VSI Tampa Bay FC (PDL) Players
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VSI Tampa Bay FC was an American
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team based in
Plant City, Florida Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite ma ...
. They played in
USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...
, the third tier of the
American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...
, in the 2013 season. VSI Tampa Bay FC were owned by VisionPro Sports Institute and were affiliated with a
women's team A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...
in the W-League, an amateur team in the
USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
(PDL), and a youth team in the
Super-20 League USL Youth, formerly known as the Super Y League, is a youth association football, soccer league with teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1999, the league is affiliated with United States Soccer Federation, U.S. Soccer and used ...
. All the teams folded in 2013.


History

In 2011, English soccer development academy VisionPro Sports Institute announced a venture to establish a soccer organization in the
United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
in the United States. VSI partnered with the local
Brandon, Florida Brandon is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...
area youth soccer organization, West Florida Flames, to build VSI Tampa Flames, "the perfect platform for vertical progression, giving talented youngsters the opportunity to progress from junior soccer all the way through to the professional game," according to VSI's CEO, Simon Crane. The
USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...
team was to serve as the pinnacle of the youth pyramid for men; the club also included a
women's team A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...
in the W-League, an amateur team in the
USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...
(PDL), and a youth team in the
Super-20 League USL Youth, formerly known as the Super Y League, is a youth association football, soccer league with teams from the United States and Canada. Founded in 1999, the league is affiliated with United States Soccer Federation, U.S. Soccer and used ...
. The W-League, PDL, and Super-20 League teams started play in 2012, while the USL Pro team was to join in 2013. On November 22, 2012, the team changed its name to "VSI Tampa Bay FC" and named
Matt Weston Matt Weston (born 5 November 1975) is an English football coach/manager. He was the former head coach of FC New York and VSI Tampa Bay FC in the USL Professional League and technical director of Premier Development League team Ocala Stampede. H ...
as the head coach. Their first game was played on March 30, 2013, losing to
Phoenix FC Phoenix FC was an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. The team was a member of the USL Pro, USL Professional Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team's colors were red and white. History ...
1–0. They defeated the
Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...
1–0 for their first win on April 2, 2013. Antonio Neto scored the first goal in team history. VSI Tampa Bay chose
Plant City Stadium Plant City Stadium is a stadium in Plant City, Florida with a capacity of about 6,000. It was built in 1988 as the new spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds, who had previously trained at Al Lopez Field in nearby Tampa, Florida, Tampa for ...
as their home venue on April 4, 2013, moving all the teams there. Matt Weston resigned as Head Coach on May 8, 2013, and Joel Harrison was named as Interim Head Coach. While the W-League and PDL teams had been successful in 2012, the USL Pro team struggled throughout its only season. The remote stadium in Plant City made it difficult to attract fans, and the team suffered from competition from the more successful
Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...
of the
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
. The organization folded all of its teams after the 2013 season.Domingo, Odeen (November 17, 2013)
"USL PRO to see teams fold; MLS to field squads; new team partnership"
odfcnews.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.


Final roster


Staff

* Joel Harrison – Head Coach * Sheldon Cipriani – Head Coach, PDL Team / First Team Assistant Coach * Sam Mitchell – Head Coach, Super-20 League Team / First Team Assistant Coach * Jorge Zavala – Goalkeeping Coach / First Team Assistant Coach * Mac McCarthy – Performance Coach * John Mitchell – Head of Operations * Clay Roberts – Director of Soccer


Team records


Year-by-Year


Head coaches

* Includes USL Regular season, USL Play-offs and U.S. Lamar Hunt Open Cup


See also

*
VSI Tampa Bay FC (PDL) VSI Tampa Bay FC was an American soccer team based in Plant City, Florida that played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, from 2012 to 2013. The team was owned by VisionPro Sports Institute ...
*
VSI Tampa Bay FC (W-League) VSI Tampa Bay FC was an American women's soccer team based in Plant City, Florida, that played in the United Soccer Leagues USL W-League from 2012 to 2013. The team was owned by VisionPro Sports Institute and was affiliated with the VSI Tampa Ba ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:VSI Tampa Bay FC Soccer clubs in Tampa, Florida 2011 establishments in Florida Former USL Championship teams Association football clubs established in 2011 2013 disestablishments in Florida Association football clubs disestablished in 2013 Defunct soccer clubs in Florida Sports in Hillsborough County, Florida Plant City, Florida