Midwest United FC

Midwest United FC is an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan who play in the Midwest Division of the United Women's Soccer league. The team was founded in 2016 as the women's side to the Grand Rapids FC brand. Their first season was in 2017.[1] In December 2019, Midwest United FC assumed ownership of the team and rebranded it under their name.[2]

This article is about the women's team. For the men's team, see Grand Rapids FC.
Midwest United FC
Founded2016 (as Grand Rapids FC)
StadiumGrandville High School
Grandville, Michigan
Head CoachLewis Robinson
LeagueUnited Women's Soccer
2019Midwest Conference: 4th
Playoffs: Conference final
WebsiteClub website

History

Grand Rapids FC (GRFC) was started in 2014 by a group of Grand Rapids residents as a community-funded project. The men's teams first season was in 2015 in the newly formed Great Lakes Premier League before moving to the National Premier Soccer League. After two successful seasons that showed average attendance figures over 4,000 each season, the owners announced on November 1, 2016 that they would be adding a women's team to the Grand Rapids FC brand. Their first season was in 2017 in the United Women's Soccer league.[1][3]

The Grand Rapids FC women won the 2017 UWS Championship in their inaugural season [4] on July 22, 2017 at their home stadium, defeating the defending champions Santa Clarita Blue Heat 3 goals to 1.

In December 2019, the Grand Rapids FC brand underwent restructuring. The ownership model was changed and the men's team changed leagues. 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.[2][5]

Stadium

Grandville High School in Grandville, Michigan

Record attendance
  • 2,814 - July 2, 2017 vs Toledo Villa FC at Houseman Field (second game of a doubleheader following GRFC men, attendance counted both games)
  • 1,034 - July 22, 2017 vs Santa Clarita Blue Heat (single game record)

Players

2020 roster

[6] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
GK Lauren Kozal
GK Maia Perez
GK Gracie VanLangevelde
DF Natalie Belsito
DF Raegan Cox
DF Paige Eli
DF Natalie Lunt
DF Bria Schrotenboer
DF Oliwia Wos
MF Ariana Garcia
No. Position Player
MF Avery Lockwood
MF Katie Mahoney
MF Maddie Myers
MF Riko Sagara
MF Macy Hollingsworth
FW Stitch Currie
FW Lizzie Hornack
FW Morgan Otteson
FW Riley Tanner
FW Bailey Korhorn

Notable former players

Head coaches
  • Lewis Robinson (2017, 2020–present)
  • Chris Allen (2018)
  • James Gilpin (2018–2019)

Honors

United Women's Soccer

  • National championships (1): 2017
  • Conference season championships (1)
    • Midwest Conference: 2017
  • Conference playoff championships (2)

Year-by-year
Year Tier League Regular Season Playoffs Average
Attendance
2017 2 UWS 1st of 7, Midwest (8-1-1) UWS champions 848
2018 2 UWS 2nd of 7, Midwest (7-1-2) National semifinal ―[A]
2019 2 UWS 4th of 6, Midwest (3-5-2) Conference final ―[A]
2020 2 UWS Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic[7]
  1. ^
    A Attendance figures for 2018 and 2019 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 MI Cup Played Total GF GA GD Win %
AFC Ann Arbor 1-1 * * 2 1-1 4 6 –2 .500
Detroit Sun FC 4-2 1-0-1 (1-0 PKs) * 8 5-2-1 15 11 +4 .688
FC Indiana 2-0 1-0 * 3 3-0 16 1 +15 1.000
Fort Wayne United FC 4-0 * * 4 4-0 19 1 +18 1.000
Genesee FC 1-0 * * 1 1-0 7 0 +7 1.000
Indiana Union[B] 3-1-1 0-1 * 6 3-2-1 31 14 +17 .583
Inferno Rush * 0-1 * 1 0-1 3 4 –1 .000
Lansing United 0-3-1 2-0 * 6 2-3-1 12 11 +1 .417
Long Island Rough Riders * 0-0-1 (1-0 PKs) * 1 0-0-1 2 2 0 .500
Michigan Legends FC 2-0-3 * * 5 2-0-3 14 7 +7 .700
Motor City FC * * 0-1 1 0-1 1 3 –2 .000
Santa Clarita Blue Heat * 1-0 * 1 1-0 3 1 +2 1.000
Toledo Villa FC 1-0 * * 1 1-0 4 0 +4 1.000
Total 18-7-5 5-2-2 (2-0 PKs) 0-1 40 23-10-7 131 61 +70 .663
  • Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
  • Updated to end of 2019 season
  1. ^
    B Indy Premier SC was renamed Indiana Union in 2019.

Player records
  • Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
  • Updated to end of 2019 season
  • Reference:[8]

References
  1. "GRFC To Field Women's Team in 2017". November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  2. "GRFC Announces Collaboration With Midwest United". December 24, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  3. "Grand Rapids FC launches women's team for 2017 season". November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  4. "Grand Rapids FC beats Santa Clarita, captures United Women's Soccer championship".
  5. "Grand Rapids FC makes move to a new league". December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  6. "Roster". Midwest United FC. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  7. "UWS Provides Update on 2020 Season". Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  8. What If It Rains - All Time Stats
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