Miami Dutch Lions FC

Full nameMiami Dutch Lions Football Club
Nickname(s)The Lions
Founded2011; 13 years ago (2011), as Texas Dutch Lions FC
2013; 11 years ago (2013), as Houston Dutch Lions FC
2019; 5 years ago (2019), as Miami Dutch Lions FC
StadiumTed Hendricks Stadium
Hialeah, Florida
OwnerMartin Kroeze
Vice presidentRobbert Kroeze
Head coachRobert Stoutenburg
LeagueNational Premier Soccer League
2021Sunshine Conference: 2nd
Playoffs: Final
Websitehttps://mdlfc.com/

Miami Dutch Lions FC is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Lions competes in National Premier Soccer League, as a member of the Sunshine Conference. The club was founded in Conroe, Texas in 2011, before relocating to Olympia Heights, Florida in 2019. They are owned by Martin Kroeze.

History

Miami Dutch Lions FC was formed on November 17, 2011, as Texas Dutch Lions FC, and played their inaugural season in the USL Premier Development League in 2012, finishing 4th in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference.[1][2]

The youth academy of the club began training in 2011, with only one location in Conroe, Texas. In 2012, the academy expanded to its second training location to service players in The Woodlands.[1]

On April 1, 2013, Texas Dutch Lions FC changed their official name to Houston Dutch Lions FC. The club has been using the new title for several months, but it was not official until April 1.[3]

The club signed a new head coach for the 2013 season, a former Dutch player Hans van Arum, on February 12, 2013.[4]

On February 18, 2014, the Houston Dutch Lions FC announced the signing of Marco Pruis as their new head coach for the 2014 PDL season.[5]

Since the 2016 season, the club joined the National Premier Soccer League, in which the team also played during the 2017 and 2018 season. During the 2016 season, the Dutch Lions FC played in the South Central Conference Playoffs (which they won). Due to several new teams, the 2017 NPSL season was divided into the Lone Star Conference (in which the Lions participated) and the Heartland Conference. In the 2018 NPSL season, the Lone Star Conference had 9 teams compete, the Dutch Lions FC fell to Laredo Heat SC on July 14, 2018, in a thrilling 4–3 final.

In November 2019, the club announced that it would relocate its NPSL side to Olympia Heights, Florida for the 2020 season, and would focus on its youth programs.[6]

Colors and badge

The Miami Dutch Lions FC crest is a modified version of Dayton Dutch Lions's logo, featuring the white and blue field, with an orange lion centered on the crest. The script above the vector lion reads the club's name. The home shirt consists of an orange shirt, orange shorts & orange socks. Away the team plays in a white shirt.

Home ground

Training ground

  • Houston Dutch Lions FC Soccer Facility; Conroe, Texas (October 2013 – 2019). The fields are the training grounds of the teams: USL Premier Development League, National Premier Soccer League, Houston Football Association, and the club's youth academy. After the fields opening up in October 2014, the club opened a unique club house in May 2015. The club house consists of dressing rooms, club house for fans with A/C, restrooms and a banquet room. The top floor has 4 offices and two banquet rooms for the office staff.[7]

Just before the 2018 NPSL season, the club build seats in front of the club house, which added about 200 seats to the Soccer Facility.

Club culture

International partnerships

The Houston Dutch Lions FC share in the partnership of their ownership group and sister club, Dayton Dutch Lions, with Dutch Eredivisie champions, FC Twente. On January 17, 2011, the Dutch Lions Group signed a five-year contract to foster development of players, academy teams, training practices, and possibly facilitate loans or transfers of players between teams.[8] In the 2014 season, the Cincinnati Dutch Lions FC were added (joined the PDL). As of the summer of 2015, the Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC joined the Dutch Lions FC group.

On May 5, 2016, the Dutch Lions FC announced the signing of Heineken for their Dutch Lions FC NPSL squad. Early 2017, the club announced CHI St. Luke's Woodlands Hospital as their sponsor.[9]

Game history

Staff

Executive staff
Position Staff
President Martin Kroeze
Vice President Robbert Kroeze
CEO Dennis Kroeze
Director of Soccer Operations Marco Pruis

Source: Official Staff

Coaching staff NPSL 2021 season
Position Staff
Head Coach Robert Stoutenburg
Assistant Coach Lucas Martorana
Assistant & Goalkeeper Coach TJ Deneal

Source: Official Staff

Coaching staff NPSL 2018 season
Position Staff
Head Coach Marco Pruis
Assistant Coach Michiel van de Heijning
Goalkeeper Coach Leroy Zuiddam
Team Manager Carlos Ortiz

Source: Official Staff

Head coaches

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup Record
2012 4 USL PDL 4th, Mid South Division Did not qualify Did not qualify 6-8-4
2013 4 USL PDL 5th, Mid South Division Did not qualify Did not qualify 4-7-3
2014 4 USL PDL 5th, Mid South Division Did not qualify Did not qualify 1-10-3
2015 4 USL PDL 4th, Mid South Division Did not qualify Did not qualify 4-6-2
2016 4 NPSL 2nd, South Central Conference Final Did not qualify 11-2-2
2017 4 NPSL 2nd, Lone Star Conference Semifinal Second round 6-1-3
2018 4 NPSL 3rd, Lone Star Conference Final Did not qualify 9-4-0
2020 4 NPSL Sunshine Conference Canceled Canceled Did not qualify –
2021 4 NPSL 2nd, Sunshine Conference Final Did not qualify 6-3-1

NPSL 2016 Playoffs: On Saturday, July 9, 2016, the Dutch Lions FC beat FC Wichita 5–0 at home in the South Conference semifinal (the division final four was played in Tulsa, Oklahoma). The Liverpool Warriors fell 4–1 that same day to the Tulsa Athletic. The South Central Conference title went to the Dutch Lions FC after the team beat the Tulsa Athletic 1–2 in the final on Sunday, July 10. What followed was the Regional Playoffs semifinal vs Chattanooga FC, which the Lions lost 4–0.

2017 U.S. Open Cup: On May 10, 2017, the Dutch Lions FC hosted the NTX Rayados and beat them 3–1. One week later, the team fell home against USL Championship side San Antonio FC 1–2 in the second round.

2018 NPSL season: The club boosted another winning season in the NPSL, winning 9 games and losing 4 games. Goals scored are 49, and goals conceded was 17.

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive.[10]

  • 2012: 120
  • 2013: 150
  • 2014: 175
  • 2015: 200
  • 2016: 275
  • 2017: 315
  • 2018: 275

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Dutch Lions: History". Dutch Lions. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  2. ^ "Dutch Lions FC Join USL PDL". USL PDL. November 17, 2011. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  3. ^ "Houston Dutch Lions Announce Official Name Change". Houston Dutch Lions. April 8, 2013. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  4. ^ "Dutch Lions Announce New Coach". USL PDL. February 12, 2013. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
  5. ^ "Houston Dutch Lions FC announces new Head Coach PDL team". Houston Dutch Lions. February 18, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  6. ^ "Dutch Lions FC NPSL relocates team to Miami area". Miami Dutch Lions FC. November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  7. ^ "HDLFC Soccer Complex". Houston Dutch Lions. Archived from the original on January 11, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  8. ^ "Dutch Lions Ink 5-Year Partnership". USL PDL. January 17, 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  9. ^ "CHI St. Luke's Health welcomed as club house sponsor - Houston Dutch Lions". Houston Dutch Lions. May 19, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". www.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2022.