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A Moment of Brotherhood on the Pitch
The Wednesday night match between FC Cincinnati and the Tampa Bay Rowdies was a physical affair between teams who expect to be battling for supremacy in the USL Eastern Conference by season’s end....
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AFC Cleveland 2017 Season Preview
This article was reprinted with permission and encouragement of AFC Cleveland. AFC Cleveland hoists the 2016 NPSL championship trophy. After a long, nine-month offseason, AFC Cleveland returns for its...
View ArticleAFC Cleveland Topples Des Moines in USOC 2017
This article is reprinted with permission and encouragement of AFC Cleveland. The AFC Cleveland Royals defeated the Des Moines Menace 3-1 on a wild, entertaining night of soccer between two of the NPSL...
View ArticleNPSL Preseason Primer on Three Western New York Clubs
And so one became two and two became three… FC Buffalo was Western New York’s sole representative in the National Premier Soccer League in 2015. Rochester Riverdogz FC (now the Lancers) joined the...
View ArticleThree Ohio Universities Competing in NCAA Tournaments This Weekend
The NCAA men’s and women’s soccer tournaments are underway in all three divisions. Three universities in Ohio remain in contention for championships. Akron, Otterbein, and Ohio Northern each have teams...
View ArticleMixed Results for Ohio Universities at NCAAs
A trio of universities located in Ohio participated in as many NCAA soccer tournaments last weekend. One survived, earning the opportunity to compete again next weekend. The Akron Zips toppled Seattle...
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NPSL Welcomes FC Columbus
The National Premier Soccer League will maintain a foothold in Ohio despite the off-season departures of both AFC Cleveland and Dayton Dynamo FC. The league introduced FC Columbus as a 2018 expansion...
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Coaching Cincinnati Dutch Lions a Dream Come True for Paul Nicholson
The Cincinnati Dutch Lions recently named Paul Nicholson the team’s new head coach. Nicholson, who announced his retirement as a player in November, competed professionally in the USL for seven years....
View ArticleCincinnati Dutch Lions Introduce 6 Players
The Cincinnati Dutch Lions hosted a meet and greet event at the House of Orange in Covington, Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. Fans and sponsors got the chance to mingle with members of coaching staff and...
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Dayton Dutch Lions Women on Yearlong Hiatus
The Dayton Dutch Lions have fielded teams in top women’s amateur soccer leagues for seven consecutive years. That streak will be broken this year. The Dutch Lions have announced their women’s side...
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Recap of National Signing Day 2018 for Ohio Women’s Programs
National Signing Day, marking the beginning of the signing period for Division I and Division II college soccer programs, occurred on February 7th. Many of the 25 DI and DII women’s programs in Ohio...
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Recap of National Signing Day 2018 for Ohio Men’s Programs
We recently published our list of players to sign with Ohio DI and DII women’s programs. Here are the commitments to the men’s teams. We’ll keep the list updated as information becomes available....
View ArticleCrew SC Cruises to Win Over Atlanta in Carolina Challenge Cup
Columbus Crew SC opened Carolina Challenge Cup 2018, the club’s final stop in a circuitous preseason tour, with a 3-1 victory over Atlanta United FC. Pedro Santos started the scoring for the Black...
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NPSL Expands Back Into Cleveland
When the National Premier Soccer League declared the termination of AFC Cleveland’s membership in early December, it appeared soccer fans around Sixth City would have to wait some time to find another...
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Rubber City FC Bounces from NISA to NPSL
Rubber City Football Club, a newly formed soccer team in Akron, plans to begin play in 2019. The league in which the team plans to play, however, has changed. Rubber City FC was originally planning to...
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NISA Responses to Rubber City FC Change of Heart
When Scratching the Pitch broke news of Rubber City FC’s decision to pursue membership in NPSL only days after announcing intentions to compete in NISA in 2019, we regretfully did not offer NISA an...
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Louisville City Spoils FC Cincinnati Home Opener
FC Cincinnati hosted Louisville City FC in the Orange and Blue’s 2018 USL regular season home opener at Nippert Stadium on Saturday evening. On a night where Cincinnati did nothing particularly...
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Cleveland SC Announces Preliminary Roster
Cleveland SC released a preliminary roster of players it will field in a home-and-home series against FC Columbus this weekend. The list was cultivated following an open tryout held by the club last...
View ArticleFC Columbus Falls, Not Fails, in Home Debut
“Jogo Bonito” is more than just a tagline for FC Columbus. This was evident to all in attendance at Grandview Heights on Sunday evening, when Columbus hosted Cleveland SC in a preseason friendly. The...
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