Lionsbridge FC looks to extend playoff run
Lionsbridge FC enters tonight’s USL League Two playoff game against the Ocean City Nor’easters on an unprecedented roll, with a 12-2-3 record, Chesapeake Division championship and a run of success that has been five years in the making.
And for team owner Mike Vest, it has been worth the wait.
Vest, along with fellow Peninsula residents Kevin Joyce and Dan Chenoweth, founded the club in 2017, with the hopes of capitalizing on the popularity of soccer while bringing a successful new sports franchise to Hampton Roads.
Lionsbridge FC swept two home playoff games last weekend to reach this week’s Eastern Conference final. The Lionsbridge FC-Ocean City game at 7:30 p.m. at Christopher Newport’s TowneBank Stadium will be preceded by the Southern Conference final between the Little Rock Rangers of Arkansas and The Villages Soccer Club of central Florida at 5 p.m.
The winners will meet at 7 p.m. Sunday in a USL League Two national semifinal.
“The gratifying part of winning at home in the postseason is the bright, positive spotlight that shines not just on our players and our team, but also on CNU, the Peninsula and our region as a whole,” Vest said. “Sports have a unique power to unite a community and we are so proud to be a vehicle for that.”
In early 2018, Lionsbridge hired Chris Whalley, the highly successful coach from Division II Chowan University.
A pair of draws on the road set up the club for its inaugural home opener, a raucous affair at CNU’s football stadium. The opening-day match had all the noise and flair of an international competition, and more than 1,000 fans waved banners, batted beach balls, sang and watched the home team rough up the Evergreen FC 5-1. That year’s squad won the Commonwealth Cup over Evergreen and finished 6-5-5.
Whalley has remained the coach of Lionsbridge, leading the Lions to a 57-18-14 record and two playoff appearances. Vest said Lionsbridge has won 90% of its home matches and currently carries a 31-game unbeaten streak (27 wins, four draws).
Lionsbridge, under Whalley’s direction, has sent 19 players into the professional ranks, including a pair of Major League Soccer draft picks, and players representing five USL professional clubs and clubs throughout Europe, Sweden, Luxembourg, Australia and New Zealand.
But until last week, a postseason win remained elusive. After claiming the Chesapeake Division for the second straight year with a 5-0 win over the Virginia Marauders, Lionsbridge won 1-0 over the Charlotte Eagles and 3-1 over the North Carolina Fusion last week.
“This community has been so incredibly supportive, and that’s why it was a tremendous feeling to be able to deliver two playoff wins last weekend,” Vest said. “Our fans definitely deserved it.”