The 2019 Birmingham Legion FC season was the club's inaugural season and their first in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The season covers the period from the founding of the club to the start of the 2020 USL Championship season.

Roster

No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Signed in Previous club Apps. Goals Goalkeepers 0 Joe Nasco GK 2019 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0 0 1 Matt Van Oekel GK 2019 OKC Energy 27 0 18 Trevor Spangenberg GK 2019 Richmond Kickers 6 0 Defenders 3 Kyle Fisher DF 2019 Montreal Impact 21 0 12 Eric Avila DF 2019 Las Vegas Lights 29 0 15 Akeem Ward DF 2019 D.C. United 10 0 17 Gael Mabiala DF 2019 UAB Blazers 11 0 22 Mathieu Laurent DF 2019 UAB Blazers 27 2 23 Benjamin Kucera DF 2019 Birmingham Hammers 4 0 30 Razak Cromwell DF 2019 Dreams FC (loan) 19 0 33 Kyle Culbertson DF 2019 Saint Louis FC 29 1 Midfielders 2 Marcos Ugarte MF 2019 Ringkøbing 7 0 5 Mikey Lopez MF 2019 San Antonio FC 26 3 6 Anderson Asiedu MF 2019 Atlanta United FC 12 0 8 Joe Holland MF 2019 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 15 0 14 Daniel Johnson MF 2019 Chicago Fire 31 4 16 Daigo Kobayashi MF 2019 Las Vegas Lights 19 0 21 Zachary Herivaux MF 2019 New England Revolution (loan) 19 0 Forwards 7 Brian Wright FW 2019 New England Revolution (loan) 23 5 9 Chandler Hoffman FW 2019 Real Monarchs 19 5 10 Prosper Kasim FW 2019 IFK Göteborg 32 7 11 JJ Williams FW 2019 Columbus Crew SC (loan) 18 7 13 Tyler Savitsky FW 2019 Næstved 0 0 27 Edward Opoku FW 2019 Columbus Crew SC (loan) 18 2 88 Femi Hollinger-Janzen FW 2019 New England Revolution 20 1

Non-competitive

Preseason Although Legion FC officially announced just one preseason game, the matchup against Nashville SC on February 16, the club wound up playing a four-game preseason schedule ahead of its inaugural season. Two of the four games were against fellow USL Championship clubs, with one fixture against a team from Major League Soccer and one against a USL League One opponent. The first two preseason matches saw Birmingham as the road team, with Legion FC hosting the final two games at BBVA Field.

Competitive

USL Championship

Standings

Results by round

Match results The league announced home openers for every club on December 14, 2018. Legion FC were initially set to play the inaugural match in club history on March 9, facing Bethlehem Steel FC at BBVA Field; the game would later be postponed to March 10 due to inclement weather.

The full Birmingham schedule was released on December 19. Legion FC's inaugural season will consist of 34 matches, with home and away games against every Eastern Conference opponent. The club will be one of six new teams in the Eastern Conference: Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United, and Memphis 901 are also joining as expansion clubs, while Saint Louis FC and Swope Park Rangers move over from the Western Conference.

USL Cup Playoffs

U.S. Open Cup

As a member of the USL Championship, Birmingham Legion will enter the tournament in the second round, to be played May 15, 2019.

Statistics

Appearances and goals

|colspan=10 align=center|Players who left Birmingham during the season:

Disciplinary record No. Pos. Name USLC U.S. Open Cup Total 1 GK Matt Van Oekel101020 2 MF Marcos Ugarte100010 3 DF Kyle Fisher400040 5 MF Mikey Lopez710071 6 MF Anderson Asiedu600060 7 FW Brian Wright210021 8 MF Joe Holland100010 10 FW Prosper Kasim200020 11 FW JJ Williams500050 12 DF Eric Avila600060 14 MF Daniel Johnson300030 15 DF Akeem Ward200020 16 MF Daigo Kobayashi100010 17 DF Gael Mabiala100010 21 MF Zachary Herivaux320032 22 DF Mathieu Laurent300030 27 FW Edward Opoku200020 30 DF Razak Cromwell010001 33 DF Kyle Culbertson801090 88 FW Femi Hollinger-Janzen201030Players who left Birmingham during the season: 4 DF Marcel Appiah100010 96 DF Tyler Turner100010

Clean sheets No. Name USLC U.S. Open Cup Total Games Played 0 Joe Nasco0000 1 Matt Van Oekel1101127 18 Trevor Spangenberg1016

Transfers

In Pos.PlayerTransferred fromFee/notesDateSource FW Chandler Hoffman Real Monarchs Signed to a multi-year pre-contract, effective Jan 1, 2019. Jul 30, 2018 MF Mikey Lopez San Antonio FC Signed to a multi-year contract. Nov 13, 2018 MF Joe Holland Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Nov 20, 2018 GK Matt Van Oekel OKC Energy OKC receives an undisclosed fee. Signed to a multi-year contract. Dec 12, 2018 MF Marcos Ugarte Ringkøbing Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Dec 19, 2018 DF Eric Avila Las Vegas Lights Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Dec 21, 2018 FW Prosper Kasim IFK Göteborg Signed to a multi-year contract. Jan 2, 2019 FW Femi Hollinger-Janzen New England Revolution Signed to a multi-year contract. Jan 7, 2019 DF Marcel Appiah VfL Osnabrück Signed to a multi-year contract. Jan 9, 2019 DF Kyle Fisher Montreal Impact Signed to a multi-year contract. Jan 17, 2019 MF Daigo Kobayashi Las Vegas Lights Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Jan 21, 2019 DF Mathieu Laurent UAB Blazers Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Jan 28, 2019 DF Gael Mabiala UAB Blazers Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Jan 28, 2019 MF Daniel Johnson Chicago Fire Signed to a multi-year contract. Feb 15, 2019 DF Tyler Turner Orlando SeaWolves Signed to a multi-year contract. Feb 20, 2019 GK Trevor Spangenberg Richmond Kickers Signed to a multi-year contract. Feb 21, 2019 DF Benjamin Kucera Birmingham Hammers Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Feb 27, 2019 FW Tyler Savitsky Næstved Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Feb 27, 2019 DF Kyle Culbertson Saint Louis FC Signed to a multi-year contract. Mar 7, 2019 GK Joe Nasco Fort Lauderdale Strikers Terms of the contract were undisclosed. MF Anderson Asiedu Atlanta United FC Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Jul 15, 2019 DF Akeem Ward D.C. United Terms of the contract were undisclosed. Jul 30, 2019

Loan in Pos.PlayerParent clubLength/NotesBeginningEndSource DF Razak Cromwell Dreams FC Duration of the 2019 USL Championship season, with an option to buy. Nov 27, 2018 MF Zachary Herivaux New England RevolutionOn a match-by-match basis. Mar 14, 2019 May 25, 2019 Jul 13, 2019 FW Brian Wright New England RevolutionOn a match-by-match basis. Mar 14, 2019 Apr 18, 2019 May 18, 2019 FW Edward Opoku Columbus Crew SC Duration of the 2019 USL Championship season. Mar 22, 2019 FW JJ Williams Columbus Crew SCOn a match-by-match basis. Apr 12, 2019 Apr 20, 2019 May 9, 2019 Jun 23, 2019 Jul 13, 2019

Out Pos.PlayerTransferred toFee/notesDateSource DF Marcel Appiah VfR Aalen No longer listed on roster. Signed for Aalen on Jul 30, 2019. Jul 22, 2019 DF Tyler Turner Contract terminated by mutual consent. Aug 14, 2019

Awards +USLC Team of the WeekWeekStartersBenchOpponent(s)Link 4 Brian Wright Eric Avila Louisville City 6 JJ Williams Kyle Culbertson Saint Louis FC 9 Daniel Johnson New York Red Bulls IIMemphis 901 16 Mikey Lopez Hartford Athletic 19 Brian Wright North Carolina FC 20 Mathieu Laurent Atlanta United 2 21 Mikey Lopez Charlotte Independence 23 Edward Opoku Matt Van Oekel Tampa Bay Rowdies 24 Daniel Johnson Memphis 901 25 Prosper Kasim Bethlehem Steel FC 27 Eric Avila Mikey Lopez Prosper Kasim Atlanta United 2 29 Prosper Kasim Nashville SCIndy Eleven

+USLC Goal of the MonthMonthPlayerOpponentLink June Chandler Hoffman Hartford Athletic

+USLC Coach of the MonthMonthCoachLink July Tom Soehn

+USLC Goal of the WeekWeekPlayerOpponentLink 16 Chandler Hoffman Hartford Athletic

Kits

Type Shirt Shorts Socks First appearance / RecordHomeBlackBlackBlackMatch 1 vs. Bethlehem / 6–2–8AwayWhiteWhiteWhiteMatch 3 vs. Louisville / 6–5–6

See also Birmingham Legion FC 2019 in American soccer 2019 USL Championship season

References