Tormenta FC

South Georgia Tormenta FC is an American soccer organization based in Statesboro, Georgia, United States. Founded in 2015, the club fields a professional team in USL League One, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, as well as the pre-professional USL League Two. The team colors are Midnight Navy, Sky Blue, Silver and Magenta. The team's crest shows an Ibis.[1][2]

South Georgia Tormenta FC

Full name	South Georgia Tormenta Football Club
Founded	2015 (2015)
Stadium	Eagle Field at Erk Russell Athletic Park Statesboro, Georgia
Capacity	3,500
Co-Owners	Darin Van Tassell Netra Van Tassell Jeff Spencer
Head Coach	John Miglarese
League	USL League One
2019	6th Place Playoffs: DNQ
Website	Club website
Home colours

History

South Georgia Tormenta FC was founded in 2015 making it Statesboro's first pro team in any sport in 60 years, since the Statesboro Pilots of baseball's Georgia State League folded in 1955. Owned by Tormenta FC LLC, the operations of the franchise are steered by Darin Van Tassell and Netra Van Tassell. The word "tormenta" means "storm" in Spanish.[3]

2016

On May 21, 2016, Tormenta FC hosted its inaugural home match against the Carolina Dynamo in front of 3,105 fans.[4]

Tormenta FC won their first match in club history on June 16, 2016 against the Charlotte Eagles in a 2–0 decision.[5] The club then followed up that victory with a second consecutive win on June 18, 2016 by defeating the Carolina Dynamo 1–0.[6] On June 23, 2016, Tormenta FC not only scored their first ever home goal, but the team managed to win their first home match as well; a 1–0 victory over Southern West Virginia King's Warriors.[7]

Tormenta had a five-game win streak snapped in a 2–1 defeat against the King's Warriors on July 2, 2016.

The club finished 6th out of 8 in the South Atlantic Division.[8]

2018

On January 25, 2018, South Georgia Tormenta FC was announced as the first founding member of USL League One for 2019. The team had an undefeated regular season in 2018, clinching the Deep South Division championship. Tormenta FC hosted the conference playoffs in Statesboro, Georgia.[9]

2019

On March 29, 2019, Tormenta FC hosted the inaugural match of USL League One, winning 1–0 against the Greenville Triumph and setting a new attendance record of 3,519.[10] After a successful start to the season that saw the team in second place, a second-half downturn with 2 wins in their last 16 matches brought them down to 6th place and out of a playoff spot.

Stadium

Tormenta FC currently plays at Eagle Field at Erk Russell Park on the Georgia Southern University campus. Construction for a 5,300 seater soccer-specific stadium in Statesboro commenced on March 27, 2019, due for a 2021 completion.[11][12]

Sponsorship

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2016–2018	Nike	Optim Orthopedics
2019–present	Adidas	Optim Healthcare

Record

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Regular Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
2016	4	USL PDL	5th, South Atlantic	Did not qualify	Did not enter
2017	4	USL PDL	4th, South Atlantic	Did not qualify	Did not enter
2018	4	USL PDL	1st, Deep South	Conference Semifinals	2nd Round
2019	3	USL1	6th	Did not qualify	1st Round

Players and staff

Current roster

As of April 19, 2020[13][14]

No.	Position	Player	Nation
0	Goalkeeper	Parker Siegfried	United States
1	Goalkeeper	Pablo Jara	Chile
2	Defender	Rhys Williams	United States
3	Defender	Stefan Mueller	United States
4	Defender	Lars Eckenrode	United States
5	Defender	Joshua Phelps	Australia
6	Midfielder	Ricardo Gómez	United States
7	Midfielder	Luca Mayr-Fälten	Austria
8	Midfielder	Nil Vinyals	Spain
9	Forward	Mikie Rowe	Ireland
10	Midfielder	Marco Micaletto	Italy
11	Forward	Daniel Jackson	United States
12	Midfielder	Abuchi Obinwa	United States
15	Defender	Jordan Skelton	England
16	Forward	Devyn Jambga	United States
18	Defender	Michael O'Sullivan	England
19	Forward	Pato Botello Faz	Mexico
21	Midfielder	Jad Arslan	United States
22	Midfielder	Lucas Coutinho	Brazil
27	Midfielder	Tristan DeLoach (^[A])	United States
28	Midfielder	Grant Hampton (^[A])	United States
30	Goalkeeper	Stephen O'Hearn (^[A])	United States

1. ^
   USL Academy Contract

Technical staff

As of February 4, 2020[15]

• John Miglarese – VP of Player Development and Head Coach
• Ian Cameron – Assistant Coach
• Jorge Gonzalez – Assistant Coach
• Nick Jaramillo – Goalkeeping Coach

Front office

As of September 19, 2018[16]

• Mike Panter – VP of Soccer Operations
• Bryce Judy - Director of Soccer Operations
• Justin Smith - Assistant Director of Soccer Operations
• Bernadette O'Donnell – Director of Communications and Public Relations
• Logan Crosby - Director of Business Development
• Todd Bergstrom - Director of Sales & Services

Tormenta FC 2

History

2019

In January 2019, the team announced that it would continue to field a team in USL League Two while also playing professionally in USL League One. The team, Tormenta FC 2, finished first in the Deep South Division and reached the National Semifinals before falling to eventual champions Reading United AC, 3-2, in extra time.[17][18] The 2 team also earned a spot in the 2019 U.S. Open Cup from the first team's previous season results in the PDL and beat League One side Chattanooga Red Wolves SC in the first round before falling in the second to Nashville SC.[19][20]

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Regular Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
2019	4	USL2	1st, Deep South	National Semifinals	2nd Round

Staff

As of September 17, 2018[21]

• Ian Cameron – Head Coach
• Tom Morris - Assistant Coach

Honors

Tormenta FC

USL League Two

• Deep South Division Champion: 2018

Tormenta FC 2

USL League Two

• Deep South Division Champion: 2019
• Southern Conference Champion: 2019

References

1. "PDL Awards Franchise to Statesboro, Georgia". Premier Development League (PDL). August 6, 2015.
2. "Tormenta FC Arrives in South Georgia". Premier Development League (PDL). October 28, 2015.
3. "Frequently Asked Questions". Tormentafc.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
4. "History in the making for Tormenta". Tormentafc.com. 23 May 2016.
5. Colin (17 June 2016). "Tormenta FC Secures First Win".
6. "Tormenta FC moves up in Ranking with Two Consecutive Wins On The Road". Tormentafc.com. 20 June 2016.
7. "Tormenta comes through in the clutch". Statesboroherald.com.
8. "Standings - 2016 Regular Season - South Georgia Tormenta FC 2". www.uslleaguetwo.com. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
9. "Tormenta FC joins USL Division III for 2019". January 25, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
10. O'Donnell, Bernadette (2019-03-30). "Post-Game Notes: March 29 vs Greenville Triumph SC". South Georgia Tormenta FC. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
11. "Tormenta Stadium to break ground March 27". Statesboroherald.com.
12. https://www.wtoc.com/2019/10/24/tormenta-fc-owners-give-update-new-stadium-retail-shops/
13. "2020 USL League One Roster". tormentafc.com.
14. "South Georgia Tormenta FC Roster | uslleagueone.com". Uslleagueone.com.
15. "Technical Staff". Tormentafc.com.
16. "Front Office". Tormentafc.com.
17. O'Donnell, Bernadette (23 January 2019). "Tormenta FC Announces Rebrand of its USL League Two Team". South Georgia Tormenta FC. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
18. Zimmer, Amy (29 July 2019). "Historic season for Tormenta FC 2 comes to an end". WJCL. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
19. Popkin, Jackson (8 May 2019). "A South Georgia Tormenta FC Guide to the 2019 U.S. Open Cup First Round". Dirty South Soccer. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
20. Sullivan, Tim. "2019 US Open Cup Round 2: Nashville SC holds off pesky South Georgia Tormenta 2". TheCup.us. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
21. FC, Tormenta (September 17, 2018). "Tormenta Nation, give a warm welcome to Ian Cameron! The Scottish native will be our PDL head coach this year as we not only try to win championships on the professional side but also the semi-professional side! Welcome to Statesboro coach! #ProSocc3r #USLD3 #PDL @USLPDL @USL_D3pic.twitter.com/TbgN9s7gD0". Twitter.com.