Myrtle Beach Domestic Sports Newswire

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:38 pm

Welcome to the world of Myrtle Beach sports! For such a small nation, you'd expect a small sports following to go with it, but sports in Myrtle Beach is anything but small. In this newswire, you can receive the latest information regarding domestic sports in Myrtle Beach and associated nations. Below is a list of sports we cover, including summaries of the sports in Myrtle Beach:

Football

Football has had a turbulent history in Myrtle Beach. It was one of the first organized professional sports leagues in Myrtle Beach after the nation gained its independence in 1971, and since then a variety of leagues have operated as the top flight of Myrtle Beachian football. The latest edition of Myrtle Beach football, the MFA football leagues, is operated by the Myrtle Beach Football Association themselves after several third-party leagues fell through after just one or two seasons of play. So far, the association's league has endured, but time will tell if it remains. The current top flight of Myrtle Beachian football is the MFA Gold League, followed by the MFA Silver League, MFA Bronze League, and the Union Football League.

SEASON ----- WINNER ---------- RUNNER-UP ---------- CUP ED. ----- WINNER ------------- POTY ----------
1            Myrtle Beach FC   Wilmington United    39            Myrtle Beach Union   Not awarded
2            Southport City    Myrtle Beach FC      40            Wilmington City      Not awarded
3            Myrtle Beach FC   FC Northdale         41            FC Northdale         Not awarded
4            FC Northdale      Myrtle Beach Union   42            Riverboro FC         Jeremy Fulton [FC Northdale]
5            Riverboro FC      Elizabethtown United 43            Wilmington City      Caleb Holland [Elizabethtown United]

more sports go here

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Mon Oct 16, 2023 8:47 pm

3rd MFA Gold League: Season Previews

Adamsville SC
Adamsville, National District
Home colors: Blue - green
Away colors: Green - blue
Stadium: Forest Pitch Stadium (cap. 35,750)
Head Coach: Jeremy Barker
Starting XI: 4-4-2
GK Nolan Dawson, age 28, CB Ethan Carey, age 22, CB Kenneth Hester, age 23, LB Marcus Charles, age 21, RB Liam Bradford, age 23, CM Anthony Mullen, age 24, CM Blake Campbell, age 22, LM Spencer Bridges, age 21, RM Grant Wright, age 20, SS Justin Thompson, age 21, CF Paul Stewart, age 23
Season Predictions
Adamsville SC, to the surprise of everyone, finished in fifth place last season. This was a huge improvement from the season before, where they finished 9th, just barely escaping relegation. Most people attribute Adamsville’s massive success last season to the addition of center-forward Paul Stewart, who scored an impressive 16 goals. This season, Adamsville is expected to do much better with the addition of second striker Justin Thompson who was top scorer in the MFA Silver League last season. The most reliable predictions put them at 3rd for the 19th season of the MFA Gold League.

AFC Florence
Florence, Florence County
Home colors: Yellow - orange
Away colors: White - yellow
Stadium: Northwood Stadium (cap. 41,500)
Head Coach: Owen Jacobs
Starting XI: 3-5-2
GK Cory Byers, age 25, CB Peter Perkins, age 19, CB Edward Cunningham, age 24, CB David Bernard, age 24, LM Ashton Fisher, age 25, CM Oliver Wright, age 23, CM Thomas Powers, age 28, RM David Buckner, age 27, AM Cody Bartlett, age 21, CF Malik Whitehead, age 25, CF Aidan Tyler, age 22
Season Predictions
AFC Florence pushed themselves into the Gold League after a surprising 1st place performance in the Silver League last season. Unfortunately, one good season in the second-tier does not equate to success in the top flight. Despite the addition of new talent in the form of center-back Peter Perkins and goalkeeper Cory Byers, the media is predicting a last place finish and relegation for this team.

FC Northdale
Northdale, National District
Home colors: Light blue - red - white
Away colors: White - light blue
Stadium: Northdale Field (cap. 22,700)
Head Coach: Stuart Hanson
Starting XI: 5-3-2
GK Kevin Boyer, age 20, RB Isaac Robbins, age 18, CB Kevin Waller, age 19, CB Maxwell Nelson, age 21, CB Bryson Burch, age 20, LB Garrett Nixon, age 22, CM Dakota Nelson, age 21, CM Jonathan Hoover, age 20, CM Jeremy Fulton, age 24, CF Douglas Simon, age 21, CF Wesley Cain, age 22
Season Predictions
In the offensively minded Gold League, FC Northdale is a standout team with their head coach Stuart Hanson sending out a defensively strong 5-3-2 formation with some of the best defensive players in the nation to back it up. This subversion of the traditionally offensive coaching of Myrtle Beachian football led to great results for this team, finishing 4th last season. This season, Northdale is not expected to remain in the top 4 but they will stay at the higher end of the table and will present a challenge to any mid-table teams looking to make a run for the top.

Kingsland Athletic
Kingsland, Kingsland County
Home colors: Blue - white
Away colors: White - blue
Stadium: Cumberland Field (cap. 23,000)
Head Coach: Patrick Kennedy
Starting XI: 3-5-2
GK Sean Hebert, age 23, CB Jake Michael, age 22, CB Aaron Evans, age 21, CB Harry Kent, age 24, LM George Curtis, age 23, CM Caleb Melton, age 22, CM Douglas Branch, age 23, RM Michael Norris, age 25, AM Hector Avery, age 24, CF Dennis Hart, age 23, CF Douglas Tanner , age 26
Season Predictions
Kingsland Athletic struggled last season, with every match being a battle to stay out of relegation. Fortunately, this team was able to just scrape by with a 8th place finish, avoiding relegation. This season, however, things look much more promising. The additions of skilled goalkeeper Sean Hebert and two time MFA Silver League golden boot winner Douglas Tanner at center-forward has boosted them up in the ratings. In addition to their high-profile signings during the season break, they hired Patrick Kennedy in the head coach position, who has won three league trophies and earned promotion for five different clubs over his storied career. Overall, this team is expected to do much better than last season, even potentially ending up with a top-5 finish.

Myrtle Beach FC
Myrtle Beach, National District
Home colors: Gold - red - white
Away colors: White - gold - white
Stadium: Grand Strand Field (cap. 69,000)
Head Coach: James Witt
Starting XI: 3-4-2-1
GK Bradley Page, age 23, CB Donovan Hayes, age 22, CB Brett Byers, age 25, CB Derrick Powell, age 23, LM Timothy Haynes, age 19, CM Peyton Petersen, age 20, CM Adam Day, age 24, RM Alexis Hopkins, age 21, LW Ryan Edwards, age 22, RW William Fox, age 21, CF Brian Farmer, age 25
Season Predictions
Myrtle Beach FC returns this season after an unexpected 2nd place finish last season primed for a 1st place finish this season. Their star forward Brian Farmer has chosen to stay after receiving a multi-million dollar offer from FC Northdale during the season break, and this season he is backed by an almost completely new midfield. While they are almost certainly going to make it to the IFCF, the team will face stiff competition in the upper teams of the table.

Myrtle Beach Union
North Myrtle Beach, National District
Home colors: Gold - black - silver
Away colors: Silver - white - gold
Stadium: Atlantic Pitch (cap. 33,000)
Head Coach: Aaron Haynes
Starting XI: 4-2-3-1
GK James Gilmore, age 24, RB John Henry, age 20, CB Joseph Ferrell, age 22, CB Martin Doyle, age 23, LB Samuel Hyde, age 21, RM Robert Butler, age 20, DM Josiah Todd, age 25, DM Tyler Summers, age 19, LM Austin Potts, age 24, AM Braden Finch, age 22, CF Caleb Brennan, age 23
Season Predictions
Myrtle Beach Union had a disappointing 7th place finish last season, but this season they are ready to push themselves back into the top 4. After a very active pre-season transfer window, they have almost completely rebuilt their team and are ready to compete for a spot in this year’s IFCF competition. However, they will face stiff competition from teams high up on the table looking to keep their spot in the competition secured. Despite the changes this team made during the season break, the most optimistic predictions only put them in 4th or 5th place. Most believe that this team will stay in the middle of the table for this next season.

Riverboro FC
Riverboro, Riverboro County
Home colors: Blue - white - blue
Away colors: White - blue - white
Stadium: Lake Pitch (cap. 23,000)
Head Coach: Jordan David
Starting XI: 4-2-3-1
GK Damian Moss, age 19, RB Hunter Fisher, age 20, CB Edgar Newman, age 23, CB Brody Miller, LB Wyatt Scott, age 22, DM Devin Wyatt, age 22, DM Jason Buckner, age 21, LM Cory Fisher, age 20, CM Casey Hickman, age 23, RM Aaron Lane, age 22, CF Jesse Park, age 24
Season Predictions
Riverboro FC finished right in the middle of the pack at 6th place last season. However, with the departure of star goalkeeper Parker Chase and the lack of a quality replacement, they are expected to give up many goals with rookie goalkeeper Damian Moss. However, it is expected that their talented defense will pick up much of the slack. Overall, reliable sources predict this team to once again finish right in the center of the pack around 6th place.

Southport City
Southport, Brunswick County
Home colors: Red - white - red
Away colors: White - red - white
Stadium: St. John’s Field (cap. 56,000)
Head Coach: Jeffery Brennan
Starting XI: 4-2-3-1
GK Samuel Beach, age 27, RB Max Byers, age 18, CB Ashton Hatfield, age 20, CB Dylan Barrera, age 22, LB Antonio Gamble, age 23, DM Cooper Lawson, age 24, DM Matthew Carlson, age 25, LM Eli Morris, age 24, AM Richard Anderson, age 22, RM Nathan William, age 25, CF Justin Stevens, age 24
Season Predictions
Southport City is by far the best club in the MFA Gold League, landing 1st place last season and they are set to take 1st place again. Justin Stevens took the Championship golden boot last season with an astonishing 22 goals scored. It seems like it will be an easy route to another trophy for this team, however they may face stiff competition from the “new” Myrtle Beach FC.

West Florence AFC
Florence, Florence County
Home colors: Yellow - light green - white
Away colors: White - light green - yellow
Stadium: National Stadium (cap. 50,500)
Head Coach: Stephen Flynn
Starting XI: 3-5-2
GK Colin Wade, age 23, CB Oscar Harris, age 21, CB Gary Patrick, age 22, CB Colin Noble, age 20, LM Craig Wade, age 23, CM Derek Meyer, age 22, CM Edwin Morris, age 24, RM Logan Stewart, age 22, AM Tanner Koch, age 21, CF Jayden Walton, age 23, CF Randy Bolton, age 22
Season Predictions
West Florence AFC has continued spiraling down the worst timeline as they placed 9th last season. After a disastrous transfer window during which a majority of the team’s talent departed, the team has become one of the worst teams of the league. They are fully expected to plummet to the bottom of the table and get relegated this season.

Wheaton SC
Wheaton, Brunswick County
Home colors: Yellow - orange - blue
Away colors: Blue - white - yellow
Stadium: New Wheaton Field (cap. 23,000)
Head Coach: Henry Stanley
Starting XI: 4-4-2
GK Travis Norton, age 24, RB Jason Donaldson, age 20, CB Jack Norris, age 23, CB Liam Clements, age 21, LB Douglas Norris, age 21, RM Edgar Stewart, age 22, CM Luke Gilmore, age 24, CM Timothy Boyle, age 19, LM Keith Daniels, age 21, CF Dennis Harvey, age 24, CF Kenneth Barrett, age 22
Season Predictions
Wheaton SC just barely escaped relegation last season, ending up in 10th place. After this disappointing finish, the club went into turmoil as its owner sold the club in a long and unnecessarily drawn out process. After the exchange, head coach Henry Stanley was hired after being released from Riverboro FC. Opinions on this change are divided, but most reliable predictors place Wheaton FC in 9th place, once again avoiding relegation.

Wilmington City
Wilmington, New Hanover County
Home colors: Dark purple - white
Away colors: White - dark purple
Stadium: Patriot Stadium (cap. 34,000)
Head Coach: Tristan Ford
Starting XI: 4-3-3
GK Cole Christian, age 23, RB George Bright, age 22, CB Grant Matthews, age 22, CB Nolan Ellis, age 20, LB Keith Tanner, age 21, DM Adrian McConnell, age 24, CM Matthew Reid, age 20, CM Connor Rodgers, age 22, LW Bryan Short, age 22, RW Donald Burt, age 23, CF Marcus Robbins, age 19
Season Predictions
Wilmington City was promoted from the MFA Silver League last season after a tough play-off race. They nearly lost it on penalties in the semi-final, but in the end this team was able to push through and make it into the Gold League with a 2nd place finish in the Silver League. This season, after the addition of rookie center-forward Marcus Robbins, they are expected to just escape relegation with a mid-table finish of around 7th or 8th place. However, some predictors say that this club is not ready for the high-energy competition of the Gold League and will end up getting relegated this season.

Wilmington United
Wilmington, New Hanover County
Home colors: Light blue - red - blue
Away colors: Red - white
Stadium: New River Stadium (cap. 69,000)
Head Coach: Chris Bright
Starting XI: 4-4-2 diamond
GK Parker Chase, age 23, RB Nathaniel Herring, age 22, CB Edgar Casey, age 26, CB Kyle Robertson, age 25, LB Cameron Mathis, age 23, RM Mason Wilson, age 24, DM Isaac Curtis, age 25, AM Mason Hicks, age 20, LM Nathan Shepard, age 21, CF Jacob Adkins, age 22, CF Brandon Meyers, age 23
Season Predictions
Last season, Wilmington United cruised into a 3rd place position with center-forward Joseph Warren, however after his retirement things seem much more difficult for the traditionally strong team. Optimists predict this team to end up around 4th, while the most common predictions put this team in the middle of the pack at around 7th place.

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Sun Oct 22, 2023 7:54 pm

3rd MFA Gold League | Mid-Season Review

Alright! It's time for the mid-season review for the third edition of the MFA Gold League! Let's just bring it up... and...

   Matchday 11
   MFA Gold League        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                                              
 1 FC Northdale            11    8   3   0    14    4  +10    27    —    —   1–0  1–1   —    —   2–1  0–0   —    —   1–0  1–0
 2 Myrtle Beach FC         11    7   3   1    19    7  +12    24   1–3   —   1–1  2–0   —    —    —   2–0   —    —   3–0  2–0
 3 Myrtle Beach Union      11    7   3   1    14    6   +8    24    —    —    —    —   1–1  2–1  1–0  1–1  1–0  2–1   —    — 
 4 Southport City          11    5   3   3    16   11   +5    18    —    —   0–3   —   1–0  0–0  1–2   —    —   2–1   —    — 
 5 Adamsville SC           11    4   4   3    14   10   +4    16   1–1  1–2   —    —    —   0–1   —   0–0  1–1  3–1   —    — 
 6 West Florence AFC       11    4   3   4     8   10   −2    15   0–2  0–1   —    —    —    —    —    —   0–0   —   0–2  1–0
 7 Kingsland Athletic      11    3   3   5     9   13   −4    12    —   1–4   —    —   0–1  0–1   —   1–1  3–2  0–0   —    — 
 8 Wilmington United       11    2   5   4     9   18   −9    11    —    —    —   0–5   —   3–4   —    —   0–0  1–0   —   2–5
 9 Riverboro FC            11    1   6   4    10   10    0     9   0–1  0–0   —   1–1   —    —    —    —    —    —   1–1  5–1
10 Wilmington City         11    2   3   6     6   11   −5     9   0–1  1–1   —    —    —   0–0   —    —   1–0   —   0–1   — 
11 AFC Florence            11    2   2   7     7   16   −9     8    —    —   0–1  0–2  1–4   —   0–1  0–1   —    —    —   2–2
12 Wheaton SC              11    1   2   8    10   20  −10     5    —    —   0–1  1–3  1–2   —   0–0   —    —   0–1   —    — 

IFCF Champions League
IFCF Challengers Cup
Relegation to MFA Silver League

Uh... well. FC Northdale... first place. Halfway through the season. It's not looking great for those who have bet on Southport City to once again sweep the league, as they are competing for a spot in the IFCF Challengers Cup with Adamsville SC, who is expected to not let Southport have a hold on the position without a fight, and West Florence AFC, who are just happy to be there and not at the bottom of the table with AFC Florence and Wheaton SC. Perhaps we misjudged West Florence- yes, a sizable portion of the team's talent disappeared during the summer transfer window, but who knows- attacking midfielder Tanner Koch has performed exceptionally well and has made the MFA Gold League Team of the Week several times so far this season.

Really, it's moments like this that make you realize that football is not a game about winners and losers. It's a game about stories. Yes, Southport City's massive cash reserves allow them to buy the best players, but the increasing corporatization of the club has made it lose all its personality over the last few years since it skyrocketed up the leagues from the UFL East to this Gold League in just six years. Yes, you can grow a bandwagon by winning, but bandwagons are not real fans because the minute you start to slip up, they leave. It's the club's story, its spirit, that creates real fans. Southport sold their spirit, their story, to the Transfer Gods to get themselves to the top of the league. Case in point, a MSN poll two weeks ago showed that 64% of residents of Southport and Wilmington who were fans of Southport City stopped supporting the team after their disaster of a sponsorship last year. For uninformed readers and listeners, this was when Southport made a $100 million deal with JuiceNext where the name of their stadium was changed to Juice Stadium, the club's uniforms changed to solid orange and white, and every seat in the stadium was painted orange. This was quickly reversed, but the damage was already done.

Unsurprisingly, after they lost their spirit and their culture, Southport began to struggle. They still finished first last year, but it seems we are beginning to see the lack of a dedicated home crowd affecting the team. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw this side be restored to its natural place in the ladder, likely in the MFA Bronze League or the Union Football League. Long-term? Southport will probably fold within the next 15 years like most of the newer teams that have seen massive success within the UFL or the League. We saw the same thing with Myrtle United in the League One when that was still around, we saw the same thing with New Cape in the Bronze League, and we're going to see the same thing with Southport.

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 5:11 pm

3rd MFA Gold League | Season Review

There are five sanctioned tiers of football in Myrtle Beach. Sure, you can string amateur leagues together and get more, but these are the five that matter. It starts with the UFL West and East, then the Union Football League, and in league competition, the MFA Bronze League, Silver League, and Gold League. The Union Football Leagues have been around for about 30 years, and the MFA leagues have been around for the last three. Before three years ago, football was very turbulent, with leagues appearing and folding all over. Despite the chaos of football at the time, the clubs, the fans, the players endured. One of the clubs that was able to remain afloat despite the chaos was FC Northdale.

Northdale is a small town in the Federal District, between North Myrtle Beach and Conway. It is commonly said that there are more seats in Northdale Field than there are people in Northdale, which was true when the saying first originated but the town has seen exponential growth in recent years due to the never-ending sprawl of Myrtle Beach. Northdale's football club, FC Northdale, was founded in 1999. They started out in the Conway Football League Division Two, which is in the eighth tier of football. They competed against seven other teams for promotion to the Conway Football League Division One. They started out small- they played in a local park at a public field, and attracted crowds of less than 100- most of them were friends and family of the players.

But slowly, they grew. They quickly rose up the ranks in the amateur leagues. In the Northdale Star, the biggest newspaper in Northdale, it was noted that they "played like a NL [National League] team." In their first season, they earned promotion to the Conway Football League Division One. The next season, they obliterated the other seven teams in the league to earn promotion to the Conway Football League Premier Division. It took them a couple seasons there, but in 2003, after just three seasons in the Premier Division, they earned promotion to the UFL West. The UFL West is the lowest semi-professional league in Myrtle Beach, and is usually a huge hurdle for teams from the amateur tiers... but Northdale FC blew the UFL West out of the water. Yes, it took them a bit of time compared to their previous promotions, but in 2008, after four seasons of play in the UFL West, and just nine seasons of play total, they earned promotion to the Union Football League.

Unfortunately, that was where the story ended in the early 2010s. After a mid-table finish in 2009, the opportunity for promotion closed as the top league at the time, the National League, folded. What followed was a chaotic mess of leagues collapsing within their first month, bringing clubs down with them. In 2012, there was no sanctioned professional league in Myrtle Beach. The largest clubs went to play football in neighboring New Fernia, despite the tensions between the two nations, and that seemed to be the end of fully domestic professional football in Myrtle Beach... until Northdale FC finished first in the Union Football League for the sixth time in 2021. The team, and the entire Union Football League itself, was sick of the lack of stability in professional football in Myrtle Beach, so they and the Myrtle Beach Football Association organized three professional leagues that persist to this day, the 2023-24 season: the MFA Bronze League, the MFA Silver League, and the MFA Gold League. The MFA promised that the leagues would not collapse as the funds were there for at least twenty years provided no chaos ensued. And for Northdale FC, the leaders of this charge? They were put in the Gold League, along with the top Myrtle Beachian clubs returning from New Fernian football.

And this season... the third season of the MFA Gold League, FC Northdale finished second, just nearly missing their goal that was declared in 1999, on that public football pitch, in some random park, in some random town nobody knew the name of. Until now, of course. And next season, once they finish first in the league? The whole world will know the name of that random town.

   Matchday 22
   FC Northdale 1–0 West Florence AFC

 # MFA Gold League        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                                              
 1 Myrtle Beach FC         22   15   5   2    44   14  +30    50    —   1–3  2–0  1–1  4–0  1–0  4–1  2–0  4–0  4–0  3–0  2–0
 2 FC Northdale            22   13   6   3    22   10  +12    45   0–1   —   1–1  1–0  0–1  1–0  1–0  0–0  2–1  2–1  1–0  1–0
 3 Southport City          22   13   4   5    39   17  +22    43   1–2  1–1   —   0–3  2–1  1–0  0–0  1–0  8–0  1–2  0–2  1–0
 4 Myrtle Beach Union      22   13   4   5    24   18   +6    43   2–1  1–0  0–2   —   2–1  1–1  2–1  1–1  1–0  1–0  1–0  1–1
 5 Wilmington City         22    8   4  10    13   18   −5    28   1–1  0–1  0–1  1–0   —   0–0  0–0  1–0  1–0  0–1  0–1  1–0
 6 Adamsville SC           22    7   6   9    20   19   +1    27   1–2  1–1  0–2  0–1  3–1   —   0–1  0–0  1–1  0–1  1–2  1–0
 7 West Florence AFC       22    7   4  11    17   27  −10    25   0–1  0–2  0–3  3–2  1–0  0–2   —   0–1  0–0  3–0  0–2  1–0
 8 Wilmington United       22    5   8   9    18   28  −10    23   0–1  1–1  0–5  0–1  1–0  1–1  3–4   —   0–0  4–1  1–0  2–5
 9 Riverboro FC            22    5   7  10    25   33   −8    22   0–0  0–1  1–1  4–0  0–1  0–1  3–1  1–1   —   3–2  1–1  5–1
10 Kingsland Athletic      22    6   4  12    17   33  −16    22   1–4  0–1  1–3  0–1  0–0  0–1  0–1  1–1  3–2   —   1–0  1–1
11 AFC Florence            22    5   4  13    13   26  −13    19   1–1  0–1  0–2  0–1  0–2  1–4  0–0  0–1  1–0  0–1   —   2–2
12 Wheaton SC              22    4   6  12    21   30   −9    18   2–2  0–0  1–3  0–1  0–1  1–2  1–0  2–0  2–3  0–0  2–0   —

IFCF Champions League
IFCF Challengers Cup
Relegation to MFA Silver League

Myrtle Beach FC, after only receiving an impressive 2 losses, will progress to the IFCF Champions League. FC Northdale, Southport City, and Myrtle Beach Union will progress to the IFCF Challengers Cup. AFC Florence and Wheaton SC will be relegated to the MFA Silver League, to be replaced by the champion of the Silver League and the winner of the Silver League promotion play-offs.

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Thu Nov 30, 2023 8:52 pm

4th MFA League Season | 18th IFCF | 42nd National Cup of Myrtle Beach

MFA Gold League | Previews

All players are Myrtle Beachian unless otherwise noted.

ADAMSVILLE SC
Adamsville, National District

Home colors: Blue-green
Away colors: Green-blue
Stadium: Forest Pitch Stadium (cap. 35,750)
3rd Season Finish: 6th, 27 points
Head Coach: Jeremy Barker [MYR]
Starting XI: 4-4-2
GK Nolan Dawson, age 29, CB Ethan Carey, age 23, CB Kenneth Hester, age 24, LB Marcus Charles, age 22, RB Liam Bradford, age 24, CM Anthony Mullen, age 25, CM Blake Campbell, age 23, LM Spencer Bridges, age 22, RM Grant Wright, age 21, CF Brandon Meyers, age 24, CF Paul Stewart, age 24

A small slip in the rankings between the second and third seasons for Adamsville SC led to some turmoil within the club, however not much changed. The most notable change was the removal of striker Justin Thompson, who was predicted to be amazing last season but ended up with extremely disappointing results at the end. He has been replaced by former Wilmington United center-forward Brandon Meyers, who was canned during the transfer window by Wilmington. Despite slipping in the rankings a bit, they still ended the season with a positive goal difference, joining an exclusive club with four other teams to be one of five with a positive goal differential last season. Most are once again looking towards a positive outlook for Adamsville, with a top four finish in the cards.

CRAVEN COUNTY FC
New Bern, Craven County

Home colors: Blue-white
Away colors: White-blue
Stadium: North Bern Race-field (cap. 20,500)
3rd Season Finish: MFA Silver League 3rd, playoff victory
Head Coach: Christian Matthieu [FER]
Starting XI: 5-3-2
GK Brent Price, age 25, CB Terrence Savage, age 23, CB Carson Bullock, age 24, CB Keith Peck, age 22, LB Dwayne King, age 25, RB Jerry Finch, age 20, CM Brandon Mann, age 22, CM Edgar Hendricks, age 23, CM Richard Garner, age 19, CF Jesse Park, age 25

Craven County FC came flying out of the gate last season, stepping on every team in the Silver League. Despite their amazing performance, they struggled towards the end of the season against high-table teams and were condemned to the dreaded promotion playoffs. As third place, they earned a quarterfinals bye and went directly to the semifinals, which they won easily against Fernia Beach FC, and then they trampled all over second place Kitty Hawk FC and earned their promotion spot. During the off-season, they acquired center-forward Jesse Park after Riverboro FC kicked him out for a foreign forward. They're expected to rest easy in the middle of the table this season, and many believe that over the next five seasons, this club could become a champion contender.

FC NORTHDALE
Northdale, National District

Home colors: Light blue - red - white
Away colors: White - light blue
Stadium: Northdale Field (cap. 23,000)
3rd Season Finish: 2nd, 45 points, IFCF Challengers Cup, National Cup winner
Head Coach: Stuart Hanson [MYR]
Starting XI: 5-3-2
GK Kevin Boyer, age 21, RB Isaac Robbins, age 19, CB Kevin Waller, age 20, CB Maxwell Nelson, age 22, CB Bryson Burch, age 21, LB Garrett Nixon, age 23, CM Dakota Nelson, age 22, CM Jonathan Hoover, age 21, CM Jeremy Fulton, age 25, CF Douglas Simon, age 22, CF Wesley Cain, age 23

FC Northdale landed the 2nd place spot last season, giving themselves a spot in the IFCF Challengers Cup, the (second) most prestigious championship in club football. In addition to their excellent finish, they were the winners of the National Cup, beating out reigning champions Wilmington City in what was likely the closest match in Myrtle Beach football last season. FC Northdale's ambition doesn't end in second place though- they are confident they will cruise into the top spot this season and complete the fastest rise from the lowest amateur league to the champions of the highest professional league in Myrtle Beach football, and perhaps in all football.

HATTERAS FC
Manteo, Dare County

Home colors: Blue - gold
Away colors: Green - gold
Stadium: Dare County Field (cap. 14,500)
3rd Season Finish: MFA Silver League 1st
Head Coach: Jeffrey Gibson [MYR]
Starting XI: 3-6-1
GK Isaac Webster, age 21, CB Keith Graves, age 23, CB Logan Becker, age 20, CB Brady Leonard, age 20, LM Brody Jordan, age 22, DM Caden Cain, age 19, DM Edward White, age 20, AM Drew Becker, age 22, AM Trevor Simmons, age 25, RM Brendan Woods, age 22, CF Blake Hatfield, age 20

The quaint island town of Manteo finally did something notable for the first time in a century: its local club made it into the most prestigious league in the world, at least by the opinion of this writer. Hatteras FC defied expectations last season, setting all of the Silver League records, including most points in a season, scoring 108 points while having the worst formation ever in the entire world. Seriously, 3-6-1? I would tell the owner to get head coach Jeffery Gibson checked out, or maybe sent to a farm, but it seems that parking the bus in the midfield worked for the Silver League. Only time will tell if it works in the far more competitive and competent Gold League, however. It is the belief of the people that this club will end up getting relegated back to its natural habitat in the second tier, but only time will tell. Our next club doesn't want time to tell, however...

KINGSLAND ATHLETIC
Kingsland, Kingsland County

Home colors: Blue - white
Away colors: White - blue
Stadium: Cumberland Field (cap. 23,000)
3rd Season Finish: 10th, 22 points; avoided relegation by three points
Head Coach: Patrick Kennedy [MYR]
Starting XI: 3-5-2
GK Sean Hebert, age 24, CB Jake Michael, age 23, CB Aaron Evans, age 22, CB Harry Kent, age 25, LM George Curtis, age 24, CM Caleb Melton, age 23, CM Douglas Branch, age 24, RM Michael Norris, age 26, AM Hector Avery, age 25, CF Dennis Hart, age 24, CF Luke Shaffer, age 18

Well... it looks like the whole country was proved wrong with this one. Douglas Tanner broke his leg and tore all the ligaments vs Riverboro FC last season, ending his career early. Unfortunately, the team never recovered and they just narrowly missed relegation. They picked up Luke Shaffer out of Myrtle Beach FC's youth academy, and they're praying that Dennis Hart, an excellent forward by himself, teaches Shaffer to be a Gold League standard. Unfortunately, this season is likely to be an uphill battle out of relegation for the team. They will likely end up somewhere in the bottom of the table, however there is a vocal minority that says this club is going to come out of the darkness of relegation and burst into the light of the top half of the table. I don't buy it, but even if I wanted to, I don't get paid enough.

MYRTLE BEACH FC
Myrtle Beach, National District

Home colors: Gold - red - white
Away colors: White - gold - white
Stadium: Grand Strand Field (cap. 69,000)
3rd Season Finish: 1st, 50 points, IFCF Champions League
Head Coach: James Witt [MYR]
Starting XI: 3-4-2-1
GK Bradley Page, age 24, CB Donovan Hayes, age 23, CB Brett Byers, age 26, CB Derrick Powell, age 24, LM Timothy Haynes, age 20, CM Peyton Petersen, age 21, CM Meletiy Tirdesen [KAN], age 24, RM Alexis Hopkins, age 22, LW Ryan Edwards, age 23, RW William Fox, age 22, CF Brian Farmer, age 26

Myrtle Beach FC, for the second time, popped the champagne on the pitch last season, finishing first. However, their first-place position was challenged multiple times throughout the season by upper table clubs, especially FC Northdale, the most generic club in the Gold League. They picked up an international player, center-midfielder Meletiy Tirdesen of Kanmer from the list of free agents looking for new adventures, likely in a worse league. The club hopes this new addition will strengthen their midfield and keep them afloat against tough competition throughout the league. It's not like it matters, because they are expected to once again take home the W and a huge trophy to boot.

MYRTLE BEACH UNION
North Myrtle Beach, National District

Home colors: Gold - black - silver
Away colors: Silver - white - gold
Stadium: Atlantic Pitch (cap. 33,000)
3rd Season Finish: 4th, 43 points, IFCF Challengers Cup
Head Coach: Aaron Haynes [MYR]
Starting XI: 4-2-3-1
GK James Gilmore, age 25, RB John Henry, age 21, CB Joseph Ferrell, age 23, CB Martin Doyle, age 24, LB Samuel Hyde, age 22, RM Robert Butler, age 21, DM Josiah Todd, age 26, DM Tyler Summers, age 20, LM Austin Potts, age 25, AM Braden Finch, age 23, CF Caleb Brennan, age 24

They finally did it. The Union finally made it into the top four! After a mid-table finish in season 2, and a less-than-adequate finish in season 1, and years of hell in the FFL while the MFA learned how football worked again, and existing in a state of perpetual promotion-relegation cycles in the National League before then, they have finally made it out of mediocrity and into slightly-above-averageness. They landed a spot in the IFCF Challengers Cup, which they immediately lost 1-5 on aggregate in the first qualifying round because they're a joke of a club. They're mid-table, does it even need saying?

RIVERBORO FC
Riverboro, Riverboro County

Home colors: Blue - white - blue
Away colors: White - blue - white
Stadium: Lake Pitch (cap. 23,000)
3rd Season Finish: 9th, 22 points; avoided relegation by 3 points and 8 goals
Head Coach: Jordan David [MYR]
Starting XI: 4-2-3-1
GK Damian Moss, age 20, RB Hunter Fisher, age 21, CB Edgar Newman, age 24, CB Brody Miller, age 21, LB Wyatt Scott, age 23, DM Devin Wyatt, age 23, DM Jason Buckner, age 22, LM Cory Fisher, age 21, CM Casey Hickman, age 24, RM Aaron Lane, age 23, CF Zane Shalik [STR], age 21

Imagine waking up one day. You've just been cut from your club. You get a phone call from your agent; he says someone is willing to sign you. It's some club you've never heard of; Riverboro FC. Probably some low tier club... then he says the country. Personally, I would break down crying. "No! No, not Myrtle Beach! No! No, please! Anything but that! No!" Unfortunately, this is reality for one man: center-forward Zane Shalik of StrayaRoos, who had to leave what appears to be a relatively normal country to go to the worst nation in the multiverse to play for a shit low-mid-table club. Oh well, that *is* the price of being a free agent, after all.

Oh, you wanted to hear about the club? They'll probably finish, like, 6th or something. An international signing on center-forward is kind of a big deal, especially someone almost at his prime, but there's a reason he was on the free agent list to begin with.

SOUTHPORT CITY
Southport, Brunswick County

Home colors: Red - white - red
Away colors: White - red - white
Stadium: St. John’s Field (cap. 56,000)
3rd Season Finish: 3rd, 43 points, IFCF Challengers Cup
Head Coach: Jeffery Brennan [MYR]
Starting XI: 4-2-3-1
GK Samuel Beach, age 28, RB Max Byers, age 19, CB Ashton Hatfield, age 21, CB Kiji Des Ekij [FFD], age 17, LB Antonio Gamble, age 24, DM Cooper Lawson, age 25, DM Matthew Carlson, age 26, LM Eli Morris, age 25, AM Richard Anderson, age 23, RM Nathan William, age 26, CF Justin Stevens, age 25

Southport finished well last season, landing a bronze medal for their team. They are expected to finish similarly this season, likely in 3rd or 4th. A notable transfer window addition is young center-back Kiji Des Ekij hailing from Farfadillis, who was taken from the free agents list towards his inevitable doom of death in Myrtle Beach. The choice to put him on the starters list has ruffled some feathers among more diehard fans, but overall the decision is seen as acceptable; Farfadillis is a very good association, after all. However, the rest of the team is about to disintegrate as half of them are basically seniors at this point. Keeper Samuel Beach is a likely trade away during the mid-season transfer window, as Southport has been searching for new talent in that position according to insiders at the club.

WEST FLORENCE AFC
Florence, Florence County

Home colors: Yellow - light green - white
Away colors: White - light green - yellow
Stadium: National Stadium (cap. 50,500)
3rd Season Finish: 7th, 25 points
Head Coach: Ricky Wyatt [MYR]
Starting XI: 3-5-2
GK Colin Wade, age 24, CB Oscar Harris, age 22, CB Gary Patrick, age 23, CB Colin Noble, age 21, LM Craig Wade, age 24, CM Derek Meyer, age 23, CM Edwin Morris, age 25, RM Logan Stewart, age 23, AM Tanner Koch, age 22, CF Jayden Walton, age 24, CF Randy Bolton, age 23

West Florence subverted the expectations of everyone this season by landing right in the middle of the table instead of right in last place. Despite this monumental success for the club, they still sacked head coach Stephen Flynn and opted for more unconventional training in the form of Ricky Wyatt, who led Fernia Beach FC from the Union Football League to the MFA Silver League in just three seasons. Really, everyone hopes the little guy wins here- they want this club to go into the top four and subvert conventional football in a way that is unprecedented in a modern world. Of course, that won't happen, and they'll land right in the middle of the pack once again. Most likely.

WILMINGTON CITY
Wilmington, New Hanover County

Home colors: Dark purple - white
Away colors: White - dark purple
Stadium: Patriot Stadium (cap. 34,000)
3rd Season Finish: 5th, 28 points; missed IFCF qualification by 15 points
Head Coach: Tristan Ford [MYR]
Starting XI: 4-3-3
GK Cole Christian, age 24, RB George Bright, age 23, CB Grant Matthews, age 23, CB Nolan Ellis, age 21, LB Keith Tanner, age 22, DM Adrian McConnell, age 25, CM Matthew Reid, age 21, CM Connor Rodgers, age 23, LW Bryan Short, age 23, RW Donald Burt, age 24, CF Marcus Robbins, age 20

Wilmington City finished 5th last season... but it doesn't mean much. There was a 15 point gap between 5th and 4th place. It's unprecedented in Myrtle Beach football, which is why I expect within the next five years, the MFA is going to open an investigation into Myrtle Beach Union for match fixing, it's going to prove something through complex mental gymnastics, and they're going to be banned from the MFA for the rest of eternity, until the end of time. Wilmington City will likely once again place high-mid-table, maybe 5th again.

WILMINGTON UNITED
Wilmington, New Hanover County

Home colors: Light blue - red - blue
Away colors: Red - white
Stadium: New River Stadium (cap. 69,000)
3rd Season Finish: 8th, 23 points
Head Coach: Chris Bright [MYR]
Starting XI: 4-4-2 diamond
GK Amina Şeyma [STR], age 26, RB Nathaniel Herring, age 23, CB Edgar Casey, age 27, CB Kyle Robertson, age 26, LB Cameron Mathis, age 24, RM Mason Wilson, age 25, DM Isaac Curtis, age 26, AM Mason Hicks, age 21, LM Nathan Shepard, age 22, CF Jacob Adkins, age 23, CF Brandon Meyers, age 24
Other notable players: CF Gunnar MacLane [XAN], age 21

This team finished 8th, still somehow narrowly avoiding relegation despite seeming so far away. Honestly, the entire mid-table could have been relegated this season. The gap between 5th and 4th is so great, and the gaps between mid-table teams are so small. It's like the result was decided long before the season was over. Once again, more evidence to the Myrtle Beach Union match fixing case. This is definitely going to happen. During the transfer window, United decided to nab free agents keeper Amina Şeyma of StrayaRoos and center-forward Gunnar MacLane of Xanneria. These are interesting picks, but they're likely to give United a leg up over the mid-table competition. They may do well, and could even break the top 4. But, like everything else here, only time will tell.

MFA Silver League | Club List

AFC Florence
AFC Mullins
Conway Explorers
Dillon County FC
FC New Bern
Fernia Beach FC
Elizabethtown United
Georgetown South FC
Jacksonville FC
Jonesboro AFC
Kingstree SC
Kitty Hawk FC
Lumberton Rangers
Plymouth FC
Swansboro City
Wheaton SC

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Sun Dec 03, 2023 6:40 pm

MFA Gold League | MD1

Adamsville SC 2–0 Wilmington United

In this incredibly lukewarm season opener, mediocre club Adamsville SC shut out slightly less mediocre club Wilmington United. This match was mostly the battle of the keepers, with Adamsville keeper Nolan Dawson and United keeper Amina Şeyma competing to see how many goals they could block. Dawson took home the gold there, stopping six shots from entering the goal. He was just narrowly beaten out by the post, who blocked five goals.

Adamsville:
32' Stewart
83' Bridges, assisted by Meyers

Craven County FC 0–3 Wilmington City

City shut out Silver League playoff winners Craven in their first game of the season 3-0. Which, I find as an embarrassment for City; they were strongly favored, and the big betting organizations were setting City to win by 5 or more. Really disappointing performance by City.

City:
43', 83' Robbins
70' Rodgers

FC Northdale 2–0 West Florence AFC

There's really not much to say here- Northdale was the dominant team, and they showed it. The defense stopped nearly every attempt by West Florence to get near the goal. What else is there to talk about?

Northdale:
12' Cain
63' Simon

Hatteras FC 2–1 Southport City

Now this was a match to watch. Silver League winners Hatteras beat out third place Southport and set a precedent for the season that they are not to be messed with. Their unconventional 3-6-1 formation gave them an extremely strong midfield for the duration of the game and they held onto the ball for dear life. Unfortunately for them, Southport was still able to slip in an early goal, but they came back in the second half and slid two goals past Southport keeper Beach and took a win.

Hatteras:
74', 88' Hatfield
Southport:
16' William

Kingsland Athletic 1–2 Riverboro FC

This was a depressing match. The two teams to narrowly avoid relegation last season meet again for the first match of this season... and it's bad. Not even a foreign signing could save Riverboro. It rained during the match, and that really reflected how the crowd feeled: sad. This was ninety minutes of the most mediocre and boring football I've ever watched and I hope both these teams get relegated.

Kingsland:
64' Hart
Riverboro:
17', 83' Shalik (StrayaRoos)

Myrtle Beach FC 1–2 Myrtle Beach Union

The original clubs meet again in what is likely the most violent rivalry in Myrtle Beach at the biggest stadium in the country. Blood was shed. Fights were had. Firecrackers went off. And, unfortunately for Myrtle, Union tossed a heartwrenching goal between the posts in the 89th minute and won the game. After this, there were riots in the streets by the Myrtle fans and just general chaos ensued for the next few hours before everyone either went home or got arrested.

Myrtle:
67' Tirdesen (Kanmer)
Union:
25' Finch
89' Brennan

Team of the Week
GK Nolan Dawson, Adamsville SC
DF Keith Graves, Hatteras FC
DF Joseph Ferrell, Myrtle Beach Union
DF Kevin Waller, FC Northdale
DF Grant Matthews, Wilmington City
MF Caden Cain, Hatteras FC
MF Trevor Simmons, Hatteras FC
MF Meletiy Tirdesen [KAN], Myrtle Beach FC
MF Dakota Nelson, FC Northdale
FW Zane Shalik [STR], Riverboro FC
FW Marcus Robbins, Wilmington City

MFA Silver League | MD1

AFC Florence 0–0 Georgetown South FC
Wheaton SC 2–1 Jonesboro AFC
Dillon County FC 2–1 Elizabethtown United
Conway Explorers 2–1 AFC Mullins
Fernia Beach FC 0–1 Kingstree SC
Lumberton Rangers 1–0 Jacksonville FC
Kitty Hawk FC 1–0 Swansboro City
FC New Bern 0–1 Plymouth FC

Notes

The National Cup will begin on MD8.
Tables will be added starting on MD3.

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Thu Jan 11, 2024 7:14 pm

MFA Gold League | MDs 2–8

I'm confused. How could they let this happen? How could they do this to themselves? This was supposed to be a nice season, a very peaceful league this year, and they went and ruined it. The whole nation is in ruins.

Matchday 2

Wilmington United 3–1 Myrtle Beach Union
Riverboro FC 3–1 Myrtle Beach FC
Southport City 0–1 Kingsland Athletic
West Florence AFC 4–2 Hatteras FC
Wilmington City 3–0 FC Northdale
Adamsville SC 3–0 Craven County FC

What the hell? I pay thousands of dollars per year for season tickets to Myrtle Beach FC for them to get steamrolled on the pitch! Well, at least Myrtle was allowed to score a goal. Incumbent cup winner Northdale didn't get that courtesy, as they were shut out 3-0 against City who is just a shit team. How could you let them do that to you? It's an embarassment.

Matchday 3

Craven County FC 0–2 Wilmington United
FC Northdale 2–1 Adamsville SC
Hatteras FC 1–1 Wilmington City
Kingsland Athletic 2–3 West Florence AFC
Myrtle Beach FC 2–1 Southport City
Myrtle Beach Union 0–0 Riverboro FC

A mostly expected result, besides the 0-0 tie between the Union and Riverboro. The battle of the small towns raged between Northdale and Adamsville, but unfortunately for David, FC Northdale won out in a "thrilling" 2-1 game. I say "thrilling" because the game was mostly Northdale defenders bouncing the ball between each other to waste time after the game went 2-0 after 20 minutes. Adamsville's one goal was scored by a tired forward finally getting the ball out from the clutches of the endless pit of wasted time and kicking the ball safely into the net past the Northdale keeper, who was done with this shit.

Matchday 4

Wilmington United 1–2 Riverboro FC
Southport City 1–1 Myrtle Beach Union
West Florence AFC 1–1 Myrtle Beach FC
Wilmington City 2–1 Kingsland Athletic
Adamsville SC 0–0 Hatteras FC
Craven County FC 3–1 FC Northdale

Ties ravaged the scoreboard this week, with three of six games ending in ties. Fortunately for Craven, the tears of football fans must have gotten to the Northdale players as their performance was terrible. Northdale allowed three (3) goals against their measly one and allowed Craven to take home their first win of the season. One step to glory!

Matchday 5

FC Northdale 1–2 Wilmington United
Hatteras FC 1–0 Craven County FC
Kingsland Athletic 2–2 Adamsville SC
Myrtle Beach FC 2–1 Wilmington City
Myrtle Beach Union 1–2 West Florence AFC
Riverboro FC 1–0 Southport City

Oh, praise the Lord! Union lost! To a shit team! I'm gonna get #unionisoverparty trending on whatever the kids use nowadays. The Union's over! In other news, Southport is rotting in the bottom of the table- as they should be- and the battle of the promoted ensued in Manteo as Silver League 1st place Hatteras took home the win against Silver League 3rd place Craven.

Matchday 6

Wilmington United 2–0 Southport City
West Florence AFC 0–1 Riverboro FC
Wilmington City 1–3 Myrtle Beach Union
Adamsville SC 1–2 Myrtle Beach FC
Craven County FC 3–0 Kingsland Athletic
FC Northdale 1–0 Hatteras FC

I feel like one of those TV sports talk show hosts that needs to talk about something, it's Wednesday, and literally nothing notable happened in the last week. Uh... Craven won? 3-0? That's about it. There were no ties this week, thankfully, but also there were no upsets or anything this week. I didn't know football could be this boring. We should watch hockey instead, I heard a guy got beat up on the rink and the refs didn't do anything. I could see that happening in football too- just pay off the refs to look the other way while it's happening. The world's largest criminal organization, the IFCF, likely wouldn't care either as long as they got a piece of that big briefcase full of money.

Matchday 7

Hatteras FC 1–2 Wilmington United
Kingsland Athletic 1–3 FC Northdale
Myrtle Beach FC 0–0 Craven County FC
Myrtle Beach Union 5–4 Adamsville SC
Riverboro FC 1–0 Wilmington City
Southport City 1–1 West Florence AFC

Myrtle Beach Union 5–4 Adamsville SC

What the hell? A 5-4 match in my domestic football league? Impossible! Interesting things are reserved for international competitions only! Anyways, if scoring nine goals wasn't interesting enough, there was a fight in the stands after Union's fourth goal which caused the east stand to be evacuated. People always talk about hooliganism like it's a bad thing, but I think it's social Darwinism in practice- if that much of your life is defined by one of the dullest sports known to man, then you're probably better off in prison. It's like if someone who was addicted to golf went to every hole of the Myrtle Beach Open and beat up people who clapped for players other than the ones he liked. It's stupid, you're bound to be thrown in jail for it, everyone you care about will shun you, and you'll end up in one of those dumpsters behind the hobo bars beside Broadway at the Beach.

Matchday 8

Wilmington United 1–0 West Florence AFC
Wilmington City 1–2 Southport City
Adamsville SC 1–0 Riverboro FC
Craven County FC 0–0 Myrtle Beach Union
FC Northdale 0–3 Myrtle Beach FC
Hatteras FC 1–1 Kingsland Athletic

This is Southport's first win of the season! And it came at the expense of a team that is slightly less shitty. Of course, everyone hates Wilmington, that place is worse than Little Rock, but on paper City was still better than Southport. The Florence betters will be sad, but the rest of the country is rejoicing because everyone hates City. They're under investigation for almost 200 violations of financial rules! Once they are inevitably found guilty because the owner is a dirty, greedy moneybag who undoubtedly got all of his money through one of the several street gangs of Florence.

Current Table

MFA Silver League | MDs 2–11

Silver League Word of the ~~Week~~ Month: fell off

AFC Florence... what happened? First you were relegated from the Gold League, but now this? 11 points in 11 games... yikes. I hope they shape up, otherwise they'll be playing beach football in the d-leagues. In other news, it appears their relegated friends Wheaton SC may be making a return to the Gold League, as they are currently 24 points in 11 games and show no sign of stopping. Good luck to them. Not much else to say here. It's D2, who really cares? One interesting little tidbit is that despite being in the relegation zone at 14th, Plymouth FC actually has a positive GD. Of course, I don't think they'll keep it up for long, but maybe they could turn things around if they're able to keep playing defensive like that.

Current Table

BTC National Cup 42 | Round of 64

Hatteras FC was knocked out of the National Cup in the first round by UFL club Georgetown FC, in a shocking upset. Other than that, no real big upsets here.

R64 Fixtures

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Fri Jan 19, 2024 8:57 pm

MFA Gold League | MDs 9–12

You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Which is not what they're saying in the Myrtle Beach Union fan clubs, as the Union fell from fourth place on matchday 8 to ninth place and teetering on the edge of relegation just four matchdays later. I guess they ran out of money to pay off the refs or something. It just goes to show the power of a loss in the Gold League; perhaps in the Silver League a loss can be weathered, but in Gold you better replace that loss with two wins or else you'll be falling behind. Evidently, this doesn't apply to Wilmington United as they went with a three-loss streak and still ended up only dropping one place overall. Unfortunately for them, the competition for top four is much tougher this year with only two points separating fourth place FC Northdale and fifth place Hatteras FC (!?) and third place United and first place Riverboro.

On the topic of the extremities of the table, Southport City. They've crashed to the bottom of the table and don't show any signs of recovering. They still have a shot to get out of relegation hell, but with how their money has been going towards things that are not football-related I seriously doubt they stay in the Gold League after this season. At the top of the table, Riverboro FC has shown redemption. Last season, they avoided relegation by just three points, and this season they've held onto the first place position for an uncomfortably long amount of time. Most of this can be attributed to their new signing Zane Shalik of StrayaRoos, who has scored six of Riverboro's 12 goals this season. For our more mathematically challenged readers, that's half of Riverboro's goals. If Shalik and Riverboro win the trophy, then he's indisputably Player of the Year, but if Riverboro finishes elsewhere then he'll be facing stiff competition against Brandon Meyers of Wilmington United who is also having a breakout season.

Speaking of performing above expectations, Hatteras FC's strategy of throwing midfielders at the other team until they score something is apparently working, as they are currently fifth in the standings. This is a vast improvement over ninth on matchday 8. I don't see mass adoption of the all midfield strategy at any time in the future, but who knows. Anyways, here's the table:

Current Table

MFA Silver League | MDs 12–16

Fortunately, AFC Florence was able to get itself away from the horror of relegation and has found rest in the middle of the table. Hopefully they can rebuild in peace now and return to the Gold League next season. In other news, Wheaton SC is still holding onto that title position for dear life. They have a two-win lead over second place, but a couple of bad weeks and it could all come crashing down. The top table competition is far too stiff for mistakes. In bad news, Kitty Hawk fans are coping as their beloved club with a NT stadium has entered relegation territory. The danger is two-fold for them, as if the club fell to the Bronze League then the possibility is there for the club to fold within three seasons as listed in the club's finance report published at the beginning of the season. Hopefully it doesn't- Kitty Hawk was one of the clubs chosen to join the Gold League when it started, and it would be a travesty if it were to disappear from the face of the earth.

Current Table

BTC National Cup 42 | Round of 32

Somehow, Georgetown FC again pulled off a win. This time, they upset Jacksonville FC of the Silver League in penalties. Also in upsets, Dare Island FC of the Bronze League upset Myrtle Beach FC, who were favored to win the cup. The upset came in extra time after Myrtle's defenders started to let up due to exhaustion- the temperature was unusually high for this time of the year, especially in the sun. Also, the Pinesville Nationals (also of the Bronze League) upset Wilmington City in penalties, just slightly winning but still knocking them out of the cup early. Kingsland Athletic were defeated by Swansboro City, which is a small upset but to be expected considering Kingsland's performance lately. Also, Craven County FC was knocked off by Georgetown South FC in an extra time thriller. This means Georgetown South FC and Georgetown FC will face each other in a local derby that hasn't occurred in quite some time.

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Wed Jan 24, 2024 7:15 pm

MFA Season 4: Season Review

MFA Gold League

Uh... yikes. Looks like there was no fairy tale ending for Riverboro FC. However, FC Northdale has finally reached the gold for the first time in club history. They will proceed to the IFCF Champions' League and the Hui Lā. In other upset news, newcomers Craven County FC have clawed their way up to third place, beating out league heavyweights like Myrtle Beach FC and Wilmington United. Myrtle Beach FC was actually incredibly close to missing out on the top-4 and a place in the IFCF Challengers' Cup, being only 1 point and a couple of goals away from being left out.

Southport City, in a shocking downfall, finished 11th inside the relegation zone after a top-4 finish last season. We expect lots of roster changes over the off-season and possibly a lot of international transfer window activity.

 #                        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                      
 1 FC Northdale            22   12   3   7    30   23   +7    39  IFCF Champions' League; Hui Lā
 2 Myrtle Beach Union      22   11   4   7    38   31   +7    37  IFCF Challengers' Cup
 3 Craven County FC        22    9   7   6    31   27   +4    34  IFCF Challengers' Cup
 4 Myrtle Beach FC         22    8   9   5    30   28   +2    33  IFCF Challengers' Cup
 5 Wilmington United       22   10   2  10    26   27   −1    32
 6 Adamsville SC           22    9   4   9    29   27   +2    31
 7 Riverboro FC            22    9   4   9    20   27   −7    31  Cup Winners' Cup; Hui Lā
 8 Wilmington City         22    8   5   9    34   32   +2    29
 9 West Florence AFC       22    9   2  11    29   30   −1    29
10 Hatteras FC             22    7   8   7    28   29   −1    29
11 Southport City          22    6   6  10    25   31   −6    24  Relegated to MFA Silver League
12 Kingsland Athletic      22    5   4  13    25   33   −8    19  Relegated to MFA Silver League

MFA Silver League

Somehow, AFC Florence were able to get themselves out of between a rock and a hard place and have rocketed themselves to third, pushing Conway and Fernia Beach out of the top 3. Unfortunately, they still miss out on promotion but will still have the opportunity to participate in the IFCF LBCT. In addition, it seems the predictions at the beginning of the season for Kitty Hawk FC staying in Silver were incorrect as they plummeted to the bottom of the table and will spend some time in the low tiers.

 #                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts                                                                                  
 1 Elizabethtown United      30   17   6   7    35   21  +14    57  Promoted; IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy
 2 Georgetown South FC       30   12  12   6    27   18   +9    48  Promoted; IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy
 3 AFC Florence              30   12  10   8    31   28   +3    46  IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy
 4 Conway Explorers          30   12   9   9    36   36    0    45
 5 Fernia Beach FC           30   12   7  11    30   27   +3    43
 6 Wheaton SC                30   11   9  10    39   35   +4    42
 7 FC New Bern               30   11   9  10    33   30   +3    42 
 8 Swansboro City            30   11   8  11    26   29   −3    41
 9 Plymouth FC               30   11   7  12    30   25   +5    40 
10 Jacksonville FC           30   10   9  11    34   30   +4    39
11 Kingstree SC              30   10   9  11    20   25   −5    39
12 Dillon County FC          30   10   9  11    25   34   −9    39 
13 Lumberton Rangers         30    8  11  11    29   33   −4    35
14 AFC Mullins               30    6  14  10    29   40  −11    32  Relegated to MFA Bronze League
15 Jonesboro AFC             30    6  10  14    30   35   −5    28  Relegated to MFA Bronze League
16 Kitty Hawk FC             30    5  13  12    16   24   −8    28  Relegated to MFA Bronze League

National Cup

In a cup run that came just one penalty away from collapsing early on, Riverboro FC has taken home the National Cup. Riverboro has performed inexplicably well this season, however a lot of their success can be attributed to the addition of young center-forward Zane Shalik who has played incredibly well compared to previous Riverboro forwards. It is unknown what the team can accomplish once Shalik is fully developed, however even now they are putting up impressive performances. In addition to Riverboro's success, UFL side Georgetown FC went to the Round of 16 despite being outmatched at every turn. The MSN predictors have adjusted their 5-year MFA Silver League predictions to include an ascension of the club.

Dare Island FC         1 - 3   FC Northdale
Southport City         0 - 1   Myrtle Beach Union
Pinesville Nationals   2 - 5   Adamsville SC
West Florence AFC      0 - 3   Wilmington United
Riverboro FC          p1 - 1   Swansboro City
Georgetown South FC   a2 - 1   Georgetown FC
Lumberton Rangers      1 - 0   Kingstree SC
Kitty Hawk FC          1 - 0   Fernia Beach FC

FC Northdale        3 - 1   Myrtle Beach Union
Adamsville SC       2 - 0   Wilmington United
Riverboro FC        3 - 1   Georgetown South FC
Lumberton Rangers   0 - 2   Kitty Hawk FC

Semifinals

FC Northdale   1 - 2   Adamsville SC
Riverboro FC   2 - 1   Kitty Hawk FC

Final

Adamsville SC   0 - 1   Riverboro FC

Notes

MFA Player of the Year - CM Jeremy Fulton [FC Northdale]
MFA Rookie of the Year - CF Zane Shalik [STR] [Riverboro FC]

Golden League Boot (Gold League top scorer) - CF Caleb Brennan [Myrtle Beach Union]

MSN Fan Favorite - CF Zane Shalik [STR] [Riverboro FC]
MSN Most Underappreciated Player - CF Gunnar MacLane [XAN] [Wilmington United]

CBC Football Player of the Year - GK Kevin Boyer [FC Northdale]
CBC Coach of the Year - Jordan David [Riverboro FC]

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Sun Apr 07, 2024 7:57 pm

MFA Season 5 / 2023-2024 Season / National Cup 42

It's that time again. For a refresher, last season in the Gold League, FC Northdale were champions. Southport City and Kingsland Athletic were relegated. In the Silver League, Elizabethtown United won and was promoted, and Georgetown South FC was promoted as well. AFC Florence went to the IFCF LBCT. AFC Mullins, Jonesboro AFC, and Kitty Hawk FC were relegated. Cup winners were Riverboro FC. Overall, everyone lost. Let's see our contestants this year:

[All players are Myrtle Beachian unless otherwise noted.]

Silver League Teams

AFC Florence
Cape Fear FC (Promoted from Bronze)
Conway Explorers
Dillon County FC
FC New Bern
Fernia Beach FC
Jacksonville FC
Kingsland Athletic (Relegated from Gold)
Kingstree SC
Lumberton Rangers
Pinesville Nationals (Promoted from Bronze)
Plymouth FC
Sandhurst FC (Promoted from Bronze)
Southport City (Relegated from Gold)
Swansboro City
Wheaton SC

Good luck and godspeed to all our challengers. Somebody will win. Everyone will lose.

by **City of Myrtle Beach** » Sat Apr 27, 2024 11:54 am

MFA Season 5 / 2023-2024 Season / National Cup 42
Results

Gold League

Someone who is uninformed about the happenings of the Gold League may believe this was an unexpected result. However, everyone who watched one Riverboro match knew they were going to take home the gold this season. One thing people didn't predict was the runner-ups; Elizabethtown United, who won promotion from the Silver League last season, was able to sneak their way up to the top, beating up historical "best team" Myrtle Beach FC 4-1 on matchday 8. Speaking of Myrtle, fifth place. I assume they will be looking for a bit of a change in their coaching staff and their roster. Everyone really suspected this, as their roster has slowly been performing worse and worse over the last couple of seasons. There are rumors that NT captain Brian Farmer will be retiring during the off-season, possibly after ARC 2.

Both United and City earned a ticket to the Challengers' Cup, just barely beating out Myrtle but barely being beaten by Elizabethtown. Last season's winner FC Northdale found themselves, once again, back in the middle of the table. At least they got to enjoy their underdog story while it lasted. They will most definitely be searching for a new coach and possibly some new talent- potentially international, especially in the offense department. Georgetown and Craven both found themselves in their natural habitat, the middle of the table. Presumably there will be some natural roster changes here- mostly domestically, but some international transfer window activity as well. There are also promising prospects in the youth leagues. Union fell to ninth, which is a bit disappointing for their fanbase and a blessing from God for everyone else. More roster changes imminent here.

Adamsville just barely escaping relegation. Good for them, but they'll be where all the good players leave and the bad players come. I foresee them getting relegated next season. West Florence and Hatteras actually got relegated, which is a bit disappointing but I'm sure they'll be up again in two seasons.

In terms of league news, there have been rumors that the Gold League and League One of New Fernia will be merging during the off-season or after next season, however nothing has been confirmed yet. There have also been stirrings in the backrooms about the Gold League potentially expanding to 16 teams in the 2025-2026 season.

 # MFA Gold League          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Riverboro FC              22   12   5   5    35   26   +9    41 IFCF Champions' League; Hui Lā
 2 Elizabethtown United      22   11   6   5    30   19  +11    39 IFCF Challengers' Cup; Hui Lā
 3 Wilmington United         22   10   7   5    38   31   +7    37 IFCF Challengers' Cup
 4 Wilmington City           22    8   9   5    35   24  +11    33 IFCF Challengers' Cup
 5 Myrtle Beach FC           22    8   7   7    45   29  +16    31
 6 FC Northdale              22    8   7   7    28   27   +1    31
 7 Georgetown South FC       22    8   4  10    32   31   +1    28
 8 Craven County FC          22    7   7   8    20   20    0    28
 9 Myrtle Beach Union        22    8   4  10    30   38   −8    28
10 Adamsville SC             22    7   3  12    28   50  −22    24
11 West Florence AFC         22    4   8  10    21   34  −13    20 Relegated to MFA Silver League
12 Hatteras FC               22    3   9  10    20   33  −13    18 Relegated to MFA Silver League

Silver League

# MFA Silver League        Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Sandhurst FC              30   15   9   6    41   28  +13    54 Promoted; IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy
 2 Southport City            30   14   9   7    37   25  +12    51 Promoted; IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy
 3 Pinesville Nationals      30   15   5  10    33   23  +10    50 IFCF Liga B Champions' Trophy
 4 AFC Florence              30   13  10   7    39   28  +11    49
 5 Kingsland Athletic        30   13   7  10    36   32   +4    46
 6 Dillon County FC          30   12   9   9    35   30   +5    45
 7 Conway Explorers          30   12   8  10    37   31   +6    44
 8 Lumberton Rangers         30   11   9  10    36   30   +6    42
 9 Wheaton SC                30   11   8  11    35   36   −1    41
10 Fernia Beach FC           30   12   5  13    28   32   −4    41
11 Plymouth FC               30   11   7  12    26   34   −8    40
12 FC New Bern               30    9  11  10    33   40   −7    38
13 Swansboro City            30    9   8  13    23   28   −5    35
14 Kingstree SC              30    6   9  15    26   35   −9    27 Relegated to MFA Bronze League
15 Cape Fear FC              30    7   6  17    20   33  −13    27 Relegated to MFA Bronze League
16 Jacksonville FC           30    7   6  17    24   44  −20    27 Relegated to MFA Bronze League

Honors

MFA Player of the Year - CF Caleb Holland [Elizabethtown United]
MFA Rookie of the Year - LW Aaron Witt [Wilmington City]

Golden League Boot - CF Brian Farmer [Myrtle Beach FC]

MSN Fan Favorite - LW Ricky Stewart [Elizabethtown United]
MSN Most Underappreciated Player - RB Nathaniel Herring [Wilmington United]

CBC Football Player of the Year - CF Zane Shalik [STR] [Riverboro FC]
CBC Coach of the Year - Jordan David [Riverboro FC]

Myrtle Beach Domestic Sports Newswire

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