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Tormenta FC
American soccer club in Statesboro, Georgia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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South Georgia Tormenta FC, or simply 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 a pre-professional team in USL League Two called Tormenta FC 2 (which is on hiatus since the 2023 season)[1] and a pre-professional team in USL W League. The team colors are midnight navy, sky blue, silver, and magenta. The team's crest shows an ibis.[2][3] Tormenta FC's USL League One team and the W-League team both emerged victorious in 2022, becoming national champions in their respective leagues.
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History
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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.[4] The name also serves as a tribute to the former Storm Soccer Academy based out of Savannah, which was incorporated into the Tormenta FC academy system upon the team's founding.[5]
2016
On May 21, 2016, Tormenta FC hosted its inaugural home match against the Carolina Dynamo in front of 3,105 fans.[6]
Tormenta FC won their first match in club history on June 16, 2016 against the Charlotte Eagles in a 2–0 decision.[7] The club then followed up that victory with a second consecutive win on June 18, 2016 by defeating the Carolina Dynamo 1–0.[8] 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.[9]
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.[10]
Following their inaugural season, Tormenta announced the signing of "friendship agreements" with FC Academy in Monte Compatri, Italy, ASD Grottaferrata Calcio in Grottaferrata, Italy and KF Tirana in Tirana, Albania.[11]
On December 6th, Tormenta FC was named "New Franchise of the Year" at the PDL's Winter Summit due to the club's successes on and off the field.[12]
2017
Tormenta FC finished the 2017 season in 4th place in the PDL's South Atlantic Division, posting a 7-3-4 record with a +17 goal differential.
Despite falling short of a postseason appearance, the team hosted the PDL's Eastern Conference playoff semifinal and final matches at Eagle Field.[13]
2018
On January 25, 2018, South Georgia Tormenta FC was announced as the first founding member of USL League One for 2019 in a press conference held at Paulson Stadium's Bishop Fieldhouse. The team had an undefeated regular season in 2018, clinching the Deep South Division championship. Tormenta FC hosted the conference playoffs in Statesboro, Georgia, falling to The Villages SC in the Conference Semifinals. [14]
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.[15] 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.
After the conclusion of the season, Tormenta completed the first outgoing transfer in USL League One history, sending Defender of the Year Conner Antley to USL Championship side Indy Eleven for an undisclosed fee.[16]
2020
On September 16, 2020, Tormenta announced that it had promoted John Miglarese to Technical Director, and promote previous assistant coach and head coach of Tormenta 2, Ian Cameron, to head coach of the first team.[17] The team finished 8th out of 11 in the USL League One table in a modified 16 match season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021
On June 8, 2021, Tormenta announced they will be fielding a women's side to compete in the new USL W League beginning in 2022.[18] Despite holding a 5th place spot halfway through the year, the USL League One team ultimately finished in 11th place, five points from the bottom of the table.
2022
In the off season, the club signed former Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and English youth international player Kazaiah Sterling.[19] Tormenta achieved a team-best Round of 32 appearance in the U.S. Open Cup, defeating USL Championship sides Charleston Battery and Birmingham Legion before falling to MLS side Inter Miami, 3-1. On October 2nd, 2022, the club opened their own soccer specific stadium, Tormenta Stadium, in a 1-1 draw against the Richmond Kickers. The club finished the season in third place, qualifying for the first round of the USL League One playoffs. In the club's first ever playoff appearance, they defeated sixth seeded Charlotte Independence and then second seeded Greenville Triumph before winning the USL League One Final against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC by a score of 2–1 in front of a home crowd of 3,045.[20][21][22]
2023
Tormenta again saw success in the U.S. Open Cup the following season, notching a win over USL Championship side Rio Grande Valley FC Toros to face MLS side Charlotte FC in the Third Round, where they were defeated 4-1. The club remained in playoff contention until the final day of the regular season, finishing one point away from the 6th place spot after a 1-1 draw with the Charlotte Independence.
2024
In 2024, Tormenta equalized their record Round of 32 U.S. Open Cup appearance, besting the CFL Spurs, Savannah Clovers,and Miami FC, and fell to the Charleston Battery in extra time. The club suffered a downturn in form in the second half of the season, and finished in 10th of 12 teams. The club also made its debut in the USL Cup, finishing with a 0-4-4 record in the East Group, including two penalty shootout wins.
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Stadium
Tormenta FC currently plays at Tormenta Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium in Statesboro with a current capacity of 3,500. The stadium plans to have a capacity of 5,300 when completed.[23][24][25][26] They previously played at Eagle Field at Erk Russell Park on the campus of Georgia Southern University from 2016 to most of the 2022 season.
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Record
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Year-by-year
- As of October 26, 2024
^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.
Head coaches
- As of October 8, 2025
- Includes Regular Season, Playoffs & U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
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Players and staff
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
- ^ USL Academy Contract
Technical staff
- As of October 8th, 2025[30]
Mark McKeever – Head Coach
Jordan Bell – Assistant & Goalkeeping Coach
Front office
- As of February 6, 2024[31]
Tom Valcke – Senior Director, Franchise Development- Michael Blackmon – VP, The Tormenta Group
- John Schlieman – Senior VP, Corporate Partnerships
- Colt Carver – Senior Director, Soccer Operations
- Camryn Brooks – Coordinator, Soccer Operations
- Loren Kersey – Coordinator, Soccer Operations
- Colby Beard – Coordinator, Ticket Sales and Service
- Sally Scott – Senior Director, Ticketing and Fan Engagement
- Johnnie Sanchez – Coordinator, Academy Recruitment
- Joleen Tomlinson – Team Chef
- Reggie Hodges – Supervisor, Grounds
- Donald Roberts – Director, Facilities
- Khristina Harper – Director of Accounting
- Lindsay Paquette – Executive Staff
- Lisa Lee – Executive Staff
- Brad Nein – VP, Tormenta FC Academy
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Tormenta FC 2
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.[32] The team, Tormenta FC 2, continues to play in the Deep South Division and has won the conference once in 2019. During its inaugural season, the team won the Southern Conference for the first time in organization history.[33]
The 2 team has also qualified for two U.S. Open Cup tournaments in 2019 and 2020, with the latter being cancelled and the tournament spot being transferred to 2021.[34][35]
The club announced in January 2022 that Tormenta 2 would take a one-year hiatus from USL League Two in order for the club to focus on developing its academy.[1]
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Honors
- USL League One
- Playoffs Winners: 2022
- USL League Two
- Deep South Division Champion: 2018
Player honors
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References
External links
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