Midwest United FC

Founded	2016 (as Grand Rapids FC)
Stadium	Midwest United FC Soccer Complex Grand Rapids, Michigan
Head Coach	Lewis Robinson
League	USL W League
2022	Great Lakes Division: 2nd Playoffs: DNQ
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Midwest United FC is an American soccer club based in Grand Rapids, Michigan who play in the Great Lakes Division of the USL W 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]

History

Grand Rapids FC (GRFC) was started in 2014 by a group of Grand Rapids residents as a community-funded project. The men's team's 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

The team's current stadium is Midwest United FC Soccer Complex in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team's original home field was at Grandville High School in Grandville, Michigan. They have also played home matches at Aquinas College and Houseman Field.

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

2023 roster

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK  USA Heather Leja 0 GK  USA Brylee Borgman 1 GK  USA Isabelle Okoroafo 1 GK  USA Lauren Boafo 2 MF  USA Madison Cotta 3 MF  USA Meredith Vance 4 FW  USA Stephanie Currie 5 DF  USA Lindsay Cole 6 MF  USA Maya Dean 7 FW  USA Brittney Probst 8 DF  USA Raegan Cox 8 FW  USA Katherine Welch 9 DF  USA Ava Metaj 10 MF  USA Olivia Dault 11 FW  CAN Maeva Lichtensteiger 11 MF  USA Anna Bennett

No. Pos. Nation Player 11 FW  USA Jada Burgin 12 MF  USA Macey Wierenga 13 DF  USA Matéa Diekema 14 DF  USA Rachael Wright 15 FW  USA Sydney Shenk 16 DF  RSA Shakira O'Malley 17 DF  USA Olivia Albert 18 FW  USA Olivia Brunink 19 MF  USA Heidi Thomasma 20 MF  USA Isabelle Gilmore 21 MF  USA Ella Onstott 22 MF  JPN Sachiko Gamo 23 FW  USA Elle Otto 24 MF  USA Jenna Smith 29 FW  USA Jen Blitchok

Notable former players

• Bethany Balcer (2017) now with OL Reign and called up to the United States national team
• Maddie Pogarch (2017) now with San Diego Wave FC and called up to the United States national U-23 team
• Maia Perez (2018–2021) formerly with Angel City FC
• Riley Tanner (2019–2022) now with Washington Spirit and called up to the Panama national team

Head coaches

• Joe White (2023–present)
• Lewis Robinson (2017, 2020–2022)
• Chris Allen (2018)
• James Gilpin (2018–2019)

Honors

United Women's Soccer

• National championships (1): 2017
• Conference season championships (2)
  • Midwest Conference: 2017
  • Midwest North Conference: 2021
• Conference playoff championships (3)
  • Midwest Conference: 2017, 2018, 2021

Minor competitions

• UWS Stadium Showcase: 2020

Year-by-year

Historic record vs opponents

Opponent	League	Playoffs	MI Cup	Played	Total	GF	GA	GD	Win %
AFC Ann Arbor	3–2–1	*	*	6	3–2–1	9	11	–2	.583
Chicago KICS	1–0	*	*	1	1–0	3	1	+2	1.000
Cleveland Force SC	1–1	*	*	2	1–1	2	2	0	.500
Connecticut Fusion	*	0–1	*	1	0–1	1	2	–1	.000
Corktown AFC	2–0	0–0–1 (1–0 PKs)	*	3	2–0–1	11	7	+4	.833
Detroit City FC	6–0	*	*	6	6–0	17	6	+11	1.000
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
Flint City AFC	1–3–1	*	*	5	1–3–1	14	13	+1	.300
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 Elite FC	1–0	*	*	1	1–0	12	0	+12	1.000
Indiana Union[B]	3–1–1	0–1	*	6	3–2–1	31	14	+17	.583
Indy Eleven	0–1	*	*	1	0–1	0	1	–1	.000
Kalamazoo FC	3–1–1	*	*	5	3–1–1	13	7	+6	.700
Kings Hammer FC	1–0–1	*	*	2	1–0–1	3	0	+3	.750
Inferno Rush	*	0–1	*	1	0–1	3	4	–1	.000
Lansing United	1–3–2	2–0	*	8	3–3–2	18	15	+3	.500
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
Muskegon Risers SC	2–0	*	*	2	2–0	8	2	+6	1.000
Racing Louisville FC	0–1	*	*	1	0–1	2	3	–1	.000
Santa Clarita Blue Heat	*	1–0	*	1	1–0	3	1	+2	1.000
St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC	*	1–0	*	1	1–0	3	1	+2	1.000
Toledo Villa FC	1–0	*	*	1	1–0	4	0	+4	1.000
Total	39–15–10	6–3–3 (3–0 PKs)	0–1	77	45–19–13	231	114	+117	.700

• Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
• Updated to end of 2023 season.

Player records

Goals[edit] Rank Player Goals Years 1 Marti Corby 29 2017–2022 2 Bethany Balcer 19 2017 Stephanie Currie 2019– 4 Avery Lockwood 12 2017, 2020–2022 5 Jen Blitchok 11 2019– 6 Cindy Lay 9 2018 7 Riko Sagara 7 2017, 2019 Grace Labadie 2017–2021 Elle Otto 2021– 10 Jordian Morris 6 2018 Kendra Longoria 2018–2020 Anna Bennett 2021–

Appearances[edit] Rank Player Apps Years 1 Marti Corby 54 2017–2022 2 Grace Labadie 36 2017–2021 3 Stephanie Currie 35 2019– 4 Clare Carlson 33 2017–2019, 2021 Macey Wierenga 2020– 6 Sadie Misiewicz 32 2017–2020 7 Avery Lockwood 31 2017, 2020–2022 Jen Blitchok 2019– 9 Paige Eli 29 2017–2022 10 Olivia Albert 28 2019, 2021–

• Note: Table includes all competitive matches and does not include friendlies.
• Updated to end of 2023 season
• Reference:^[8]