Michigan Stars FC
Michigan Stars Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in the Metro Detroit area. The team currently competes in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA).
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Full name | Michigan Stars Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Stars | ||
Founded | 1982 Circa 1998 , as Windsor Spartans FC 2014 , as Michigan Stars FC | , appropriated from Dearborn Stars||
Stadium | Barnabo Field[1] | ||
Capacity | 4,000 | ||
Owner | George Juncaj | ||
Head Coach | Trevor Banks | ||
League | National Independent Soccer Association | ||
2022 | 3rd place playoffs: NISA Champions | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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History
The club was established circa 1998 as Windsor Spartans FC in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.[2] In 2012, the team moved to the Metro Detroit area in Michigan, and joined the National Premier Soccer League as FC Sparta Michigan for the 2013 season.[3] In January 2014, the team was purchased by Dearborn Sports Enterprise (DSE) and rebranded Michigan Stars FC.[4]
The team went on hiatus for the 2018 season, and during this time, George Juncaj purchased a 50% stake in the club, ensuring that his sons would have a team to play on.[5] The team returned for the NPSL 2019 season and the 2019 NPSL Members Cup. In the beginning of September, Juncaj purchased the remaining 50% of the club and on September 21, 2019, Michigan Stars FC were announced as a National Independent Soccer Association expansion team that would take part in the league's Spring half of the 2019–20 season.[6]
Players and staff
Current roster
- As of March 28, 2022[7]
No. | Position | Player | Nation |
---|---|---|---|
1 | GK | John Hollinger | ![]() |
2 | DF | Tekodah Lobsiger | ![]() |
3 | DF | Edi Mujan | ![]() |
4 | DF | Robert Juncaj | ![]() |
5 | DF | Joseph Aidoo | ![]() |
6 | MF | Bernardo Majano | ![]() |
7 | MF | Steven Juncaj | ![]() |
10 | FW | Kyle Nuel | ![]() |
11 | FW | Bryant Nardizzi | ![]() |
13 | FW | Tom Suchecki | ![]() |
14 | FW | Alexander Satrústegui | ![]() |
15 | DF | Andrés Chalbaud | ![]() |
16 | GK | Tatenda Mkuruva | ![]() |
17 | MF | Alexandre Frank | ![]() |
19 | DF | David Ivezaj | ![]() |
20 | MF | Cyrus Tran | ![]() |
21 | MF | Zachary Reynolds | ![]() |
24 | DF | Israel Espinoza | ![]() |
25 | DF | James Abraham | ![]() |
27 | FW | Leon Maric | ![]() |
28 | DF | Kyle Nelson | ![]() |
30 | DF | Devon Amoo-Mensah | ![]() |
— | DF | Vasilios Zogos | ![]() |
— | DF | Jake Campbell | ![]() |
— | DF | Iakov Shmelev | ![]() |
— | MF | Roger Rojas-Goodbold | ![]() |
— | MF | Nemanja Gvodzic | ![]() |
Year-by-year
Season | League | Div. | Pos. | Pl. | W | D | L | GS | GA | Pts. | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Top goalscorer | Manager | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Goals | ||||||||||||||
2013 | NPSL | Midwest-Great Lakes | 5th | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 8 | Did not qualify | Not Eligible[8] | |||
2014 | Midwest-Great Lakes West | 4th | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 31 | 13 | Did not qualify | |||||
2015 | Midwest | 9th | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 21 | 13 | ![]() | |||||
2016 | Midwest-Great Lakes West | 3rd | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 19 | ![]() | |||||
2017 | Midwest-Great Lakes | 5th | 14 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 26 | 30 | 15 | Morris Lupenec | |||||
2018 | On Hiatus | ||||||||||||||
2019 | NPSL | Midwest-Great Lakes | 6th | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 14 | Did not qualify | Did not qualify | ![]() | ||
NPSL Members Cup | 5th | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 8 | |||||||
2019–20 Spring[lower-alpha 1] | NISA | 8th | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Canceled | Canceled | ![]() |
1 | ![]() | |
2020–21 Fall | Eastern | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 8 | Group stage | Canceled | ![]() |
2 | ||
2020–21 Spring | 8th | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 5 | Did not qualify | ||||||
2021 | 7th | 18 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 24 | 21 | ![]() ![]() |
5 | |||||
2022 | 3rd | 23 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 27 | 15 | 38 | Champions | Second round | ![]() |
5 | ![]() |
- Spring season cancelled before completion[9]
References
- "Tweet". Twitter. Michigan Stars FC. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- Sharpe, Fletcher (22 March 2013). "FC Sparta Michigan joins crowded minor league soccer scene in Metro Detroit". MLive. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- "GROWTH CONTINUES FOR NPSL". November 2, 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
- "MICHIGAN STARS FC TO COMPETE IN THE NPSL - National Premier Soccer League". Archived from the original on 2014-01-11. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
- "NPSL Members Cup competition thanking its lucky stars for Michigan entry". 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
- "U.S. Soccer approves Detroit City FC, Michigan Stars to play in pro league NISA". The Detroit News. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
- "Roster". michiganstarsfc.com. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- Josh Hakala (9 April 2013). "Great Lakes Division teams decline 2013 US Open Cup berths as NPSL entries finalized". TheCup.us. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- Kennedy, Paul. "NISA cancels spring season, sets sights on August start to fall championship". www.socceramerica.com. Retrieved 28 April 2020.