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Tormenta FC

Coordinates: 32°24′35″N 81°47′46″W / 32.409722°N 81.796111°W / 32.409722; -81.796111
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This article is about the USL men's soccer club. For the affiliated women's soccer club, see Tormenta FC (W-League).
Tormenta FC
Full nameSouth Georgia Tormenta Football Club
Nickname(s)Pelicans
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)
StadiumTormenta Stadium
Statesboro, Georgia
Capacity5,300
Coordinates32°24′35″N 81°47′46″W / 32.409722°N 81.796111°W / 32.409722; -81.796111
Co-owners
  • Darin Van Tassell
  • Netra Van Tassell
  • Jeff Spencer
Head coachIan Cameron
LeagueUSL League One
2024USL League One, 10th of 12
Playoffs: DNQ
Websitehttp://www.tormentafc.com
Current season

South Georgia Tormenta FC, or simply Tormenta FC, is an American soccer organization based in Statesboro, Georgia, United States. Founded in 2015, the club fields a professional team in USL League One, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, as well as a pre-professional team in USL League Two called Tormenta FC 2 (which is on hiatus since the 2023 season)[1] and a pre-professional team in USL W League. The team colors are midnight navy, sky blue, silver, and magenta. The team's crest shows an ibis.[2][3] Tormenta FC's USL League One team and the W-League team both emerged victorious in 2022, becoming national champions in their respective leagues.

History

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South Georgia Tormenta FC was founded in 2015 making it Statesboro's first pro team in any sport in 60 years, since the Statesboro Pilots of baseball's Georgia State League folded in 1955. Owned by Tormenta FC LLC, the operations of the franchise are steered by Darin Van Tassell and Netra Van Tassell. The word "tormenta" means "storm" in Spanish.[4]

2016

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On May 21, 2016, Tormenta FC hosted its inaugural home match against the Carolina Dynamo in front of 3,105 fans.[5]

Tormenta FC won their first match in club history on June 16, 2016 against the Charlotte Eagles in a 2–0 decision.[6] The club then followed up that victory with a second consecutive win on June 18, 2016 by defeating the Carolina Dynamo 1–0.[7] On June 23, 2016, Tormenta FC not only scored their first ever home goal, but the team managed to win their first home match as well; a 1–0 victory over Southern West Virginia King's Warriors.[8]

Tormenta had a five-game win streak snapped in a 2–1 defeat against the King's Warriors on July 2, 2016.

The club finished 6th out of 8 in the South Atlantic Division.[9]

2018

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On January 25, 2018, South Georgia Tormenta FC was announced as the first founding member of USL League One for 2019. The team had an undefeated regular season in 2018, clinching the Deep South Division championship. Tormenta FC hosted the conference playoffs in Statesboro, Georgia.[10]

2019

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On March 29, 2019, Tormenta FC hosted the inaugural match of USL League One, winning 1–0 against the Greenville Triumph and setting a new attendance record of 3,519.[11] After a successful start to the season that saw the team in second place, a second-half downturn with 2 wins in their last 16 matches brought them down to 6th place and out of a playoff spot.

2020

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On September 16, 2020, Tormenta announced that it had promoted John Miglarese to Technical Director, and promote previous assistant coach and head coach of Tormenta 2, Ian Cameron, to head coach of the first team.[12]

2021

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On June 8, 2021, Tormenta announced they will be fielding a women's side to compete in the new USL W League beginning in 2022.[13]

2022

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In the off season, the club signed former Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and English youth international player Kazaiah Sterling.[14] The club finished the season in third place, qualifying for the first round of the USL League One playoffs. In the club's first ever playoff appearance, they defeated sixth seeded Charlotte Independence and then second seeded Greenville Triumph before winning the final match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC by the score of 2–1.[15][16][17]

Stadium

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Tormenta FC currently plays at Optim Sports Medicine Field, a 5,300-seat soccer-specific stadium in Statesboro.[18][19][20] They previously played at Eagle Field at Erk Russell Park on the campus of Georgia Southern University from 2016 to most of the 2022 season.

Sponsorship

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Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2016–2018 United States Nike Optim Orthopedics
2019–2023 Germany Adidas
2024–present Germany Puma[21]

Record

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Year-by-year

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As of October 26, 2024
Season Premier Development League Playoffs US Open Cup Top Scorer 1 Head Coach
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2016 14 6 5 3 22 18 21 5th, South Atlantic Did not qualify Ineligible England Sam Lofts 4 United States Ben Freakley
2017 14 7 3 4 34 17 25 4th, South Atlantic Did not qualify DNQ United States Jamie Merriam 9 United States John Miglarese
2018 14 11 0 3 30 10 36 1st, Deep South Conference Semifinals 2R Italy Marco Micaletto 4 United States John Miglarese
Season USL League One Playoffs US Open Cup Top Scorer 1 Head Coach
P W L D GF GA Pts Pos Player Goals
2019 28 9 10 9 32 34 37 6th Did not qualify 2R Italy Marco Micaletto 8 United States John Miglarese
2020 16 5 7 4 19 22 19 8th Did not qualify Not held Spain Nil Vinyals 4 United States John Miglarese (2–4–4)
Scotland Ian Cameron (3–3–0)
2021 28 8 14 6 36 47 30 11th Did not qualify Not Held Italy Marco Micaletto 11 Scotland Ian Cameron
2022 30 12 9 9 42 40 45 3rd Champions 4R England Kazaiah Sterling 13 Scotland Ian Cameron
2023 32 12 14 6 55 56 42 7th Did not qualify 3R England Kazaiah Sterling 13 Scotland Ian Cameron
2024 22 4 10 8 33 42 20 10th Did not qualify 3R Argentina Sebastián Vivas 8 Scotland Ian Cameron

^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.

Head coaches

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As of October 14, 2022
  • Includes Regular Season, Playoffs & U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
Coach Nationality Start End G W L D GF GA Win %
Ben Freakley  United States 2016 January 11, 2017 14 6 5 3 22 18 042.86
John Miglarese  United States January 11, 2017 September 18, 2020 70 30 19 21 109 80 042.86
Ian Cameron  Scotland September 18, 2020 present 104 41 42 21 156 159 039.42

Players and staff

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Current roster

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As of December 9, 2024[22][23]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Ford Parker
3 DF United States Virgin Islands VIR Joshua Ramos
5 DF Iraq IRQ Alsadiq Hasan
6 DF Puerto Rico PUR Callum Stretch
7 MF England ENG Niall Watson
8 MF Scotland SCO Daniel Steedman
9 FW Argentina ARG Sebastian Vivas
10 MF Brazil BRA Pedro Fonseca
12 GK United States USA Drew Romig
13 GK United States USA Sam Jones
15 MF United States USA Austin Wehner
16 MF England ENG Mason Tunbridge
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Colombia COL Gabriel Rodriguez
18 MF United States USA Dodge Brooks ([A])
19 MF Ivory Coast CIV Tavio D'Almeida
20 DF United States USA Collin Mocyunas
21 MF United States USA Ajmeer Spengler
22 DF Argentina ARG Aaron Lombardi
23 DF United States USA Preston Kilwien
25 DF United States USA Jake Dengler
28 MF United States USA Aaron Walker
30 MF United States USA Conor Doyle
77 MF Chile CHI Pedro Campos
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract

Technical staff

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As of June 15, 2021[24]
  • Scotland Ian Cameron – Head Coach
  • Scotland Jordan Bell – Assistant & Goalkeeping Coach
  • England Jordan Melia – Assistant Coach
  • United States Drew DeJohn – Performance Coach

Front office

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As of February 6, 2024[25]
  • United States Caroline Boykin – Director, Marketing
  • United States Tom Valcke – Senior Director, Franchise Development
  • United States Rich Fleming – Director, Production and Outreach
  • United States Noah Schroyer – Coordinator, Communications & Social Media
  • United States Conner Martin – Coordinator, Creative & Brand
  • United States John Schlieman – Senior VP, Corporate Partnerships
  • United States Bryce Judy – Senior Director, Soccer Operations
  • United States Colt Carver – Head Equipment Manager
  • United States Talique Cobb – Coordinator, Ticket Sales and Service
  • United States Colby Beard – Coordinator, Ticket Sales and Service
  • United States Alex Wagner – Senior Director, Ticketing and Fan Engagement
  • United States Johnnie Sanchez – Coordinator, Academy Recruitment

Tormenta FC 2

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Main article: Tormenta FC 2

In January 2019, the team announced that it would continue to field a team in USL League Two while also playing professionally in USL League One.[26] The team, Tormenta FC 2, continues to play in the Deep South Division and has won the conference once in 2019. During its inaugural season, the team won the Southern Conference for the first time in organization history.[27]

The 2 team has also qualified for two U.S. Open Cup tournaments in 2019 and 2020, with the latter being cancelled and the tournament spot being transferred to 2021.[28][29]

The club announced in January 2022 that Tormenta 2 would take a one-year hiatus from USL League Two in order for the club to focus on developing its academy.[1]

Honors

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Player honors

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Year Pos Player Country Honor
USL Premier Development League
2016 D Peyton Ericson  USA All-Eastern Conference Team
2018 M Marco Micaletto  ITA All-League Team
All-Southern Conference Team
M Toni Soler  ESP All-Southern Conference Team
USL League One
2019 D Conner Antley  USA Defender of the Year
All-League First Team
D Mikie Rowe  IRE Goal of the Year
2020 M Marco Micaletto  ITA All-League Second Team
2021 M Marco Micaletto  ITA All-League First Team
2022 M Adrian Billhardt  GER Comeback Player of the Year
D Jake Dengler  USA All-League Second Team
M Gabriel Cabral  BRA All-League Second Team
F Kazaiah Sterling  ENG All-League Second Team

References

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  1. ^ a b "Tormenta FC to Elevate USL Academy Team". South Georgia Tormenta FC. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  2. ^ "PDL Awards Franchise to Statesboro, Georgia". Premier Development League (PDL). August 6, 2015.
  3. ^ "Tormenta FC Arrives in South Georgia". Premier Development League (PDL). October 28, 2015.
  4. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Tormentafc.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  5. ^ "History in the making for Tormenta". Tormentafc.com. 23 May 2016.
  6. ^ Colin (17 June 2016). "Tormenta FC Secures First Win".
  7. ^ "Tormenta FC moves up in Ranking with Two Consecutive Wins On The Road". Tormentafc.com. 20 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Tormenta comes through in the clutch". Statesboroherald.com.
  9. ^ "Standings – 2016 Regular Season – South Georgia Tormenta FC 2". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  10. ^ "Tormenta FC joins USL Division III for 2019". January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  11. ^ O'Donnell, Bernadette (2019-03-30). "Post-Game Notes: March 29 vs Greenville Triumph SC". South Georgia Tormenta FC. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  12. ^ "Tormenta FC Names Ian Cameron as USL League One Head Coach". South Georgia Tormenta FC. 2020-09-16. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  13. ^ "USL announces return of the W League from 2022 – SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Tormenta FC Sign Former Tottenham Hotspur Forward Kazaiah Sterling". uslleagueone.com. 28 February 2022.
  15. ^ "USL League One Match Report". uslleagueone.com.
  16. ^ "USL League One Match Report". uslleagueone.com.
  17. ^ "Champions – Tormenta rules League One". stateborohearald.com. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Tormenta Stadium to break ground March 27". Statesboroherald.com.
  19. ^ "Tormenta FC owners give update on new stadium, retail shops". 24 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Optim Health System Claims Naming Rights for Tormenta FC Field". 2 February 2021.
  21. ^ "South Georgia Tormenta FC, PUMA Announce Multiyear Partnership".
  22. ^ "2021 USL League One Roster". tormentafc.com. Tormenta FC. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  23. ^ "South Georgia Tormenta FC Roster". USLLeagueOne.com. USL League One. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  24. ^ "Technical Staff". Tormentafc.com.
  25. ^ "Front Office". Tormentafc.com.
  26. ^ O'Donnell, Bernadette (23 January 2019). "Tormenta FC Announces Rebrand of its USL League Two Team". South Georgia Tormenta FC. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  27. ^ Zimmer, Amy (29 July 2019). "Historic season for Tormenta FC 2 comes to an end". WJCL. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  28. ^ Popkin, Jackson (8 May 2019). "A South Georgia Tormenta FC Guide to the 2019 U.S. Open Cup First Round". Dirty South Soccer. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  29. ^ Sullivan, Tim (15 May 2019). "2019 US Open Cup round 2: Nashville SC holds off pesky South Georgia Tormenta 2". TheCup.us. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
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