a few results against eventual NASL Champions San Francisco Deltas. A 4-1 thrashing of the Charlotte Independence highlighted my Spring. Who could forget when Nazmi Albadawi and Connor Tobin outclassed their whole team and celebrated in front of the traveling support. Not only did that result help confirm 919 > 704, but it felt like a rivalry, which fuels so much sports tradition in this state, had officially taken hold among the North Carolina professional soccer community.
June wasn’t so friendly. The results weren’t coming, but the moments were still there. Billy Schuler landed in the No. 1 spot on SportCenter’s Top 10 plays, which earned a point on the road against the Cosmos. When Steven Miller hit that screamer from 25 yards in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the Houston Dynamo, I was convinced that NCFC was going to win the Open Cup. The electric feeling of watching this team was always present, even through the tough times. NCFC was dangerous anytime it stepped on the field. Playmakers all over the pitch could change the game in an instant.
As with any long season in soccer, good play eventually beats out bad results. Our luck changed for the better on July 4 when Jose Carranza played in Billy Schuler for the game-winning goal against league-leading Miami FC. The win would be enough to bring us some good vibes heading in to the mid-season break.
While many teams use breaks in the season to take days off, relax and prepare for the next game, North Carolina FC stepped everything up to a whole new level.
In fact, we had our biggest week in club history – so far – during our “break”. Not only did we host the Premier League’s Swansea City in the most entertaining 0-0 draw I’ve ever seen, we brought in MLS executives to see our plans for #919toMLS.
In what I can only describe as the greatest day of my working life, NCFC unveiled its plans for a soccer stadium in downtown Raleigh, showed off our amazing city to MLS President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott, and hosted the best pep rally I’ve ever been a part of. I still get goosebumps anytime I think about the events on July 19 and I hope you do too. The passion is here for MLS and we’ve got the plan to make it work. As our owner Steve Malik always says “It’s not if, but when we’re getting an MLS team.”
But back to the task at hand, NCFC had a mission to accomplish on the field. There was a true resiliency in the squad to make sure we made the playoffs. Even when the Fall season presented us with the of challenge of going winless in five straight during the end of August, once again, our good play beat out bad results and we crushed it during the last third of the season.
With us, New York and Jacksonville trading spots in the middle of the table throughout the season which was quickly approaching its conclusion, we had to win at some places that we hadn’t before. It started with a 3-2 thriller at Miami FC, we added a 3-0 win at Edmonton, a 2-0 win in New York and then we had a 5-0 rout of Indy at home.
Everything fell into place and a 1-1 draw with Deltas at home paired with a 4-4 draw between New York and Jacksonville sent us to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
While the playoffs didn’t go our way, the tangible evidence of the progress the club has made in 2017 is undeniable.
Our youth-to-pro ladder is stronger than it has ever been before. We’ve singed two players from the NCFC Youth Academy to professional contracts. Our U23 team brought in a host of young talent including local college stars and U.S. Youth National Team standouts. The collaboration between CASL and TFC has produced a world-class organization in NCFC Youth to build soccer in the Triangle.
Across the board, soccer in North Carolina is still growing. I used to feel like when college soccer ended in late Fall, I’d have to shift my focus to supporting a club across the country or the world, but now, it's North Carolina FC all year long. The club is building something incredibly special and I encourage everyone to go to a game and join the #NCFCFam in 2018.
– Daniel Neal (@danielneal17)
What a year it was for North Carolina FC.
From the rebrand and #919toMLS to a great year on the pitch, 2017 proved to be special in more ways than one for North Carolina FC.
First off, I think its required for me to give the club a shout out for actually hiring me to a full-time position. I started the 2017 campaign as a fan in the stands – I was a big fan of soccer and North Carolina, so it was an easy decision to come check out a few matches. Through some really good luck, I ended up joining the front office as a communications manager in April. Even when the going gets tough here, I think I speak for everyone when I say I’m #blessed to be part of the front office at NCFC.
Thanks to the two-game ticket deal, I ended up at an exhibition against Atlas FC and the NASL home opener against Miami FC – both fiery games in front of big home crowds.
Those two games helped me confirm that soccer in North Carolina was on a whole new plane. The energy surrounding the stadium was different than it was a year ago. It wasn’t just a new season, it was a new beginning. People were excited and ready for this team to represent North Carolina…and win.
And that’s what the team did, it kept on winning all the way through April and May – save a few results against eventual NASL Champions San Francisco Deltas. A 4-1 thrashing of the Charlotte Independence highlighted my Spring. Who could forget when Nazmi Albadawi and Connor Tobin outclassed their whole team and celebrated in front of the traveling support. Not only did that result help confirm 919 > 704, but it felt like a rivalry, which fuels so much sports tradition in this state, had officially taken hold among the North Carolina professional soccer community.
June wasn’t so friendly. The results weren’t coming, but the moments were still there. Billy Schuler landed in the No. 1 spot on SportCenter’s Top 10 plays, which earned a point on the road against the Cosmos. When Steven Miller hit that screamer from 25 yards in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against the Houston Dynamo, I was convinced that NCFC was going to win the Open Cup. The electric feeling of watching this team was always present, even through the tough times. NCFC was dangerous anytime it stepped on the field. Playmakers all over the pitch could change the game in an instant.
As with any long season in soccer, good play eventually beats out bad results. Our luck changed for the better on July 4 when Jose Carranza played in Billy Schuler for the game-winning goal against league-leading Miami FC. The win would be enough to bring us some good vibes heading in to the mid-season break.
While many teams use breaks in the season to take days off, relax and prepare for the next game, North Carolina FC stepped everything up to a whole new level.
In fact, we had our biggest week in club history – so far – during our “break”. Not only did we host the Premier League’s Swansea City in the most entertaining 0-0 draw I’ve ever seen, we brought in MLS executives to see our plans for #919toMLS.
In what I can only describe as the greatest day of my working life, NCFC unveiled its plans for a soccer stadium in downtown Raleigh, showed off our amazing city to MLS President and Deputy Commissioner Mark Abbott, and hosted the best pep rally I’ve ever been a part of. I still get goosebumps anytime I think about the events on July 19 and I hope you do too. The passion is here for MLS and we’ve got the plan to make it work. As our owner Steve Malik always says “It’s not if, but when we’re getting an MLS team.”
But back to the task at hand, NCFC had a mission to accomplish on the field. There was a true resiliency in the squad to make sure we made the playoffs. Even when the Fall season presented us with the of challenge of going winless in five straight during the end of August, once again, our good play beat out bad results and we crushed it during the last third of the season.
With us, New York and Jacksonville trading spots in the middle of the table throughout the season which was quickly approaching its conclusion, we had to win at some places that we hadn’t before. It started with a 3-2 thriller at Miami FC, we added a 3-0 win at Edmonton, a 2-0 win in New York and then we had a 5-0 rout of Indy at home.
Everything fell into place and a 1-1 draw with Deltas at home paired with a 4-4 draw between New York and Jacksonville sent us to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
While the playoffs didn’t go our way, the tangible evidence of the progress the club has made in 2017 is undeniable.
Our youth-to-pro ladder is stronger than it has ever been before. We’ve singed two players from the NCFC Youth Academy to professional contracts. Our U23 team brought in a host of young talent including local college stars and U.S. Youth National Team standouts. The collaboration between CASL and TFC has produced a world-class organization in NCFC Youth to build soccer in the Triangle.
Across the board, soccer in North Carolina is still growing. I used to feel like when college soccer ended in late Fall, I’d have to shift my focus to supporting a club across the country or the world, but now, it’s North Carolina FC all year long. The club is building something incredibly special and I encourage everyone to go to a game and join the #NCFCFam in 2018.
– Daniel Neal (@danielneal17)
