Dayton Dutch Lions
Full nameDayton Dutch Lions Football Club
Nickname(s)Dutch Lions
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
StadiumDayton Outpatient Center Stadium; West Carrollton, Ohio[1]
Capacity3,500
OwnersDr. Suresh Gupta
Erik Tammer
Mike Mossel
Head CoachHans Pascoal
LeagueUSL League Two
20235th, Valley Division
Playoffs: DNQ
WebsiteClub website

Dayton Dutch Lions is an American soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the USL Professional Division (USL Pro).[2]

The team plays its home games at the Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium on the campus of West Carrollton High School in nearby West Carrollton, Ohio.[3] The team's colors are orange, white and blue.

History

The club was started in the fall of 2009 and co-owned by Erik Tammer of Tammer Sportmanagement and Mike Mossel of Business and Sports Performance. Tammer is a former professional soccer player in the Netherlands who played for clubs such as Heerenveen and Sparta Rotterdam, while Mossel played in Europe for RBC Roosendaal and Turnhout, and in the USL for the Cincinnati Riverhawks following his graduation from Xavier University.

The team played its first competitive game on May 8, 2010, a 3–3 tie with the Cincinnati Kings. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Eddie Hertsenberg.[4]

On July 8, 2010, the Lions announced that they would be self-promoting to the USL Second Division for the 2011 season, as well as adding a brand new women's team in the USL W-League. During the announcement team owner Mike Mossel said "The promotion to USL-2 and development of a W-League club was just a matter of time. To be the best, we must begin to play among the upper-echelon clubs. We want to set a standard, and I believe we have done that so far in the PDL in our first season. But more importantly, our decision was made with our Premier Academy in mind.".[5] With the merger of the USL First and Second Divisions to form USL Pro in 2011, the Dutch Lions were announced as a founding team.[2]

In 2012, the Lions reached the Quarterfinals of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where they defeated the MLS Columbus Crew 2–1 in the third round, then defeated the Michigan Bucks in the fourth round in extra time. They were knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals by eventual champions Sporting Kansas City 3–0 in front of an away record 15,167 fans.

In 2013, the Lions reached the USL Pro Playoffs for the first time with a record of 10 Wins, 7 Ties and 9 Losses. They lost to the Richmond Kickers 1–0 in the quarter-finals. Gibson Bardsley received Second Team All-League Honors with 9 goals and 7 assists.[6][7]

In 2014, the Lions partnered with West Carrollton City Schools and Dr. Suresh Gupta of the Dayton Outpatient Center to install a new playing surface in the West Carrollton High School Stadium as part of a 30-year deal.[8][9] The original stadium was renamed to the Dayton Outpatient Center Stadium in recognition of the significant investment made by Dayton Outpatient Center.

Renovations started on March 10, 2014,[10] and were completed with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 9, 2014.[11] The Motz Group, a Cincinnati-based company that specializes in building playing fields, replaced the existing grass field with artificial turf at a cost of $450,000 to $475,000.[9] The combined costs for the renovations to the stadium and installation of lights on practice fields are estimated at $529,000.[9]

The opening match at DOC Stadium, with the presence of 2-Time FIFA World Player of the Year Ruud Gullit, was a United Soccer League professional soccer game on May 10, 2014, that saw the Dayton Dutch Lions tie the LA Galaxy II, 1–1. A home record attendance of 1,527 was announced.[12]

In 2018, the Lions had a record-setting season, matching its best record ever, winning the Great Lakes Division championship and earning qualification for the 2019 U.S. Open Cup.

Stadium

Club culture, kits, sponsors and supporters

International partnership

On January 17, 2011, the Dutch Lions signed a five-year contract with Dutch Eredivisie champions, FC Twente, to foster development of players, academy teams, training practices, and possibly facilitate loans or transfers of players between the two teams.[13]

Domestic partnership

Additional Dutch Lions clubs have been added over the years and partner with Dayton in branding, best practices and player considerations.

In the 2011, the Houston Dutch Lions were added (joined NPSL in 2016). In the 2014, the Cincinnati Dutch Lions were added (joined the PDL). In 2015, the Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions were added. In 2016, the New York Dutch Lions were added.

On December 19, 2013, the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer announced an affiliation with the Dutch Lions which would begin with the 2014 season. The affiliation meant the opportunity for loans between the two which aim ultimately to improve the quality of play at both clubs. After the Crew's 2014 opener against D.C. United, the club announced it was sending 5 of its players on loan to the Dutch Lions for the season, including 2013 draft pick, forward Ryan Finley.[14][15]

Youth Partnerships

The Dutch Lions Group's brand statement is "Gateway to Professional Soccer" and the purported goal of the Dutch Lions' program is to develop youth and amateur players into professional players.[16][17] The Dutch Lions FC's holding company, Dutch Lions Group USA LLC,[16] maintains a youth academy in connection with the Dutch Lions. The Ohio-based youth academy previously reported membership numbers as high as 200 players.[18] The youth academy partners with the Ohio Galaxies FC to develop youth talent.[19]

Kit maker / jersey sponsors

Supporters group

The main supporters of the Dutch Lions are the Oranje Legion.[20]

Owners, staff and players

Ownership

Soccer staff

Head coaches

Notable Former Professional, Amateur and Academy Players

See also: All-time Dayton Dutch Lions roster

Record

Overall (56-87-45)

Year-by-year

Year League Rank P W L T GF GA GD PTS Playoffs Open Cup
2010 PDL 3 16 8 3 5 32 20 +12 29 — 1R (0-1)
2011 USL Pro 12 24 2 16 6 21 54 −33 12 — 1R (0-1)
2012 USL Pro 9 24 4 10 10 20 29 −9 22 — QF (3-1)
2013 USL Pro 8 26 10 9 7 43 46 −3 37 QF (0-1) 3R (2-1)
2014 USL Pro 14 28 6 18 4 28 63 −35 22 — 3R (2-1)
2015 PDL 5 14 3 9 2 12 30 −18 11 — —
2016 PDL 4 14 4 5 5 23 30 −7 17 — —
2017 PDL 5 14 4 7 3 10 22 −12 15 — —
2018 PDL 1 14 8 3 3 29 15 +14 27 CSF (0-1) —
2019 USL2 4 12 5 6 1 17 19 -2 16 — 2R (1-1)
2020 USL2 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 USL2 9 14 0 13 1 14 50 -36 1 — —
2022 USL2 5 14 2 10 2 13 53 -40 7 — —
2023 USL2 5 12 2 7 3 11 24 -13 9 — —

As of 10 July 2021[30]
Rank = Rank in the league; P = League Played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points; Playoffs = USL Pro Playoffs; Open Cup = Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.
— = Did not Qualify; 1R = 1st round; 2R = 2nd round; 3R = 3rd round; 1/8 = Round of sixteen; CSF = Conference Semifinals; QF = Quarterfinals; SF = Semifinals; F = Final.

Top goal scorers in USL PRO

# Pos. Name Career USL Pro Playoffs US Open Cup Total
1 Forward Gibson Bardsley 2012–2013 14 0 2 16
2 Forward Thomas Garner 2012–2014 12 0 3 15
3 Forward Aaron Schoenfeld 2014 12 0 1 13
4 Midfielder Joel DeLass 2011–2014 8 0 2 10

As of 5 September 2014

Top assists in USL PRO

# Pos. Name Career USL Pro Playoffs US Open Cup Total
1 Forward Gibson Bardsley 2012–2013 8 0 1 9
2 Forward Thomas Garner 2012–2014 7 0 0 7
3 Midfield Joel DeLass 2011–2014 4 0 1 5

As of 5 September 2014

Top appearances in USL Pro

# Pos. Name Career USL Pro Playoffs US Open Cup Total
1 Midfield Joel DeLass 2011–2014 91 1 10 102
2 Defender Shane Smith 2011–2014 81 0 9 90
3 Goalkeeper Matt Williams 2012–2014 78 1 7 85
4 Forward Thomas Garner 2012–2014 66 1 8 75

As of 5 September 2014

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at United Soccer Leagues (USL)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  2. ^ a b "Dutch Lions Join USL PRO". www.uslsoccer.com. 2010-09-30. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
  3. ^ "DDL FC play in stadium Bellbrook". Archived from the original on 2010-02-13. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  4. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  5. ^ "Dutch Lions Join USL-2". Archived from the original on 2010-07-12. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  6. ^ "Dutch Lions Clinch Playoff Berth". United Soccer Leagues (USL). August 17, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "Kickers Edge Past Dutch Lions". United Soccer Leagues (USL). August 24, 2013. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  8. ^ "Dayton Dutch Lions Expand Partnership in West Carrollton". International Soccer Network. 2014-03-19. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  9. ^ a b c Blizzard, Nick (2014-03-19). "Dutch Lions, West Carrollton schools announce 30-year deal". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  10. ^ Hollingsworth, Chad (2014-03-19). "Dutch Lions Prepared to Settle into Home". Reckless Challenge. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  11. ^ "Ribbon Cutting in West Carrollton". 2 News. 2014-05-09. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  12. ^ "Dayton Dutch Lions vs LA Galaxy II". YouTube. DutchLionsGateway. 2014-05-10. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
  13. ^ "Dutch Lions Ink 5-Year Partnership". www.uslsoccer.com. 2011-01-17. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  14. ^ "Dayton loan goals reflect the future of Columbus prospect | Columbus Crew". thecrew.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  15. ^ "Crew announces affiliate partnership with Dayton Dutch Lions FC of USL PRO | Columbus Crew". thecrew.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  16. ^ a b "Dutch Lions Group USA LLC". Dayton Dutch Lions FC. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  17. ^ a b Juniewicz, Debbie. "Dutch Lions have become a Miami Valley mainstay". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  18. ^ Juniewicz, Debbie. "5 things to know about Dayton Dutch Lions FC". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  19. ^ "OVPL". Dayton Dutch Lions FC. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  20. ^ "Oranje Legion | Independent Supporter's Group for Dayton Dutch Lions FC of USL PRO". oranjelegion.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2014-05-02.
  21. ^ "Sonny Silooy Named Dayton Head Coach". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  22. ^ "Dutch Lions and Silooy Part Ways". Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  23. ^ "Dutch Lions Appoint Weston As Coach". United Soccer Leagues (USL). August 7, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2014.
  24. ^ "Midfielder Amass Amankona Signs with Indy Eleven".
  25. ^ "Wisconsin's Rose Lavelle No. 1 overall pick in NWSL draft". 12 January 2017.
  26. ^ Juniewicz, Debbie. "Rose LaVelle kicking it with Dutch Lions, U.S. National Team". dayton-daily-news. Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  27. ^ "Stefan Cleveland | MLSsoccer.com".
  28. ^ "Colorado Rapids Sign Goalkeeper Chris Froschauer". 9 March 2016.
  29. ^ "Louisville City FC". Archived from the original on 2018-09-09. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
  30. ^ "USL League Two Standings". USL League Two. July 17, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2022.

External links

USL League Two
USL Championship
Sports teams based in Ohio
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