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Calgary Foothills FC

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Calgary Foothills WFC.
Calgary Foothills
Full nameCalgary Foothills Football Club
Short nameCFFC
Founded1972; 53 years ago (1972)
StadiumFoothills Composite High School
Head coachJay Wheeldon
LeagueLeague1 Alberta
2024L1AB, 2nd
Playoffs, Finalists
Websitehttps://gofoothills.ca/
Current season

Calgary Foothills Football Club is a Canadian soccer club based in Calgary, Alberta, that competes in League1 Alberta (L1AB). The club was founded as a youth club in 1972 and joined as a USL2 franchise in 2015. The team plays its home games at the Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks.[1][2][3] The team colours are green and white.[4]

History

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Calgary had previously hosted the Calgary Storm of USL2 (then known as Premier Development League) during the 2001 season.[5] Calgary Foothills FC launched in 2014 as they played a series of exhibition games against Vancouver Whitecaps U 23's,[6] FC Edmonton Reserves,[7] and local university clubs.

The club's inaugural game was played on May 17, 2015 against Puget Sound Gunners FC, winning 2–1.[8][9] The club finished 4th in the Northwest Division in 2015 with a 3–2–7 record, ultimately missing the playoffs.

In the 2016 season, Calgary Foothills won the Northwest Division with an 8–3–3 record, despite only 4% of supporters predicting the club would win the division.[citation needed] In the playoffs, Calgary Foothills would defeat Seattle Sounders U-23, FC Golden State Force, and FC Tucson to win the Western Conference.[10][11] Calgary Foothills would later defeat Ocean City Nor'easters in the semifinals to advance to the 2016 final against Michigan Bucks.[12][13] Calgary would lose the final 3–2 on a controversial penalty decision in the 86th minute.[14]

In the 2017 season, despite losing key players Elijah Adekugbe and Dominic Russo to injury, Calgary Foothills would improve on their point total from the season before, finishing second in the Northwest Division on goal differential to Portland Timbers U-23. The club would lose to Portland in the Northwest Division play-in game.[15] Off the pitch, the club would open an $11 million indoor training facility, the first of its kind in Western Canada.[16]

After playing in three stadiums in three years, and struggling to find a venue that met league standards in Calgary, the club would move 20 km south to the town of Okotoks for the 2018 season to play at Foothills Composite High School stadium.[17][18] Prior to the start of the season, the club made headlines when Canadian national women's team goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé would try out for the USL2 squad.[19][20] The club would have their best season to date during 2018, only losing once in 14 games, and would become Western Conference champions after defeating Colorado Rapids U-23 and FC Tucson.[21] Foothills would advance to the league final for the second time in three seasons after defeating Chicago FC United,[22] and would win the 2018 Championship 4–2 after extra time, over Reading United AC.[23]

The Foothills played in Saskatoon for the first ever SK Summer Soccer Series which is hosted by the Saskatchewan Selects. The Foothills defeated the Selects 2–1 in front of 3,067 people.

In April 2020, Calgary Foothills announced their withdrawal from the 2020 USL League Two season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24] That same month, the league announced the 2020 season would be cancelled.[25]

In 2023, they joined League1 Alberta, playing in the league's exhibition series, ahead of the official launch the following season. In 2023, they won the league's exhibition series championship.[26]

Youth system

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The Foothills have a full youth academy system from ages U4-U18 for boys and girls. Teams play in the Calgary Minor Soccer Association (CMSA) Tiers 1–6. The Generation program consists of the top players in U15 and U17 boys and girls. These teams are prepared to qualify and compete for the Canada Soccer Toyota National Championship.

Supporters' groups

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The Foot Soldiers were founded in February 2015 with the intention of bringing a passionate atmosphere to Calgary Foothills FC games.[27]

Coaching staff

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Roster

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As of 28 March 2024[29]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK United States USA Anthony Martinez
— GK Canada CAN Liam Collens
— DF England ENG Cameron Kilbride
— DF Canada CAN Joey Plenzik
— DF Canada CAN Hyunsoo Ryu
— DF Canada CAN Noah Hrdlicka
— DF Philippines PHI Miguel Mendoza
— MF Canada CAN Miguel Da Rocha
— MF Canada CAN Owen Antoniuk
— MF Canada CAN Max Piepgrass
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Canada CAN Gianmarco Plenzik
— MF Canada CAN Skyler Rogers
— FW Canada CAN Soliman Aria
— FW Nigeria NGA Emmanuel Dan-Adokiene
— FW Canada CAN Josh Flaksman
— FW Canada CAN Charles Nana
— FW Canada CAN Garry Onyejelem
— FW Canada CAN Owen Sheppard

Notable former players

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USL2/L1AB Squad

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  • Canadian women's national team goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé had a tryout with the team in preparation for the 2018 season, posting a shutout against the Lethbridge Pronghorns men's soccer team.[30]

    • Foothills Academy

    [edit]
  • Source: Calgary Foothills FC

    • Club records

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    Most appearances

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    League and playoffs

    # Pos. Name Nation Career League Playoffs Total
    1 Forward Tofa Fakunle  Canada 2015–2019 51 9 60
    2 Defender Dean Northover  Canada 2015–2018 49 9 58
    3 Midfielder Nico Pasquotti  Canada 2016–2018 38 10 48
    4 Midfielder Elijah Adekugbe  Canada 2015–2018 38 8 46
    5 Defender Dominick Zator  Canada 2015–2018 36 9 45
    6 Forward Ajeej Sarkaria  Canada 2016–2018 33 9 42
    7 Midfielder Kyle Jones  Canada 2016–2018 35 5 40
    8 Forward Dominic Russo  Canada 2015–2017 31 6 37
    9 Forward William Akio  Canada 2017–2019 29 6 35
    10 Defender Jonathan Wheeldon  England 2015–2018 28 6 34

    Bolded players are currently on the Calgary Foothills roster.

    As of July 22, 2019

    Top goalscorers

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    League and playoffs

    # Pos. Name Nation Career League Playoffs Total
    1 Forward Dominic Russo  Canada 2015–2017 11 4 15
    2 Forward William Akio  Canada 2017–2019 13 1 14
    3 Forward Ali Musse  Canada 2017–2018 7 5 12
    4 Forward Moses Danto  Canada 2018–2019 11 0 11
    5 Forward Tofa Fakunle  Canada 2016–2019 8 2 10
    6 Midfielder Kyle Jones  Canada 2016–2018 7 1 8
    7 Midfielder Nico Pasquotti  Canada 2016–2018 4 3 7
    8 Midfielder Elijah Adekugbe  Canada 2015–2018 6 0 6
    Forward Ajeej Sarkaria  Canada 2016–2018 4 2 6
    10 Midfielder Aribim Pepple  Canada 2019 3 1 4

    Bolded players are currently on the Calgary Foothills roster.

    As of July 22, 2019

    Record

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    Year-by-year

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    Season League Division Teams Record Rank Playoffs Ref
    2015 Premier Development League Northwest Division 7 3–7–2 4th did not qualify
    2016 7 8–3–3 1st Championship Final
    2017 6 8–4–2 2nd Divisional Qualification
    2018 6 11–2–1 1st Champions
    2019 USL League Two Northwest Division 6 9–2–3 1st Conference Semifinals
    2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
    2021 Did not play due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions
    2022 Did not play
    2023 League1 Alberta Exhibition Series 5 6–2–0 1st Champions
    2024 League1 Alberta 7 7–2–3 2nd Finalists

    Honours

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    • USL League Two
      • National Champions: 2018
      • Western Conference Champions: 2016, 2018
      • Northwest Division Champions: 2016, 2018

    Player honours

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    Year Pos Player Country Honour
    2016 F Dominic Russo  CAN All-League Team
    All-Western Conference Team
    2018 GK Marco Carducci  CAN Goalkeeper of the Year
    All-League Team
    All-Western Conference Team
    2018 F Moses Danto  CAN All-League Team
    All-Western Conference Team
    2018 M Elijah Adekugbe  CAN All-Western Conference Team
    2018 M Nico Pasquotti  CAN All-Western Conference Team
    2018 D Dominick Zator  CAN All-Western Conference Team

    References

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