# Denton Diablos FC

Denton Diablos FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Denton, Texas, which began play in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in 2019. On January 22nd, 2025, it was announced that the club would play in the Mid South Division of USL League Two (USL2) beginning with the 2025 season.

## History

In September 2018, the Diablos were announced as an NPSL expansion side to play in the South Region's Lone Star Conference.
The club was founded through a partnership between Damon Gochneaur, owner of the Denton-based Aspiro Agency, and Michael Hitchcock, owner of Playbook Management International and fellow NPSL side Fort Worth Vaqueros FC. On October 2, 2018, the team announced Edward S. Marcus High School men's soccer coach Chad Rakestraw as the team's first head coach.
In the team's first season, the club finished second in the Lone Star Conference before falling in the conference semifinals to the Vaqueros.
In January 2020, Denton was announced as one of 14 NPSL clubs that would take part in the 2020 U.S. Open Cup, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was canceled along with the 2020 NPSL season.
On October 23, 2020, Denton announced Ramón Raya as their new head coach.
In 2021, the Diablos finished first on the Lone Star Conference table with an 8-1-1 record, 2 points ahead of the Laredo Heat. The team won the conference finals against Laredo and would go on a successful playoff run, winning against FC Golden State Force and Cleveland SC. This ultimately led to the championship matchup against Tulsa Athletic, which the Diablos won 5-2 in front of their home crowd in Denton.
In the 2022 season, the team failed to make the playoffs by 1 point, finishing the season 7-4-1. Due to the previous cancelation of the 2020 U.S. Open Cup, Denton made their first appearance in the competition in 2022, losing to a local qualifier (D'Feeters Kicks Soccer Club) in the 1st round. Additionally, the Diablos were chosen to be the NPSL representative in the 2022 Hank Steinbrecher Cup as a result of their 2021 NPSL championship. They lost to USL2 member Flint City Bucks 2-1 in the Cup Final.

### Year-by-year results

| Year | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
| 2019 | NPSL | 2nd, Lone Star Conference | Conference Semifinal | Ineligible |
| 2020 | NPSL | Season Cancelled, Competed in Local Roja League | Not Held | Not Held |
| 2021 | NPSL | 1st, Lone Star Conference | League Champions | Not Held |
| 2022 | NPSL | 5th, Lone Star Conference | Ineligible | 1st Round |
| 2023 | NPSL | 6th, Lone Star Conference | Ineligible | Ineligible |
| 2024 | NPSL | 3rd, Lone Star Conference | Conference Final | Ineligible |

## Players & staff
### Ownership

* Damon Gochneaur - Aspiro Agency
* Michael Hitchcock - Playbook Management International

### General Manager & Technical Director

* Brad Namdar (2023–)

### Head coaches

* Chad Rakestraw (2019–2020)
* Ramón Raya (2020–2023)
* Armando Pelaez (2023)
* Ben Clarvis (2024)

## Honors
### Domestic

* U.S. Open Cup Appearance 2022
* Hank Steinbrecher Cup Runner Up 2022

### League

* National Premier Soccer League Champion 2021
* West Region Champion 2021
* Roja League Champion 2020, 2021

### Conference

* Lone Star Champion 2021
* Lone Star Shield 2021
* Chisolm Trail Clásico 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024