Grand Rapids FC

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Midwest United FC.

Grand Rapids FC was an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, whose senior men's team played in USL League Two. The team was founded in 2014 and ceased operations in 2021.^[1] Its first season was in 2015. It was initially funded by a group of supporters who purchased memberships to cover the operating expenses, as well as by local sponsors.^[2]

Grand Rapids FC

Full name	Grand Rapids Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Blues, GRFC
Founded	2014
Dissolved	2021
Website	Club website
Home colors Away colors

History

Grand Rapids FC (GRFC) was started by a group of Grand Rapids residents as a community-funded project along the lines of Nashville FC.^[3] Fundraising began on February 14, 2014, by word of mouth and was opened to the public a month later. The team applied to the National Premier Soccer League for the 2015 season but their application was denied.^[4] Instead, GRFC and AFC Ann Arbor (also denied an NPSL bid in 2015) founded the Great Lakes Premier League.^[5] The new league held its inaugural meeting on January 17, 2015, with six teams.

Following a 2015 season in which GRFC finished in second place, averaging 4,509 fans per game, the team announced on September 25, 2015, that they would leave the Great Lakes Premier League to join the National Premier Soccer League.^[6]

The 2016 season resulted in a first-place position in the NPSL Great Lakes West conference and qualification for the playoffs by beating AFC Ann Arbor in a 3–1 victory in front of a club record 6,854 spectators. The club reached the final of the NPSL Midwest Regional playoffs and beat Indy Eleven NPSL in front of a record attendance of 6,912, qualifying the team for the 2017 US Open Cup. The following day GRFC lost against 2016 NPSL champions AFC Cleveland on penalties.

On November 1, 2016, the club announced they would add a women's team under the same GRFC banner, which would begin play in 2017 in a new Midwest division of the United Women's Soccer league.^[7] The women's team plays at Grandville High School in Grandville, Michigan. The Grand Rapids FC (women) won the 2017 United Women's Soccer Championship in their inaugural season.^[8]

On December 5, 2019 it was announced that the club would be moving from the NPSL to USL League Two. Also during this time, the ownership of the women's side was transferred to Midwest United FC and their name was changed to reflect this change.^[9]

Grand Rapids FC ceased operations on October 27, 2021. The club cited that the lack of an adequate home venue and the financial challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of the club.^[1][10]

 

Colors and badge

On March 14, 2014, representatives of the club released their vision for the official club logo and colors. The badge draws inspiration from the early German influence in Grand Rapids' brewing,^[11] notably Christoph Kusterer,^[12] as well as city design. The combination of royal and navy blue reflects a continuity with West Michigan sports teams and various Grand Rapids imagery.^[13]

Stadium

 

Houseman Field

In 2020 and 2021, Grand Rapids FC had used the Midwest United FC Soccer Complex as their home field.^[14] Prior to 2020, Houseman Field in the Midtown neighborhood of Grand Rapids had been the home field since the club's inception.^[15][16]

Record attendance

• 6,912 – July 22, 2016, vs Indy Eleven NPSL at Houseman Field (second game of a doubleheader, attendance counted both games)
• 6,854 – July 8, 2016, vs AFC Ann Arbor at Houseman Field (single game record)

Head coaches

•   George Moni (2015–2017)
•   Lewis Robinson (2018–2019)
•   James Gilpin (2020)
•   Stuart Collins (2021)^[17]

Honors

National Premier Soccer League

• Conference championships (1)
  • Midwest Region – Great Lakes West Conference: 2016

Minor competitions

• West Michigan Community Cup: 2020

Statistics

Year-by-year

Year	Tier	League	Regular Season	Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup	Average Attendance	Average League Attendance
2015	5	GLPL	2nd of 5 (3–3–2)	―^[A]	Ineligible^[B]	4,509	3,945
2016	4	NPSL	1st of 7, Midwest – Great Lakes West (7–1–4)	Regional final	Ineligible^[B]	4,315	4,784
2017	4	NPSL	3rd of 8, Midwest – Great Lakes (6–6–2)	DNQ	First round	2,691	2,588
2018	4	NPSL	2nd of 7, Midwest – Great Lakes (7–3–2)	Regional first round	DNQ	―^[C]	―^[C]
2019	4	NPSL	3rd of 8, Midwest – Great Lakes (9–3–2)	DNQ	DNQ	―^[C]	―^[C]
2020	4	USL2	Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[18]
2021	4	USL2	4th of 9, Central – Great Lakes (7–2–5)	DNQ	DNQ	―^[C]	―^[C]

1. ^A No playoffs were held in the inaugural season of the Great Lakes Premier League.
2. ^B To enter the U.S. Open Cup, in the previous season a team must have belonged to an affiliated league with at least 4 teams that played a schedule of at least 10 games.^[19]
3. ^C Attendance figures beyond the 2017 season have not been made public by the organization.

Historic record vs opponents

Legend
0–0–0	Win–loss-draw
0–0	Win–loss
*	No games played

Opponent	League	Playoffs	U.S. Open	Amateur Cup	MI Cup	Played	Total	GF	GA	GD	Win %
AAFC Lumberjacks	*	*	*	*	1–0	1	1–0–0	3	0	+3	1.000
AFC Ann Arbor	4–5–1	*	*	*	*	10	4–5–1	15	13	+2	.450
AFC Cleveland	*	0–0–1 (0–1 PKs)	*	*	*	1	0–0–1	0	0	0	.500
Ann Arbor FC	*	*	*	1–0	*	1	1–0–0	4	1	+3	1.000
Chicago FC United	*	*	0–1	*	*	1	0–1–0	0	1	−1	.000
Croatian Eagles	1–0–1	*	*	*	*	2	1–0–1	3	1	+2	.750
Dayton Dutch Lions	1–0–0	*	*	*	*	1	1–0–0	6	1	+5	1.000
Dayton Dynamo	2–0–0	*	*	*	*	2	2–0–0	2	0	+2	1.000
Detroit City FC	2–2–4	*	*	*	*	8	2–2–4	13	12	+1	.500
Duluth FC	*	0–0–1 (0–1 PKs)	*	*	*	1	0–0–1	2	2	0	.500
FC Columbus	1–3–0	*	*	*	*	4	1–3–0	3	8	−5	.250
FC Indiana	6–0–0	*	*	*	*	6	6–0–0	26	2	+24	1.000
Flint City Bucks	1–0–1	*	*	*	0–1	3	1–1–1	4	4	0	.500
Fort Wayne FC	0–0–2	*	*	*	*	2	0–0–2	1	1	0	.500
Indy Eleven NPSL	*	1–0	*	*	*	1	1–0–0	1	0	+1	1.000
Kalamazoo FC	6–2–2	*	*	*	*	10	6–2–2	20	10	+10	.700
Kings Hammer FC	0–1–0	*	*	*	*	1	0–1–0	2	3	–1	.000
Lansing United	2–1–1	*	*	*	0–0–1 (0–1 PKs)	5	2–1–2	9	7	+2	.600
Livonia City FC	*	*	*	0–1 ^[D]	*	1	0–1–0	0	1	–1	.000
Michigan Stars FC	3–1–2	*	*	*	*	6	3–1–2	7	5	+2	.667
Milwaukee Torrent	2–0–2	*	*	*	*	4	2–0–2	7	5	+2	.750
Muskegon Risers SC	*	*	*	*	2–0	2	2–0–0	5	3	+2	1.000
Oakland County FC^[E]	3–1–0	*	*	*	*	4	3–1–0	10	4	+6	.750
RWB Adria	0–2–0	*	*	*	*	2	0–2–0	2	6	−4	.000
South Bend Lions FC	1–0–1	*	*	*	*	2	1–0–1	4	3	+1	.750
Toledo Villa FC	4–0–0	*	*	*	*	4	4–0–0	17	3	+14	1.000
Total	39–18–17	1–0–2 (0–2 PKs)	0–1	1–1	3–1–1 (0–1 PKs)	85	44–21–20	166	96	+70	.635

• Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
• Updated to end of 2021 season.

1. ^D Livonia City FC forfeited this May 4, 2019 match due to fielding an ineligible player. Grand Rapids FC was subsequently disqualified from the 2019 Amateur Cup for fielding too many players in the competition.^[20]
2. ^E Oakland United were renamed Oakland County FC in 2016

Player records

Goals Rank Player Goals Years 1   Scott Doney 15 2016–2020 2   Matt Whelan 10 2018–2020   Matty Cornish 2021 4   Noble Sullivan 7 2015–2018   Jalen Rodríguez 2017–2019   Caleb Postlewait 2017–2019   Samuel Biek 2019   TJ Ifaturoti 2019, 2021 9   Anthony Bowie 6 2016–2020 10   Greg Timmer 5 2016–2017, 2019–2020   Joe Broekhuizen 2016–2020   Eric Conerty 2018–2021

Appearances Rank Player Apps Years 1   Scott Doney 50 2016–2020 2   Tony Deakin 44 2015–2018, 2020–2021 3   Noah Fazekas 42 2016–2018 4   Jack McCarren 40 2018–2021 5   Caleb Postlewait 35 2017–2019 6   Nick Abdoo 34 2015–2018   Eric Conerty 2018–2021 8   Jake VanderLaan 31 2016–2020 9   Noble Sullivan 30 2015–2018   Anthony Bowie 2016–2020   Joe Broekhuizen 2016–2020   Daire O'Riordan 2018–2020

• Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
• Updated to end of 2021 season.

Reference:^[21]

Club culture

 

The south side of Houseman Field, with members of the Grand Army supporters group in the foreground. Attendance 3,843.

Supporters

The Grand Army was the supporters group for Grand Rapids FC.^[22] Starting in 2015, all pre-game festivities were held at Bob's Bar and a march led through the Midtown neighborhood.^[23] In June 2015 a fanzine entitled What if it Rains started publication.^[24] The name of the magazine referred to one of the reasons the NPSL originally declined the club's application and celebrated the club's massive support.

References

1. "Grand Rapids FC disbands after seven years". MLive.com. October 27, 2021. from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
2. "A Soccer Club in Grand Rapids?". from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
3. . GRBJ.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
4. "sports.yahoo.com". yahoo.com. Retrieved October 16, 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
5. "NPSL denies Ann Arbor semi-pro soccer club's application; owners plan to establish new league". MLive.com. December 2014. from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
6. "Grand Rapids Football Club Joins the NPSL – Grand Rapids FC". GrandRapidsFC.com. from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
7. "Grand Rapids FC launches women's team for 2017 season". mlive. November 1, 2016. from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
8. "Grand Rapids FC beats Santa Clarita, captures United Women's Soccer championship". MLive.com. July 2017. from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
9. "GRFC Announces Collaboration With Midwest United". December 24, 2019. from the original on February 26, 2024. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
10. "AFTER SEVEN SEASONS, GRAND RAPIDS FC CEASES OPERATIONS". GrandRapidsFC.com. October 27, 2021. from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
11. "Identity". Grand Rapids FC official website. from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
12. Baxter, Albert (1891). History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. New York and Grand Rapids: Munsell and Company. p. 203.
13. "Identity". Grand Rapids FC official website. from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
14. GRFC (April 13, 2021). "GRAND RAPIDS FC TO RELEASE FULL 2021 SEASON SCHEDULE; FIRST GAME AT THIS YEAR'S HOME FIELD SET FOR MAY 16". grandrapidsfc.com. from the original on April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
15. "Houseman Field to become home of Grand Rapids Football Club". mlive. July 10, 2014. from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
16. Peter J. Wallner (February 8, 2020). "Grand Rapids FC to remain at Houseman Field for upcoming season". MLive.com. from the original on March 19, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
17. "Stuart Collins Accepts Head Coaching Job For Grand Rapids FC". from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
18. "United Soccer League Provides Update on 2020 League Two Season". April 30, 2020. from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
19. "How do you enter the 2016 US Open Cup? USSF takes over amateur qualifying". from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
20. "Grand Rapids FC disqualified from U.S. Amateur Cup". mLive. May 9, 2019. from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
21. "What if it Rains". WhatIfItRains.net. from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
22. . Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
23. "Game Day FAQ". from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
24. . Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.

External links

• Official website