Stegman's Soccer Club
Stegman's Soccer Club is an amateur soccer club based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is the largest and most successful adult amateur soccer club in the state.
Full name | Stegman's Soccer Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Blues | ||
Founded | 1977 | ||
Ground | Lincoln Community Field, Minneapolis | ||
Capacity | 500 | ||
Chairman | Dan Hoedeman | ||
Manager | Daniel Warner | ||
League | Minnesota Amateur Soccer League | ||
2017 | MASL Division 1, 1st | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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The club fields five competitive amateur men's teams across the two major summer leagues in Minneapolis-St Paul: Stegman's 1977, Stegman's Old Boys, and Stegman's Athletic in the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League (MASL), Stegman's United and Stegman's Blues in the Minnesota Recreational Soccer League (MRSL), and various small-sided teams in various other leagues throughout the year.
Additionally, the club is helped to launch and remains affiliated with Minneapolis City SC of the National Premier Soccer League.
History
Stegman's Old Boys FC was founded in 2010 by Dan Hoedeman, Jon Bisswurm and Nick Sindt, quickly expanding to multiple teams competing across the local amateur leagues and divisions. Named for Tom Stegman, the youth coach of the Dayton, Ohio team Centerville Blitz that Hoedeman and Bisswurm played on, Stegman's Old Boys' mascot is a rich, luxuriant mustache.
FC Internationals was founded in 1977 and quickly established itself as a powerhouse in Minnesota amateur soccer. Under the management of Franklin Tawah, the Internationals won 13 MASL Division 1 titles, including three in a row from 2003 - 2005, with the 2003 side not dropping a single point on the way to the title,[1] and 8 Minnesota Cups. Keith Kiecker took over manager duties from Tawah and led the team to second in Division 1 and the finals of the Minnesota Cup.
In August 2015, Stegman's Old Boys FC and FC Internationals merged to become Stegman's Soccer Club.
In 2016, with FC Internationals renamed Stegman's 1977, the side did the double, claiming the Division 1 title (for the first time since 2005) and the Minnesota Cup for the first trophies of the new era. As a club, Stegman's almost swept the MASL cups in 2016, but Stegman's Old Boys fell to Haaka FC in extra time in the Wilson Cup final. It was their second Wilson Cup final defeat in three years.[2]
The success continued in 2017, with Stegman's 1977 retaining their MASL Division 1 crown and Stegman's Old Boys winning MASL Division 3 while going undefeated.
Blues have claimed our most recent trophy, winning MRSL Division 6 in 2019 also going undefeated.
The club has a barnstorming reputation, regularly traveling out-of-state to take on other amateur clubs. Beginning in 2012, when the Old Boys lost a close battle with Bavarian SC Majors 1–0 in Milwaukee and continuing to 2015 when the Old Boys competed in a home-and-home with FC Fargo,[3] losing the match in Fargo 2-1[4] on the last kick of the game.[5]
The club has started to compete in national amateur tournaments, though Stegman's 1977 were beaten 4–0 in Milwaukee by Bavarian Soccer Club in the 2017 USASA National Cup regional quarterfinal.[6]
Stegman's currently fields 5 teams, 1977s (MASL D1), Old Boys (MASL D2), Athletic (MASL D3), United (MRSL D3) and Blues (MRSL D5).
Ownership
Stegman's is 100% supporter owned. There are over 50 individual owners of the club, with shareholder eligible to vote on major club decisions, for board members and on management.
Social Responsibility
Uniquely for an amateur club, Stegman's is an active supporter of local charities, especially The Sanneh Foundation. The annual Free Beer Night charity friendly, played in 2013,[7] 2014[8] and 2015[9] at the National Sports Center in conjunction with a Minnesota United game, has raised over $15,000 for the charity. Additionally, Stegman's has teamed up with other organizations to help The Sanneh Foundation cause, most notably by helping to prepare the Conway Rec Center.[10]
Club Honors
Stegman's 1977 are the club's most decorated team, with 15 MASL Division 1 titles and 9 Minnesota Cup wins.
The last major honor won was the 2017 Division 1 title.[11]
Citable MASL online records only go back to 1999 and since then Stegman's (Internationals/1977s) has won six Division 1 titles (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016, 2017) [12] and seven Minnesota Cups (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2016)[13]
References
- "MASL Historical Results". Minnesota Amateur Soccer League. 25 August 2015.
- "MASL Wilson Cup". Minnesota Amateur Soccer League. 23 August 2016.
- "FC Fargo Schedules Home and Home With Stegman's". FC Fargo Official. 11 July 2015.
- "FC Fargo Season Ends On High Note". KVRR Sports. 1 August 2015.
- "Last Second Heroics for FC Fargo". Fargo Forum. 1 August 2015.
- "Region II Results of US Amateur Cup". US Cup Soccer.
- "Stegman's Old Boys 3rd Annual Free Beer Night". Free Beer Movement. 17 August 2013.
- "Free Beer in Minneapolis". Free Beer Movement. 6 September 2014.
- "Free Beer Night with Stegman's Old Boys and Summit". Growler Magazine. 19 September 2015.
- "Comcast Cares Day Helps Revamp Conway Rec Center". The Sanneh Foundation. 6 May 2014.
- "2017 MASL Division 1 Standings". Minnesota Amateur Soccer League. 4 August 2017.
- "Old MASL website". Minnesota Amateur Soccer League.
- "MASL Tournaments". Minnesota Amateur Soccer League. 23 August 2016.