Category: Getting to know You

Getting to Know You: Alexandria Pool Boys FC

The Alexandria Pool Boys FC are, believe it or not, a historical team in not just the Gulf Coast Premier League, but in American soccer as well. The Pool Boys are a founding member of the GCPL. They are a constant competitor for the GCPL Cup, but what they are mostly known for is their fantastic social media presence. Whether it is their self-deprecating videos, snarky voice, or social media wars with other lower league teams, Pool Boys have a well earned reputation in American soccer. This reputation extends off the internet and onto the pitch as well. Pool Boys are currently sitting in third place, just outside of the playoffs, in a tough GCPL Western Conference. They will be heading east to Mobile in hopes of getting three points and jumping Cajun SC into the final Western Conference playoff spot.

CLUB: Alexandria FC

NICKNAME: The Pool Boys, APBFC

Before AFC Mobile came into GCPL and before CD Motagua of NOLA went on their Lamar Hunt US Open Cup run, the team that people knew about in the GCPL was the Pool Boys. Whether it was their play or their humorous social media battle with Boston’s Groton House Pizza Boys FC, the Pool Boys are well-known in non-league American soccer circles.

Last season, Alexandria was eliminated from the GCPL Cup Playoffs by eventual champions Gaffa FC in the semi-finals. The beginning of their 2018 campaign did not start well. Though the team held plenty of possession and outshot opponents, it has only been within the last few weeks that they have truly found their form, winning their last two matches and seemingly finding their best lineups. As is the case for Mobile, this weekend’s match is a must-win if Alexandria hopes to gain ground on Cajun SC and BOCA FC Knights in the Western Conference playoff race.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Juno Mboungou is a  APBFC veteran. He’s been on the team since its inception. Mboungou led the GCPL in assists last year and is creeping his way up the list this season with some spectacularly skillful form in the last few matches. His younger brother, Nicholas Mboungou, was just named to the GCPL Team of the Week after having a goal and an assist last weekend.  In addition to the Mboungou brothers, second-year player Brett Judd has been a goal-scoring monster for the Pool Boys. After his hat trick against Shreveport United, he inserted himself into the Golden Boot conversation.

The club can be found on Facebook and Twitter at @PoolBoysFC and on their website www.poolboysfc.com.

Getting to Know You: Port City FC

What is the Forgotten Coast Cup? Non League America has called it the “realest developing rivalry in American soccer.” Port City FC (formerly “Biloxi City FC”) and AFC Mobile began a somewhat neighborly but also bitter rivalry in 2017 when PCFC came to Mobile and won 2-1 on a stoppage-time winner by Trevor Aires. That game included three red cards for Port City, a coach ejection, and some bitter play on both sides of the ball. When AFC Mobile traveled to Gulfport later in the season, they pulled out their first and only win of their inaugural season with a 4-2 victory. This weekend, after a delay due to Tropical Storm Alberto, both teams head back to the pitch with new players, one with a new name, and both with one goal for their supporters: beat the other club mercilessly.

CLUB: Port City FC

NICKNAME: The Sounders; PCFC

Port City FC, much like AFC Mobile, is an ambitious club. They were the first non-Louisiana team to join the GCPL and had a decent amount of success in their early years. The club has yet to make the playoffs, but along with Pensacola FC — who they tied earlier this season — PCFC is considered one of the favorites to make the playoffs in a stacked GCPL Eastern Conference. Currently in third place in the East, and only by the third tie-breaker of goals scored, Port City will be looking to get a win over their bitter Mobilian rivals, which would also potentially push them over Pensacola and the Rangers to the top of the Eastern Conference table.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: For Port City, Patrick Harrison has been a stalwart. One of the best and most consistent players in GCPL for the better part of three seasons, Harrison has made the All-GCPL team in successive years. With the Gulfport club, his importance cannot be measured on the scorecard alone. This year, however, the player most people will become most aware of is Jordan Hall. A left-footed striker from Manchester, England, Hall spent last season playing for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where he was named an NSCAA All-American for his 28 goals and 12 assists over 18 games for MGCCC. This fall, Hall will be heading off to Rutgers to play NCAA D1 soccer. As of this moment, Hall is sitting on four goals and five assists for the Sounders and will be looking to continue this form on the left side of the attack. But Port City’s plethora of playmakers is not finished with there, they also feature the GCPL’s third all-time leading goal scorer in Michael Cooper. Cooper, who scored the decisive goal in the GCPL Cup Final for Gaffa FC last season, has returned to Gulfport and will be looking to further add to his already impressive GCPL goal tally.

The club can be found on Facebook and Twitter at @PortCityFC and its website, www.portcityfc.com.

Getting to Know You: Rangers FC

AFC Mobile is off to a good start to the season, winning two out of three and averaging over three goals per game, but its next test may be its biggest yet. On the other side of Mobile Bay, a new GCPL team  will be entering The Lip looking for a win of its own. The Daphne-based club that plays its home games in Foley is Gulf Coast Rangers FC, and it’s been competitive in their opening GCPL season. Coming off a 1-1 draw with Baton Rouge United, the Rangers will enter Sweet Lunacy’s County Seat hoping to steal some road points and head back to the ‘burbs with a first-leg victory in hand.

CLUB: Gulf Coast Rangers FC
NICKNAME: Rangers

Rangers FC entered the GCPL in good form, losing narrowly to Gulfport’s Port City FC 2-1, running over Moss Point’s Real United FC 10-2, falling to Mississippi Blues 3-2, and tying Baton Rouge United 1-1. As a first-year club, Rangers have looked dangerous attacking and have one of the top goalkeepers in the GCPL with former Atlanta Silverback Xavier Audergon. Rangers have also gotten players from their youth academy involved, providing opportunities to several current and former Ranger youth players including up-and-coming Bayside Academy goalkeeper Ty Turner.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: There are plenty of familiar faces with the Rangers, but the versatile, attacking trio of Yan Linevu, David Hall, and Amos Ndikumana have proven difficult for most opponents. Linevu has a knack for getting himself into highly dangerous positions for the Rangers; Hall uses his size and immense speed to create matchup headaches for defenses; and Ndikumana is proficient at both scoring and setting up goals from the wing.

The Gulf Coast Rangers FC GCPL team can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @RangersFCMens.

Mobile faces Gulf Coast Rangers FC this Saturday, June 9th.  There will be some pre-game surprises at 6:30 p.m. and kickoff is  7:00 p.m. at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex located at 3610 Michael Boulevard in Mobile. Tickets are $5 and children 12 and under are free. Saturday’s game will also be Military Appreciation Night.  All veterans and active duty military personnel will be admitted free of charge. 

Getting to Know You: Pensacola FC

The preseason has officially ended and Gulf Coast Premier League action begins this weekend! AFC Mobile’s first opportunity to test its merit in regular season GCPL action will be this Saturday, May 12th, against Pensacola FC. Pensacola FC considers itself “The People’s Club” and has a strong group of former University of West Florida alumni at its disposal. Last year, AFC Mobile lost to them at The Lip before pulling off a stunning draw at Ashton Brosnaham Stadium in Pensacola. This year, both teams have reloaded, Pensacola FC has rebranded, and round two could be fascinating.

CLUB: Pensacola FC

NICKNAME: The 59ers

Last year was Pensacola FC’s debut year in the Gulf Coast Premier League. In that opening salvo, they took on the moniker of “Gulf Coast Texans” after the Pensacola-based youth club where several of the players either coached or started playing. For the 2018 season, they have rebranded to better represent the City of Pensacola by taking on the new name “Pensacola FC,” which was the youth club’s name prior to becoming an affiliate of the Dallas Texans youth club.

In their debut season, Pensacola FC found themselves relatively successful, finishing the season with a 6-1-3 record. It came down to the last Wednesday of the regular season when Biloxi City held the 59ers’ fate in their hand. If Biloxi had drawn with or beaten Gaffa FC, PFC would have qualified for the playoffs, but Gaffa won and Pensacola was sent home without tasting the playoffs in their inaugural year.

With many of the same players back this year and Nolan Intermoia taking over coaching duties from Nick Cardosa, the club is hoping to continue their success from last season and make that final push into an expanded playoff field.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The 59ers have studs on both sides of the pitch including a few younger UWF graduates. However, it is the work of Lafayette-native Dillon Gallet that spectators will want to watch. Gallet was an All-GCPL East selection and finished tied for fifth place in the Golden Boot race. He may be one of the fastest players in the GCPL and will prove a matchup headache all night for any team. Defensively, Chance Chancellor was also an All-GCPL East selection. He has taken on player-coaching duties this year, but will make sure that his defensive line will again be one of the best in the GCPL.

The club can be found on Facebook at @pensacolafc1559 and Twitter at @PensacolaFC.

Tickets to Saturday’s game are just $5 each, and all kids 12 and under will be admitted free of charge. This Saturday is Teacher Appreciation Night! All school employees with a valid school ID will be admitted at no charge! All AFC Mobile home games are played at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex located at 3610 Michael Boulevard in Mobile.

Getting to Know You: New Orleans Jesters

After a 6-0 loss to the NPSL Southeast’s Atlanta Silverbacks and a 2-1 victory over the GCPL Central’s Northshore United FC, AFC Mobile will complete its preseason schedule with a home match against the NPSL Southeast’s New Orleans Jesters. This is the club’s final chance to shift formations and work on tactics prior to the start of the Gulf Coast Premier League Eastern Division season starting on May 12th against Pensacola FC. Saturday, May 5th will mark an anticipated showdown between teams representing the birthplace of Mardi Gras and the biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the country.The Jesters were highly successful last season and will feature a slew of professional prospects as they enter Mobile to take on the Azaleas for their first match of the year prior to the start of their NPSL Southeast schedule and their first round match in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

CLUB: New Orleans Jesters

NICKNAME: Jesters

The New Orleans Jesters are fresh off the best season in the club’s history. They went undefeated in the NPSL Southeast regular season (8-0-4) and won its crown. But they saw their 2017 postseason end prematurely on a controversial red card in the NPSL Southeast playoff finals against Inter Nashville FC.

Formerly playing in the Professional Development League (PDL), the Jesters now play in the National Premier Soccer League, which is the fourth tier of soccer in the United States. Producing players such as Patrick Mullins (DC United) and Andrew Tarbell (San Jose Earthquakes), the club has had several players move on to play professionally in MLS and abroad. There have also been recent discussions about the club making a jump to the professional level in the near future.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Jesters’ roster is laden with many returning stars from last year’s team, including Mason Walsh, Chad Collins, and Curtis Thorne. Walsh, the captain, is the team’s star midfielder who pushes the team forward, setting up the style and pace of play that head coach Kenny Farrell demands. Collins was arguably the best goalkeeper in the region last year, making several spectacular saves. Defender Curtis Thorne was voted the team MVP last year and should give the Jesters’ back line some much need stability.

The club can be found online at www.nolajesters.com and on twitter @nolajesters.

Tickets to Saturday’s game are just $5 each, and all kids 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.  All AFC Mobile home games are played at the Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex located at 3610 Michael Boulevard in Mobile. Finish off your Cinco de Mayo properly with tacos from the El Milagro Taqueria Y Pupuseria food truck that will be on site inside the stadium!

Getting to Know You: Atlanta Silverbacks FC

Saturday, May 14th, AFC Mobile kick off their preseason with a trip to the confines of Silverback Park to take on the Atlanta Silverbacks of the National Premier Soccer League. This will be a tough test for the Azaleas as they begin on their path towards the Gulf Coast Premier League regular season. There are few teams in the southeastern United States like the Silverbacks. In fact, there are few teams in American soccer like them. Atlanta Silverback supporter Paul F. Scanling breaks down why the Silverbacks are special in American soccer and what AFC Mobile can expect to see when they make the trek to historic Silverback Park.

CLUB: Atlanta Silverbacks FC

NICKNAME: Silverbacks

HOME: Atlanta Silverback Park, 3200 Atlanta Silverbacks Way, Atlanta, GA 30340

HISTORY: The Atlanta Silverbacks trace their history back to the Atlanta Ruckus, which began play in 1995. The name change came in the fall of 1998 to honor longtime Zoo Atlanta icon Willie B., a silverback gorilla named after former Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield.  The club has participated in the A League, the USL and the NASL in the past and now competes in the NPSL.  The club plays at Silverbacks Park, located at the intersection of I-75 and I-285, also known as Spaghetti Junction.

Twice losers to the Seattle Sounders in the championship round, the Silverbacks have also made it to the Quarterfinals of the US Open Cup, beating both Colorado and Real Salt Lake in that competition.  USMNT Legend Eric Wynalda managed the Silverbacks during that run.  The current version of the club has won trophies the last two seasons in the NPSL.
The Silverbacks have reached an agreement with the Silverbacks Trust to facilitate fan ownership, making the Silverbacks one of only a few teams in America that are focused on and supporting fan ownership.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Keka Kamara – the United Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year and first team All-American, will undoubtedly be a player climbing the American soccer pyramid. Meanwhile, new captain Sheriff Suma, returning players Abdul Bangura, and Mohammed Issahaku will also test the Azaleas early and often.  In goal, Bryce Billington returns to the Backs after a year playing with the Georgia Revolution.

The club can be found at www.atlantasilverbacksfc.com, on twitter @atlsilverbacks and has a YouTube channel.  The Trust can be found online at asfctrust.org and on Twitter at @asfctrust.