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.
 | |||
| Full name | South Georgia Tormenta Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2015 | ||
| Stadium | Tormenta Stadium Statesboro, Georgia | ||
| Capacity | 5,300 | ||
| Coordinates | 32°24′35″N 81°47′46″W / 32.409722°N 81.796111°W | ||
| Co-owners |
| ||
| Head coach | Ian Cameron | ||
| League | USL League One | ||
| 2023 | USL League One, 7th of 12 Playoffs: DNQ | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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.[4]
2016
On May 21, 2016, Tormenta FC hosted its inaugural home match against the Carolina Dynamo in front of 3,105 fans.[5]
Tormenta FC won their first match in club history on June 16, 2016 against the Charlotte Eagles in a 2–0 decision.[6] The club then followed up that victory with a second consecutive win on June 18, 2016 by defeating the Carolina Dynamo 1–0.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[11] 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.
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.[12]
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.[13]
2022
In the off season, the club signed former Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and English youth international player Kazaiah Sterling.[14]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 final match against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC by the score of 2–1.[15][16][17]
Stadium
Tormenta FC currently plays at Optim Sports Medicine Field, a 5,300-seat soccer-specific stadium in Statesboro.[18][19][20] 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.
Sponsorship
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–2018 |  Nike | Optim Orthopedics |
| 2019–2023 |  Adidas | |
| 2024–present | Puma[21] |
Record
Year-by-year
- As of October 14, 2023
| Season | Premier Development League | Playoffs | US Open Cup | Top Scorer 1 | Head Coach | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | Player | Goals | ||||
| 2016 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 18 | 21 | 5th, South Atlantic | Did not qualify | Ineligible |  Sam Lofts | 4 | Ben Freakley |
| 2017 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 34 | 17 | 25 | 4th, South Atlantic | Did not qualify | DNQ | Jamie Merriam | 9 | John Miglarese |
| 2018 | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 10 | 36 | 1st, Deep South | Conference Semifinals | 2R |  Marco Micaletto | 4 | John Miglarese |
| Season | USL League One | Playoffs | US Open Cup | Top Scorer 1 | Head Coach | ||||||||
| P | W | L | D | GF | GA | Pts | Pos | Player | Goals | ||||
| 2019 | 28 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 32 | 34 | 37 | 6th | Did not qualify | 2R | Marco Micaletto | 8 | John Miglarese |
| 2020 | 16 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 22 | 19 | 8th | Did not qualify | Not held |  Nil Vinyals | 4 | John Miglarese (2–4–4) Ian Cameron (3–3–0) |
| 2021 | 28 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 36 | 47 | 30 | 11th | Did not qualify | Not Held | Marco Micaletto | 11 | Ian Cameron |
| 2022 | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 42 | 40 | 45 | 3rd | Champions | 4R | Kazaiah Sterling | 13 | Ian Cameron |
| 2023 | 32 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 55 | 56 | 42 | 7th | Did not qualify | 3R | Kazaiah Sterling | 13 | Ian Cameron |
^ 1. Top Scorer includes statistics from league matches only.
Head coaches
- As of October 14, 2022
- Includes Regular Season, Playoffs & U.S. Open Cup. Excludes friendlies.
| Coach | Nationality | Start | End | G | W | L | D | GF | GA | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Freakley |  United States | 2016 | January 11, 2017 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 18 | 42.86 |
| John Miglarese | United States | January 11, 2017 | September 18, 2020 | 70 | 30 | 19 | 21 | 109 | 80 | 42.86 |
| Ian Cameron | Scotland | September 18, 2020 | present | 104 | 41 | 42 | 21 | 156 | 159 | 39.42 |
Players and staff
Current roster
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | MF | ENG | Mason Tunbridge |
| 17 | FW |  COL | Gabriel Rodriguez |
| 18 | MF | USA | Dodge Brooks ([A]) |
| 19 | MF |  CIV | Tavio D'Almeida |
| 20 | DF | USA | Collin Mocyunas |
| 21 | MF | USA | Ajmeer Spengler |
| 22 | DF |  ARG | Aaron Lombardi |
| 23 | DF | USA | Preston Kilwien |
| 25 | DF | USA | Jake Dengler |
| 30 | MF | USA | Conor Doyle |
| 77 | MF |  CHI | Pedro Campos |
Technical staff
- As of June 15, 2021[24]
Ian Cameron – Head Coach- Jordan Bell – Assistant & Goalkeeping Coach
Jordan Melia – Assistant Coach
Drew DeJohn – Performance Coach
Front office
- As of February 6, 2024[25]
- Caroline Boykin – Director, Marketing
- Tom Valcke – Senior Director, Franchise Development
- Rich Fleming – Director, Production and Outreach
- Noah Schroyer – Coordinator, Communications & Social Media
- Conner Martin – Coordinator, Creative & Brand
- John Schlieman – Senior VP, Corporate Partnerships
- Bryce Judy – Senior Director, Soccer Operations
- Colt Carver – Head Equipment Manager
- Talique Cobb – Coordinator, Ticket Sales and Service
- Colby Beard – Coordinator, Ticket Sales and Service
- Alex Wagner – Senior Director, Ticketing and Fan Engagement
- Johnnie Sanchez – Coordinator, Academy Recruitment
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.[26] 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.[27]
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.[28][29]
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]
Honors
- USL League One
- Playoffs
- Winners: 2022
- USL League Two
- Deep South Division Champion: 2018
Player honors
| Year | Pos | Player | Country | Honor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USL Premier Development League | ||||
| 2016 | D | Peyton Ericson | USA | All-Eastern Conference Team |
| 2018 | M | Marco Micaletto | ITA | All-League Team All-Southern Conference Team |
| M | Toni Soler | ESP | All-Southern Conference Team | |
| USL League One | ||||
| 2019 | D | Conner Antley | USA | Defender of the Year All-League First Team |
| D | Mikie Rowe |  IRE | Goal of the Year | |
| 2020 | M | Marco Micaletto | ITA | All-League Second Team |
| 2021 | M | Marco Micaletto | ITA | All-League First Team |
| 2022 | M | Adrian Billhardt | GER | Comeback Player of the Year |
| D | Jake Dengler | USA | All-League Second Team | |
| M | Gabriel Cabral |  BRA | All-League Second Team | |
| F | Kazaiah Sterling | ENG | All-League Second Team | |