Fredericksburg Gunners was an American soccer team based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the franchise folded and the team left the league.
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| Full name | F.C. Fredericksburg Gunners | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Gunners, FC Fred | ||
| Founded | 2006 | ||
| Dissolved | 2009 | ||
| Ground | Fredericksburg Academy | ||
| Owner | Brian Shumate | ||
| Head Coach | Cristian Neagu | ||
| League | USL Premier Development League | ||
| 2009 | 6th, Mid Atlantic did not qualify for playoffs | ||
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The team played its home games at the Fredericksburg Academy. The team's colors were royal blue, red and white.
The team had a sister organization, the Fredericksburg Lady Gunners, who played in the women's USL W-League, and also fielded a team in the USL's Super-20 League, a league for players 17 to 20 years of age run under the United Soccer Leagues umbrella.
History
editFredericksburg Gunners announced their entrance into the PDL in December 2006, and their pre-season squad was led by former Coventry City and Southampton defender Paul Williams. Romanian native Cristian Neagu took over from Williams prior to the regular season, and as player-manager led the Gunners to a promising debut. They won their first two games in impressive style, demolishing the Northern Virginia Royals 7–0 in only their second competitive game (with Neagu scoring a hat trick), and only a 3–1 defeat to Richmond Kickers Future stopped them from qualifying for the US Open Cup at the first attempt. As the season progressed, Fredericksburg's results kept them in the playoff hunt: a five-game unbeaten streak in mid-June which included consecutive 4-goal hauls in their wins over Virginia Legacy and Northern Virginia Royals looked to have secured them their slot in the post season. However, a dip in form during August culminated in back-to-back away defeats to Ocean City Barons and West Virginia Chaos, and the season ended with the Gunners in fifth place behind divisional champions Hampton Roads Piranhas. Anthony Andrews was the top scorer with 8 goals, while the Romanian contingent of Neagu and Adrian Bumbut were the top providers, with 10 goals and 6 assists between them.
2008 began positively for the Gunners with four straight wins: their 4–0 opening day victory over Northern Virginia Royals was followed subsequent victories over Richmond Kickers Future, the previously unbeatable Hampton Roads Piranhas, and the Rhode Island Stingrays. Their magnificent start brought them their first ever berth in the US Open Cup, where they faced USL2 outfit Richmond Kickers, the senior team of their divisional rivals; unfortunately for the Gunners, their campaign was a short one, as they lost 3–0 first time out. Back in league play, Fredericksburg's form continued strongly through the month of June, in which the team enjoyed another three victories, including another comprehensive takedown of Northern Virginia Royals. A playoff berth looked almost set in stone but, inexplicably, everything fell apart in July: the Gunners lost five of their final six regular season games – they conceded a last minute goal against Richmond Kickers Future to lose 1–0, allowed the Brooklyn Knights to come from behind twice to win 3–2, and lost 4–3 away at the Westchester Flames on the final day of the season with yet another 90th minute catastrophe. They eventually finished second in the Mid Atlantic Division behind Reading Rage, and missed out on the Eastern Conference playoffs by virtue of Newark Ironbound Express having a better record. Player-coach Cristian Neagu was again the Gunners' top scorer, with 6 goals, while Matt Lacey contributed five assists.
Cristian Neagu is affectionately known as 'The Romanian Flounder' by both Gunner's supporters and rival fans due to his habit of falling over too easily.
Players
editFinal roster
editas at June 18, 2009
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Year-by-year
edit| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 4 | USL PDL | 5th, Mid Atlantic | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2008 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, Mid Atlantic | Did not qualify | 1st Round |
| 2009 | 4 | USL PDL | 6th, Mid Atlantic | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
Head coaches
edit
Paul Williams (2006)
Cristian Neagu (2007–2009)
Stadiums
edit- Fredericksburg Field House; Fredericksburg, Virginia (2007–2008)
- Fredericksburg Academy; Fredericksburg, Virginia (2009)
Average attendance
editAttendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.
- 2007: 306
- 2008: not yet available
- 2009: 168