# 2019 Birmingham Legion FC season

The 2019 Birmingham Legion FC season was the club's inaugural season and their first in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer. The season covers the period from the founding of the club to the start of the 2020 USL Championship season.

## Roster

    As of match played October 5, 2019
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed in | Previous club | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||
| 0 | Joe Nasco | GK | (1984-06-18) June 18, 1984 (age 40) | 2019 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Matt Van Oekel | GK | (1986-09-20) September 20, 1986 (age 38) | 2019 | OKC Energy | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | Trevor Spangenberg | GK | (1991-04-21) April 21, 1991 (age 33) | 2019 | Richmond Kickers | 6 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||
| 3 | Kyle Fisher | DF | (1994-06-19) June 19, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | Montreal Impact | 21 | 0 |
| 12 | Eric Avila | DF | (1987-11-24) November 24, 1987 (age 37) | 2019 | Las Vegas Lights | 29 | 0 |
| 15 | Akeem Ward | DF | (1996-01-06) January 6, 1996 (age 29) | 2019 | D.C. United | 10 | 0 |
| 17 | Gael Mabiala | DF | (1994-06-07) June 7, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | UAB Blazers | 11 | 0 |
| 22 | Mathieu Laurent | DF | (1996-02-28) February 28, 1996 (age 29) | 2019 | UAB Blazers | 27 | 2 |
| 23 | Benjamin Kucera | DF | (1994-08-10) August 10, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | Birmingham Hammers | 4 | 0 |
| 30 | Razak Cromwell | DF | (1994-10-03) October 3, 1994 (age 30) | 2019 | Dreams FC (loan) | 19 | 0 |
| 33 | Kyle Culbertson | DF | (1992-11-03) November 3, 1992 (age 32) | 2019 | Saint Louis FC | 29 | 1 |
| Midfielders |||||||||
| 2 | Marcos Ugarte | MF | (1992-12-02) December 2, 1992 (age 32) | 2019 | Ringkøbing | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | Mikey Lopez | MF | (1993-02-20) February 20, 1993 (age 32) | 2019 | San Antonio FC | 26 | 3 |
| 6 | Anderson Asiedu | MF | (1996-06-12) June 12, 1996 (age 28) | 2019 | Atlanta United FC | 12 | 0 |
| 8 | Joe Holland | MF | (1993-04-21) April 21, 1993 (age 31) | 2019 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | 15 | 0 |
| 14 | Daniel Johnson | MF | (1995-09-08) September 8, 1995 (age 29) | 2019 | Chicago Fire | 31 | 4 |
| 16 | Daigo Kobayashi | MF | (1983-02-19) February 19, 1983 (age 42) | 2019 | Las Vegas Lights | 19 | 0 |
| 21 | Zachary Herivaux | MF | (1996-02-01) February 1, 1996 (age 29) | 2019 | New England Revolution (loan) | 19 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||
| 7 | Brian Wright | FW | (1995-03-24) March 24, 1995 (age 29) | 2019 | New England Revolution (loan) | 23 | 5 |
| 9 | Chandler Hoffman | FW | (1990-08-17) August 17, 1990 (age 34) | 2019 | Real Monarchs | 19 | 5 |
| 10 | Prosper Kasim | FW | (1996-12-15) December 15, 1996 (age 28) | 2019 | IFK Göteborg | 32 | 7 |
| 11 | JJ Williams | FW | (1998-01-04) January 4, 1998 (age 27) | 2019 | Columbus Crew SC (loan) | 18 | 7 |
| 13 | Tyler Savitsky | FW | (1996-07-05) July 5, 1996 (age 28) | 2019 | Næstved | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Edward Opoku | FW | (1996-08-01) August 1, 1996 (age 28) | 2019 | Columbus Crew SC (loan) | 18 | 2 |
| 88 | Femi Hollinger-Janzen | FW | (1993-12-14) December 14, 1993 (age 31) | 2019 | New England Revolution | 20 | 1 |

## Non-competitive
### Preseason

Although Legion FC officially announced just one preseason game, the matchup against Nashville SC on February 16, the club wound up playing a four-game preseason schedule ahead of its inaugural season. Two of the four games were against fellow USL Championship clubs, with one fixture against a team from Major League Soccer and one against a USL League One opponent. The first two preseason matches saw Birmingham as the road team, with Legion FC hosting the final two games at BBVA Field.

## Competitive
### USL Championship
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 8 | Ottawa Fury FC | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 52 | Play-In Round |
| 9 | Charleston Battery | 34 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 46 | Play-In Round |
| 10 | Birmingham Legion FC | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 43 | Play-In Round |
| 11 | Saint Louis FC | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 42 | |
| 12 | Loudoun United FC | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 59 | 65 | −6 | 39 | |

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 4 | 34 |
| Stadium | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | D | L | D | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | W | D | W | L | L | W | L | D | | P | |

#### Match results

The league announced home openers for every club on December 14, 2018. Legion FC were initially set to play the inaugural match in club history on March 9, facing Bethlehem Steel FC at BBVA Field; the game would later be postponed to March 10 due to inclement weather.
The full Birmingham schedule was released on December 19. Legion FC's inaugural season will consist of 34 matches, with home and away games against every Eastern Conference opponent. The club will be one of six new teams in the Eastern Conference: Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United, and Memphis 901 are also joining as expansion clubs, while Saint Louis FC and Swope Park Rangers move over from the Western Conference.

#### USL Cup Playoffs
### U.S. Open Cup

As a member of the USL Championship, Birmingham Legion will enter the tournament in the second round, to be played May 15, 2019.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | USLC | USLC | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 0 | GK | USA | Joe Nasco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | USA | Matt Van Oekel | 27 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | USA | Marcos Ugarte | 7 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | USA | Kyle Fisher | 21 | 0 | 18+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | USA | Mikey Lopez | 26 | 3 | 24+2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | GHA | Anderson Asiedu | 12 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | CAN | Brian Wright | 23 | 5 | 20+3 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Joe Holland | 15 | 0 | 3+10 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | USA | Chandler Hoffman | 19 | 5 | 15+2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | GHA | Prosper Kasim | 32 | 7 | 29+1 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | USA | JJ Williams | 18 | 7 | 16+2 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | USA | Eric Avila | 29 | 0 | 23+4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | USA | Tyler Savitsky | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | USA | Daniel Johnson | 31 | 4 | 24+5 | 4 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | USA | Akeem Ward | 10 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | JPN | Daigo Kobayashi | 19 | 0 | 11+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | FRA | Gael Mabiala | 11 | 0 | 3+7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | USA | Trevor Spangenberg | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | HAI | Zachary Herivaux | 19 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | CAN | Mathieu Laurent | 27 | 2 | 24+1 | 2 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | USA | Benjamin Kucera | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | GHA | Edward Opoku | 18 | 2 | 5+12 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 30 | DF | GHA | Razak Cromwell | 19 | 0 | 12+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | USA | Kyle Culbertson | 29 | 1 | 23+4 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 88 | FW | BEN | Femi Hollinger-Janzen | 20 | 1 | 11+7 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Players who left Birmingham during the season: ||||||||||
| 4 | DF | GER | Marcel Appiah | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 96 | DF | USA | Tyler Turner | 14 | 0 | 7+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Source: Birmingham stats

### Disciplinary record

| No. | Pos. | Name | USLC | USLC | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Matt Van Oekel | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | Marcos Ugarte | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Kyle Fisher | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Mikey Lopez | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | Anderson Asiedu | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Brian Wright | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Joe Holland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Prosper Kasim | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | JJ Williams | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Eric Avila | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Daniel Johnson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Akeem Ward | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Daigo Kobayashi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Gael Mabiala | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Zachary Herivaux | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 22 | DF | Mathieu Laurent | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | Edward Opoku | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | DF | Razak Cromwell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | DF | Kyle Culbertson | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 88 | FW | Femi Hollinger-Janzen | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Players who left Birmingham during the season: |||||||||
| 4 | DF | Marcel Appiah | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 96 | DF | Tyler Turner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Source: Birmingham stats

### Clean sheets

| No. | Name | USLC | U.S. Open Cup | Total | Games Played |
| No. | Name | 0 | Joe Nasco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Matt Van Oekel | 11 | 0 | 11 | 27 |
| 18 | Trevor Spangenberg | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
Source: Birmingham stats

## Transfers
### In

| Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Date |
| FW | Chandler Hoffman | Real Monarchs | Signed to a multi-year pre-contract, effective Jan 1, 2019. | Jul 30, 2018 |
| MF | Mikey Lopez | San Antonio FC | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Nov 13, 2018 |
| MF | Joe Holland | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Nov 20, 2018 |
| GK | Matt Van Oekel | OKC Energy | OKC receives an undisclosed fee. Signed to a multi-year contract. | Dec 12, 2018 |
| MF | Marcos Ugarte | Ringkøbing | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Dec 19, 2018 |
| DF | Eric Avila | Las Vegas Lights | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Dec 21, 2018 |
| FW | Prosper Kasim | IFK Göteborg | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Jan 2, 2019 |
| FW | Femi Hollinger-Janzen | New England Revolution | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Jan 7, 2019 |
| DF | Marcel Appiah | VfL Osnabrück | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Jan 9, 2019 |
| DF | Kyle Fisher | Montreal Impact | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Jan 17, 2019 |
| MF | Daigo Kobayashi | Las Vegas Lights | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Jan 21, 2019 |
| DF | Mathieu Laurent | UAB Blazers | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Jan 28, 2019 |
| DF | Gael Mabiala | UAB Blazers | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Jan 28, 2019 |
| MF | Daniel Johnson | Chicago Fire | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Feb 15, 2019 |
| DF | Tyler Turner | Orlando SeaWolves | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Feb 20, 2019 |
| GK | Trevor Spangenberg | Richmond Kickers | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Feb 21, 2019 |
| DF | Benjamin Kucera | Birmingham Hammers | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Feb 27, 2019 |
| FW | Tyler Savitsky | Næstved | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Feb 27, 2019 |
| DF | Kyle Culbertson | Saint Louis FC | Signed to a multi-year contract. | Mar 7, 2019 |
| GK | Joe Nasco | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | |
| MF | Anderson Asiedu | Atlanta United FC | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Jul 15, 2019 |
| DF | Akeem Ward | D.C. United | Terms of the contract were undisclosed. | Jul 30, 2019 |

### Loan in

| Pos. | Player | Parent club | Length/Notes | Beginning | End |
| DF | Razak Cromwell | Dreams FC | Duration of the 2019 USL Championship season, with an option to buy. | Nov 27, 2018 | |
| MF | Zachary Herivaux | New England Revolution | On a match-by-match basis. | Mar 14, 2019 | May 25, 2019 |
| MF | Zachary Herivaux | New England Revolution | On a match-by-match basis. | Jul 13, 2019 | |
| FW | Brian Wright | New England Revolution | On a match-by-match basis. | Mar 14, 2019 | Apr 18, 2019 |
| FW | Brian Wright | New England Revolution | On a match-by-match basis. | May 18, 2019 | |
| FW | Edward Opoku | Columbus Crew SC | Duration of the 2019 USL Championship season. | Mar 22, 2019 | |
| FW | JJ Williams | Columbus Crew SC | On a match-by-match basis. | Apr 12, 2019 | Apr 20, 2019 |
| FW | JJ Williams | Columbus Crew SC | On a match-by-match basis. | May 9, 2019 | Jun 23, 2019 |
| FW | JJ Williams | Columbus Crew SC | On a match-by-match basis. | Jul 13, 2019 | |

### Out

| Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Date | Source |
| DF | Marcel Appiah | VfR Aalen | No longer listed on roster. Signed for Aalen on Jul 30, 2019. | Jul 22, 2019 | |
| DF | Tyler Turner | | Contract terminated by mutual consent. | Aug 14, 2019 | |

## Awards

USLC Team of the Week :
| Week | Starters | Bench | Opponent(s) |
| 4 | Brian Wright | Eric Avila | Louisville City |
| 6 | JJ Williams | Kyle Culbertson | Saint Louis FC |
| 9 | Daniel Johnson | | New York Red Bulls II Memphis 901 |
| 16 | | Mikey Lopez | Hartford Athletic |
| 19 | Brian Wright | | North Carolina FC |
| 20 | Mathieu Laurent | | Atlanta United 2 |
| 21 | Mikey Lopez | | Charlotte Independence |
| 23 | Edward Opoku | Matt Van Oekel | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| 24 | Daniel Johnson | | Memphis 901 |
| 25 | | Prosper Kasim | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 27 | Eric Avila Mikey Lopez | Prosper Kasim | Atlanta United 2 |
| 29 | | Prosper Kasim | Nashville SC Indy Eleven |
USLC Goal of the Month :
| Month | Player | Opponent | Link |
| June | Chandler Hoffman | Hartford Athletic | |
USLC Coach of the Month :
| Month | Coach | Link |
| July | Tom Soehn | |
USLC Goal of the Week :
| Week | Player | Opponent | Link |
| 16 | Chandler Hoffman | Hartford Athletic | |

## Kits

| Home | Away |
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Record |
| Home | Black | Black | Black | Match 1 vs. Bethlehem / 6–2–8 |
| Away | White | White | White | Match 3 vs. Louisville / 6–5–6 |