Fort Lauderdale United silences its doubters heading into inaugural USL final
That's how many fans believed Fort Lauderdale United FC had a shot at claiming the inaugural USL Super League championship, according to a leaguewide poll released on June 5.
Two days later, that 5% looked like the smartest people in the room.
With the semifinal tied deep into extra time, it was Fort Lauderdale's Kiara Locklear who delivered in the 119th minute. The Fort Lauderdale striker pounced on a loose ball that sailed past Carolina Ascent goalkeeper and into the back of the net — a stunner that knocked out the top-seeded favorites and booked the underdogs a golden ticket to Saturday's final.
'It's just fuel to the flame,' Locklear said at Thursday morning's news conference, reflecting on the team's mind-set going into the match. 'That 5% was just in our minds going into the semi final. I think even going into the final, there's still people that underestimate us, and we're just there to show up on Saturday and prove them wrong.'
Now, the No. 4-seed Fort Lauderdale United FC will face a familiar foe: the Tampa Bay Sun FC. They have played four times this season — three of them ending in a draw.
While the outside world may be surprised by the club with an overall record of 11-8-9, Fort Lauderdale head coach Tyrone Mears isn't. He knows the season has been far from perfect — 'a roller coaster,' as he puts it. Now, the team has to ride its momentum to the end.
'We have the quality, it's just been finding that consistency,' Mears said. 'I think they've really shown their character as the season's gone on — the willingness to fight and continue… I think what we showed towards the end of the season, we deserve to be in this final.'
Their final test won't be easy. Tampa Bay comes into the championship with four USL All-League selections, including forwards Tash Flint and Cecilie Floe, midfielder Sydny Nasello and defender Vivianne Bessette.
Fort Lauderdale has its own star power, too. Alongside striker Locklear, captain Addie McCain and forward Jasmine Hamid were named to the All-League roster, with McCain earning first-team honors.
'To be recognized by your peers, other coaches, it's huge. It means the world,' McCain said. 'But I think for me, like my goal is to win a championship for Fort Lauderdale… [my] eyes are on this weekend, and we want to bring a championship here. It's about what this team can do together one last time.'
On Saturday, Fort Lauderdale will get one last shot to silence the doubters. And if the squad has shown anything this season, it's that they never stop fighting, especially when no one sees them coming.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Jorge Costa, who captained FC Porto to Champions League title, dead at 53
FC Porto legend Jorge Costa has died after suffering cardiac arrest on Tuesday. He was 53 years old. Costa played the majority of his professional career with the Portuguese side making 251 appearances between 1990-2005. He served as club captain and won 24 trophies, including eight league titles and the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League. The defender also made 50 appearances for Portugal's senior team and represented his country at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup. Costa played for four other clubs — Penafiel, Maritimo, Charlton Athletic and Standard Liège — during his playing career. He would then move into management, guiding teams such as Braga, AEL Limassol and AVS, among many others. After his time at AVS ended last year, Costa returned to FC Porto to serve as the club's director of football. In a statement, FC Porto said it "expresses its deepest sadness and consternation at the passing of an inescapable figure in the club's history" and that "Jorge Costa's legacy will forever live on in the memory of all Porto fans. You will never be forgotten, Captain."
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
⚫️ Porto legend Jorge Costa dies after heart attack
Jorge Costa, FC Porto legend and current sporting director, passed away this afternoon, as confirmed by the club and the Hospital de São João. The legendary captain of the dragons, aged 53, died due to cardiac arrest. Jorge Costa, "the Beast," will always be a legend of Porto after lifting the UEFA Cup in 2003, the Champions League in 2004, and 8 league titles with the club from O Dragao. He played 383 matches with Porto and was in his second season at the lifelong club as the director of professional football. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. 📸 Octavio Passos - 2023 Getty Images
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Newcastle United performance analysts hold Seoul seminar
Joe Friar and Matthew Hutchinson presented to counterparts from the K League at the Korea Football Association's headquarters in Jongno-gu on Thursday. The pair - who hosted a similar session in Japan last summer during United's trip to Tokyo - offered insights into the Magpies' analysis department, from first-team level down to the Academy, and shared knowledge at the workshop-style event. "Some of the clubs in the K League have a smaller analysis provision than ours, so to be able to give them an insight into how our department and what we do was great," explained First Team Performance Analyst Hutchinson, who joined Newcastle United in 2021. "Hopefully they got a lot from it - there were some brilliant questions at the end and even after the seminar, a lot of people came up to talk to us about how we do things and what they do. It was nice to speak to like-minded people on the other side of the world." United's analysis department is led by First Team Coach Analyst Jordan Tribe and Head of Performance Analysis Tom Coffield, and Friar and Hutchinson are part of a talented team based at the club's Benton HQ to study opponents' strengths and weaknesses and work on marginal gains ahead of each matchday. Senior Performance Analyst (Training) Friar, who has been with the club since 2015, added: "We spoke a lot about how performance analysis links in to different departments at the club and supports the coaching process, and heard about the various differences in the way we work compared to the K League and vice versa. "It was a really cool experience to present in front of so many people in a place like that and to see their enthusiasm for analysis, even if they might not have the same resources as we're lucky enough to have. "They're sometimes operating with just one or two people but their enthusiasm is so high and they were so keen to take on board what we had to say. "It's something we really like to do if it helps people - and we were even taken out afterwards by the K League for a Korean meal! We were able to chat more about football and the previous night's game against Team K League, as well as the Premier League and the latest trends." United took on Arsenal in Singapore before heading to South Korea, where they faced Team K League and Tottenham Hotspur. And Hutchinson added: "It's been class. They're two parts of the world I'd never seen before; starting in Singapore was amazing and the game, stadium and event was brilliant. "Then we arrived in South Korea which is a fantastic place and the people in both countries have been great. It's so good to see people with Newcastle United tops on so far away from home."
