Jacksonville Armada U-23

Jacksonville Armada U-23 are an American soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, and are part of the development system of the Jacksonville Armada FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL). They started play in 2016, replacing Jacksonville United FC in the NPSL. The team plays its home games at Jangro Stadium in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville Armada U-23
Full nameJacksonville Armada U-23
Founded2010 (2010)
GroundPatton Park
Jacksonville, Florida
Capacity1,000
Head CoachTommy Križanović
LeagueNational Premier Soccer League
WebsiteClub website

As Jacksonville United FC, the club won the NPSL Championship in its first year in the 2011 season.

History

Jacksonville United FC was founded in 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida, and began play in the 2011 season of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), considered at the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team was owned by Barry Dixon. While the team started their first season with four straight losses, they finished the season on an 8-game winning streak through the playoffs, finally defeating the Hollywood United Hitmen to claim the NPSL Championship with a 3–2 victory on July 30, 2011, in Madison, Alabama. Tommy Krizanovic was named Jacksonville's MVP, scoring a hat-trick in the final.[1]

In 2016, Jacksonville Armada FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL) announced they would establish an under 23 team to compete in the NPSL as part of the club's development system. Jacksonville Armada U-23 replaced Jacksonville United in the league for the 2016 NPSL season. The Armada retained head coach Pat Cannon.[2]

Following the 2017 NASL season, the league was denied Division II sanctioning by the United States Soccer Federation and canceled its 2018 season while legal proceedings played out.[3] During this time, many NASL teams fielded teams in the NPSL including the Jacksonville Armada.[4] The main team took part in league play with a mix professional and amateur players while the U-23 side went on hiatus for the season.

For the 2019 NPSL season Armada U-23 returned to the league and announced Aaron Pitchkolan as the new head coach.[5] The team reached the playoffs for the first time since 2014 but fell in the conference semifinals to eventual national champions Miami FC.

In late 2019 the club announced it would be a founding member of the NPSL's new Gulf Coast Conference, joining teams from the Gulf Coast Premier League and a returning New Orleans Jesters for the 2020 season.[6]

On April 5, former Armada player Tommy Križanović returned to the organization as the team's third-ever head coach.[7]

Coaching Staff

Current Technical Staff
Role Name
Head coach Croatia Tommy Križanović
Assistant coach England Jack Burns
Manager Richard Santos

Head Coaches
Name Nationality Tenure
Pat Cannon United States2011–17
Aaron Pitchkolan United States2019
Pat Cannon United States2020
Tommy Križanović Croatia2021-

Results

Year-by-year
Season League Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GF GA GD Pts.
2011 NPSL Southeast 1st 10 6 0 4 16 12 +4 18
2012 NPSL South-Southeast-East 4th 10 3 2 5 21 23 -2 11
2013 NPSL Sunshine 1st 8 6 2 0 20 7 +13 20
2014 NPSL Sunshine 2nd 10 6 2 2 14 7 +7 20
2015 NPSL Sunshine 4th 10 3 5 2 10 14 -4 11
2016 NPSL Sunshine 2nd 10 5 2 3 26 13 +13 18
2017 NPSL Sunshine 3rd 12 6 4 2 31 17 +14 20
2018 On Hiatus
2019 NPSL Sunshine 4th 10 3 6 1 13 32 -19 10
2020 Cancelled
2021 NPSL Gulf Coast Conference 1st 14 12 0 2 37 12 +25 36

Honors
  • 2011 NPSL National Champions [8]
  • 2011 NPSL Southeast Division Champions
  • 2013 NPSL Southern Region Semi-Finalist
  • 2013 NPSL Sunshine Division Champions
  • 2021 NPSL Gulf Coast Conference Division Champions

References
  1. "Krizanovic Leads JUFC to NPSL Championship". NationalPremierSoccerLeague.com. July 30, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  2. "Armada FC announce launch of U-23 team". www.news4jax.com. WJXT. February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  3. "North American Soccer League Announces Cancellation Of 2018 Season". www.nasl.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  4. "Statement from Armada FC Owner Robert Palmer". www.jacksonvillearmada.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  5. "Armada FC to Field U-23 Team in 2019 NPSL Season". www.jacksonvillearmada.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  6. "JACKSONVILLE ARMADA U-23 JOINS NEW NPSL GULF COAST CONFERENCE". Jacksonville Armada. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. "U-23 Coaching Announcement". www.jacksonvillearmada.com. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  8. "Jacksonville United 2011 NPSL National Champions".
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