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Potential Rivals Eager for NCFC Arrival

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 11/18/17, 9:16AM EST

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Battery, Independence, Kickers all ready to renew acquaintances


Photo courtesy North Carolina FC

North Carolina FC may have a new name than when it last suited up for competition in the USL, but the ties that have remained in the geographic region that have seen the likes of the Charleston Battery, Charlotte Independence and Richmond Kickers remain preseason and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup opponents have all three looking forward to NCFC’s arrival in the league for the 2018 season.

Formerly the Carolina RailHawks when founded in 2006, North Carolina FC squared off with both the Battery in the league and the Kickers in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in their inaugural season a year later, kicking off the relationships that endure to this day.

“I can remember when the RailHawks started, we were very excited then because we felt it was another geographic rivalry and brought another team that gives our fans a chance to travel to another game,” said Battery President Andrew Bell. “It’s a natural thing for them to return and play against the Charleston Battery. I’m honestly just thrilled.”

In more recent years, it became the turn of the Independence to get to know NCFC, with the sides squaring off each of the past three seasons in the Open Cup. Now in the same league for the first time, Charlotte has plenty of respect for what North Carolina is going to bring to the USL and what the club’s leadership under Dr. Steven Malik has done to galvanize the organization from top to bottom.

“I think it’s great for the Independence to have a good, quality organization pretty close to us,” said Independence General Manager Tom Engstrom. “The proximity makes it a lot easier for fans to travel to games, and we have a lot of respect for them, for the quality of teams they’ve put on the field but also for how they’ve grown their youth organization and the way they operate from the first team down to the youth.”

The proximity between each of the cities, say nothing of the addition of Atlanta United’s new USL organization this week as well, is going to be a boon for fans of each club. For the Kickers, NCFC is now the shortest road trip of the season, something Richmond Head Coach Leigh Cowlishaw believes will allow for more of the scenes that have spread across the USL in recent years thanks to the numerous regional rivalries in the league.

“You’ve got two fantastic fanbases right now, I think both clubs are averaging roundabout that 5,000 per game mark,” Cowlishaw said of the Kickers and NCFC. “It’s a fantastic opportunity in my mind to capitalize on what you’re seeing in several marketplaces in the USL like Louisville and Cincinnati where you can really create that regional rivalry, to really have an opportunity for both sets of fans to travel to away games and really capitalize on that energy. Certainly, from Richmond’s standpoint it’s a terrific addition to the league, but also an addition to create even more buzz and excitement for our 2018 season.”

For the Kickers, who are also part of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, it also gives a chance for the rivalry between the two clubs that has played out in the youth ranks even more weight in the professional arena.

“I think they’re a very similar model to ourselves, especially now that they’ve aligned pro and youth under one umbrella,” said Cowlishaw. “They’ve got great synergy within the community, superb facilities, and it’s a true community club. Both organizations have similar ways in history, and both are organizations that have strong core values that are looking to make them an integral part of their community and provide a pathway from youth to the pros. It’s great to see.”

“The youth teams from the Charlotte area see North Carolina FC in youth competition, in Development Academy competition, and I think while a lot of Development Academy clubs aren’t under our brand, they are Charlotte-area clubs playing against North Carolina FC,” added Engstrom. “It just brings one more layer for the rivalry to evolve, and with the number of youth players that are playing in the Charlotte and Raleigh area, these are legitimate goals that these players can have as far as one day being on the area professional team.”


Photo courtesy North Carolina FC

The personal relationships between the clubs, which have allowed the continuation of regular preseason scrimmages in recent year, will also carry forward into the 2018 USL season

“I know Curt [Johnson] very well and obviously Colin [Clarke’s] a friend of mine and [Battery Head Coach] Mike Anhaeuser, so we have stayed in touch,” said Bell. “We’ve played games, we’ve hung out with those guys away from the stadium and had conversations with them during this period of change for that club.”

The competitive pedigree North Carolina will bring to the league is also going to push everyone that encounters the newcomers to raise their game, too. With one of the finest soccer-specific venues outside Major League Soccer in Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park serving as NCFC’s home, Bell said the Battery are looking forward to returning to a place where points can be hard to come by for visitors.

“They’re going to put a very good team on the field, they always have done, they have excellent support, and that was always one of the most difficult places for us to go and play,” said Bell. “I think if you ask our players and our coach, they’ll say that they can’t wait because that’s what they thrive on. You want those games, you want your opponents to be tough, you want games where the fans understand what’s going on when you’re there, and our fans get it, they’re very knowledgeable, and so are the fans up in Cary.”

Put all those ingredients together and soccer fans in the Southeast will have even more to look forward to both in 2018 and well into the future.

“With the Raleigh area, Charleston, Richmond, Atlanta, Charlotte, it really has a good opportunity to be a great thing for the fans and for the clubs and give us a chance to grow some rivalries,” said Engstrom. “We haven’t had a whole lot of clubs that are real accessible for our fans to travel to on a regular basis, so the addition of Raleigh, the addition of Atlanta coupled with Charleston and Richmond, it’s really good.”

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