Calgary Foothills F.C.
 | ||
| Full name | Calgary Foothills Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1972 | |
| Stadium | Calgary Soccer Centre | |
| Head Coach | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | |
| League | Premier Development League | |
| 2017 |
2nd, Northwest Division Playoffs: Divisional Playoff | |
| Website | Club website | |
|
| ||
Calgary Foothills F.C. (CFFC) is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in the Premier Development League. The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and in 2015 as a PDL franchise. The team plays its home games at the Calgary Soccer Centre.[1][2][3] The team colours are green and white.[4]
History
Calgary last hosted a team, the Calgary Storm, in the Premier Development League during the 2001 season.[5] The PDL club of Calgary Foothills FC launched in 2014 as they played a series of exhibition games against Vancouver Whitecaps U 23's,[6] FC Edmonton Reserves,[7] and local university clubs.
The club's inaugural PDL game was played on May 17, 2015 against Puget Sound Gunners FC, as Foothills were victorious 2-1.[8][9] The club finished 4th in the PDL's Northwest Division in 2015 with a 3-2-7 record, ultimately missing the playoffs.
In the 2016 season, Calgary Foothills won the Northwest Division with an 8-3-3 record, despite only 4% of supporters predicting the club would win the division. In the playoffs, Calgary Foothills would defeat Seattle Sounders U-23, FC Golden State Force, and FC Tuscon to win the Western Conference.[10][11] Calgary Foothills would later defeat Ocean City Nor'easters in the PDL semifinals to advance to the 2016 PDL Final against Michigan Bucks.[12][13] Calgary would lose the PDL final 3-2 on a controversial penalty decision in the 86th minutes.[14]
In the 2017 season, despite losing key players Elijah Adekugbe and Dominic Russo to injury, Calgary Foothills would improve on their point total from the season before, finishing second in the Northwest Division on goal differential to Portland Timbers U-23. The club would lose to Portland in the Northwest Division play-in game.[15]
Supporters' Groups
The Foot Soldiers were founded in February 2015 with the intention of bringing a passionate atmosphere to Calgary Foothills FC games.[16]
Players and Staff
As of May 20, 2017[17]
| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goalkeeper | Powley, DylonDylon Powley |  Canada |
| 2 | Defender | Northover, DeanDean Northover | Canada |
| 3 | Defender | King, MattMatt King | Canada |
| 4 | Defender | Cunningham, NoahNoah Cunningham | Canada |
| 5 | Defender | Read, JoshJosh Read |  England |
| 6 | Midfielder | Adekugbe, ElijahElijah Adekugbe | Canada |
| 7 | Forward | Fakunle, TofaTofa Fakunle | Canada |
| 8 | Midfielder | Zebie, BrunoBruno Zebie | Canada |
| 9 | Forward | Russo, DominicDominic Russo | Canada |
| 10 | Forward | Sarkaria, AjeejAjeej Sarkaria | Canada |
| 11 | Midfielder | Jones, KyleKyle Jones | Canada |
| 12 | Midfielder | Hay, KieranKieran Hay | Canada |
| 14 | Defender | Hayfield, DanDan Hayfield | England |
| 15 | Defender | Park, KalenKalen Park | Canada |
| 16 | Midfielder | Lopez, JoseJose Lopez | Canada |
| 17 | Midfielder | Pasquotti, NicoNico Pasquotti | Canada |
| 18 | Forward | Rendle, DrakeDrake Rendle | Canada |
| 19 | Forward | Rushworth, ChrisChris Rushworth | England |
| 20 | Defender | Kroeker, NoahNoah Kroeker | Canada |
| 22 | Midfielder | Addai, KwameKwame Addai | Canada |
| 23 | Midfielder | Vassilev, MichaelMichael Vassilev | Canada |
| 24 | Forward | Musse, AliAli Musse | Canada |
| 31 | Goalkeeper | Press, BenBen Press | Canada |
Staff
- Tommy Wheeldon Jr. – Head Coach
- Leon Hapgood – Assistant Coach
- Brian McDonnell – Goalkeeping Coach
- Shari MacDonald – Athletic Therapist
- Rob Jenkins – Team Manager
Notable former players
PDL Squad
Foothills Academy
- Sam Adekugbe
- Paul Hamilton
- Owen Hargreaves
- Kevin McKenna
- Charlie Trafford
- Source: Calgary Foothills FC
Club Records
Most Appearances
League, & Playoffs
| # | Pos. | Name | Nation | Career | PDL | Playoffs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Defender | Dean Northover | Canada |
2015– | 40 | 5 | 45 |
| 2 | Forward | Dominic Russo | Canada |
2015– | 31 | 6 | 37 |
| 3 | Goalkeeper | Dylon Powley | Canada |
2016– | 26 | 6 | 32 |
| 4 | Midfielder | Nico Pasquotti | Canada |
2016– | 25 | 6 | 31 |
| Forward | Ajeej Sarkaria | Canada |
2016– | 25 | 6 | 31 | |
| 6 | Forward | Tofa Fakunle | Canada |
2015– | 25 | 5 | 30 |
| 7 | Midfielder | Kyle Jones | Canada |
2016– | 24 | 5 | 29 |
| 8 | Midfielder | Elijah Adekugbe | Canada |
2015– | 24 | 4 | 28 |
| 9 | Defender | Tyrin Hutchings | Canada |
2015–2016 | 22 | 5 | 27 |
| Defender | Massimo Megna | Canada |
2015–2016 | 23 | 4 | 27 | |
| Defender | Dominick Zator | Canada |
2015–2016 | 22 | 5 | 27 |
Bolded players are currently on the Calgary Foothills roster.
- As of July 21, 2017
Top goalscorers
League, & Playoffs
| # | Pos. | Name | Nation | Career | PDL | Playoffs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forward | Dominic Russo | Canada |
2015– | 11 | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | Midfielder | Kyle Jones | Canada |
2016– | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 | Midfielder | Elijah Adekugbe | Canada |
2015– | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Midfielder | Mitchell Bauche | Canada |
2015–2016 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Forward | Ali Musse | Canada |
2017– | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 6 | Midfielder | Nico Pasquotti | Canada |
2016– | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Midfielder | Yoann Promonet |  France |
2015 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Forward | Darius Ramsay | Canada |
2015–2016 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Forward | Chris Rushworth | England |
2017– | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| Forward | Ajeej Sarkaria | Canada |
2016– | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Bolded players are currently on the Calgary Foothills roster.
- As of July 16, 2017
Record
Year-by-year
As of July 21, 2017 [18]
| Season | GP | Record | GF | GA | Pts | League | Regular Season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12 | 3-2-7 | 15 | 16 | 16 | PDL | 4th, Northwest | DNQ |
| 2016 | 14 | 8-3-3 | 22 | 12 | 27 | PDL | 1st, Northwest | Championship Final |
| 2017 | 14 | 8-2-4 | 27 | 19 | 28 | PDL | 2nd, Northwest | NW Division Final |
References
- ↑ Calgary Foothills Twitter. "Looking forward to our new home ground for the 2016 Season".
- ↑ MacKinnon, Jeff (December 4, 2014). "Foothills join upper level soccer league; USL development loop welcomes Calgary squad beginning in 2015. The teams jersey sponsor is Celtic Power Canada". Calgary Herald. p. B14.
- ↑ "Foothills FC joins Under-23 soccer league". Calgary Sun. December 3, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ↑ "PDL Expands to Calgary Alberta". Premier Development League (PDL). December 3, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ↑ Weismiller, Bryan (March 17, 2014). "Canadian Soccer Association OKs pro-calibre Calgary team". Metro Calgary. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ↑ MacKinnon, Jeff (June 9, 2014). "Foothills edge Whitecaps in U23 match". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
- ↑ MacKinnon, Jeff (April 18, 2014). "New U23 franchise to kick off exhibition season". Calgary Herald. p. D2.
- ↑ MacKinnon, Jeff (April 26, 2015). "Foothills FC cites fitness concerns in exhibition loss to Edmonton". Calgary Herald. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ↑ MacKinnon, Jeff (May 17, 2015). "Foothills FC clinch home opener 2-1 over Gunners". Calgary Herald. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
- ↑ David Bell (July 28, 2016). "Calgary soccer underdogs defy odds, score their way to semifinals". CBC.
- ↑ Rita Mingo (July 24, 2016). "Foothills FC crowned PDL Western champions". Calgary Herald.
- ↑ Daniel Austin (July 30, 2016). "Foothills FC beats Ocean City Nor'easters, advances to PDL championship". Calgary Herald.
- ↑ Aaron Cranford (August 1, 2016). "Foothills FC Relishes Huge Victory". USL PDL official website.
- ↑ Danny Austin. "Foothills FC falls just short in PDL final". Calgary Herald.
- ↑ Daniel Austin (July 22, 2017). "Calgary's Foothills FC developing into premier soccer franchise". Calgary Herald.
- ↑ "Foot Soldiers - Who Are We". Retrieved April 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Calgary Foothills FC Official 2017 PDL Roster" (PDF).
- ↑ "PDL Standings". Retrieved June 21, 2016.