Jacksonville Armada U-23 Explained

Clubname:Jacksonville Armada U-23
Upright:0.8
Fullname:Jacksonville Armada U-23
Ground:Southern Oak Stadium
Capacity:1,000
Chrtitle:Owner
Mgrtitle:Head Coach
Manager:Tommy Križanović
League:National Premier Soccer League
Season:2016
American:true
Current:2023 National Premier Soccer League season
Website:http://www.armadafc.com
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Jacksonville Armada U-23 are an American soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, and are part of the development system of the Jacksonville Armada FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL). They started play in 2016, replacing Jacksonville United FC in the NPSL. The team currently plays its home games at Southern Oak Stadium on the campus of Jacksonville University.

As Jacksonville United FC, the club won the NPSL Championship in its first year in the 2011 season.

History

Jacksonville United FC was founded in 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida, and began play in the 2011 season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), considered at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team was owned by Barry Dixon. While the team started their first season with four straight losses, they finished the season on an 8-game winning streak through the playoffs, finally defeating the Hollywood United Hitmen to claim the NPSL Championship with a 3–2 victory on July 30, 2011, in Madison, Alabama. Tommy Krizanovic was named Jacksonville's MVP, scoring a hat-trick in the final.[1]

In 2016, Jacksonville Armada FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL) announced they would establish an under 23 team to compete in the NPSL as part of the club's development system. Jacksonville Armada U-23 replaced Jacksonville United in the league for the 2016 NPSL season. The Armada retained head coach Pat Cannon.[2]

Following the 2017 NASL season, the league was denied Division II sanctioning by the United States Soccer Federation and canceled its 2018 season while legal proceedings played out.[3] During this time, many NASL teams fielded teams in the NPSL including the Jacksonville Armada.[4] The main team took part in league play with a mix professional and amateur players while the U-23 side went on hiatus for the season.

For the 2019 NPSL season Armada U-23 returned to the league and announced Aaron Pitchkolan as the new head coach.[5] The team reached the playoffs for the first time since 2014 but fell in the conference semifinals to eventual national champions Miami FC.

In late 2019 the club announced it would be a founding member of the NPSL's new Gulf Coast Conference, joining teams from the Gulf Coast Premier League and a returning New Orleans Jesters for the 2020 season.[6]

On April 5, former Armada player Tommy Križanović returned to the organization as the team's third-ever head coach.[7]

Coaching Staff

Current Technical Staff

RoleName
Head coach Tommy Križanović
Assistant coach Jack Burns
Manager Richard Santos

Head Coaches

NameNationalityTenure
2011–17
2019
2020
2021-

Results

Year-by-year

SeasonLeagueDiv.Pos.Pl.WDLGFGAGDPts.
2011NPSLSoutheast1st106041612+418
2012NPSLSouth-Southeast-East4th103252123-211
2013NPSLSunshine1st8620207+1320
2014NPSLSunshine2nd10622147+720
2015NPSLSunshine4th103521014-411
2016NPSLSunshine2nd105232613+1318
2017NPSLSunshine3rd126423117+1420
2018On Hiatus
2019NPSLSunshine4th103611332-1910
2020Cancelled
2021NPSLGulf Coast Conference1st1412023712+2536

Honors

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Krizanovic Leads JUFC to NPSL Championship . NationalPremierSoccerLeague.com . July 30, 2011 . July 29, 2013.
  2. Web site: Armada FC announce launch of U-23 team . . February 10, 2016 . www.news4jax.com . WJXT . February 15, 2016 .
  3. Web site: North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation Of 2018 Season. www.nasl.com. 2019-02-19.
  4. Web site: Statement from Armada FC Owner Robert Palmer. www.jacksonvillearmada.com. 2019-02-19.
  5. Web site: Armada FC to Field U-23 Team in 2019 NPSL Season. www.jacksonvillearmada.com. 2019-02-19.
  6. Web site: JACKSONVILLE ARMADA U-23 JOINS NEW NPSL GULF COAST CONFERENCE . Jacksonville Armada . 14 December 2019.
  7. Web site: U-23 Coaching Announcement . www.jacksonvillearmada.com . 5 April 2021.
  8. Web site: Jacksonville United 2011 NPSL National Champions . 2 April 2018 .