# Lubbock Matadors SC

Lubbock Matadors SC is an American soccer club in Lubbock, Texas. It currently competes in the Lonestar Conference of the National Premier Soccer League, considered the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system.
The team's home field is returning to Lowery Field in Lubbock after spending their second season at Lubbock-Cooper High School's Pirate Stadium due to renovations to their typical home pitch.

## History

On December 14, 2021, the National Premier Soccer League announced a new expansion team would be placed in Lubbock for the 2022 season. The ownership effort was led by former DC United and FC Dallas front office member Michael Hitchcock, along with Texas Tech alumni Brent McCarty, David Joyner, Eric Cunningham, and Lance Patton.
The Matadors announced Paul Gilbert as the team's first head coach on December 20.
The team's first game was an NPSL matchup against Fort Worth Vaqueros FC on Monday, May 9 at Lowery Field. Their first game of the season ended in a 3–1 loss drawing in 4,239 fans for the first NPSL game in Lubbock.
On Tuesday July 11, 2023, the Matadors set a franchise record attendance with 5,422 fans in attendance for their first NPSL home playoff game in club history. This attendance also put the Matadors at the No. 9 spot for highest attendance in NPSL history at the time.
Lubbock qualified for its first U.S. Open Cup in 2024 based on its league results from the previous season.

## Stadiums

| Stadium | Capacity | Location | Year(s) | Notes |
| Lowery Field | 8,471 | Lubbock, Texas | 2022, 2024 | |
| Lubbock-Cooper Pirate Stadium | 5,619 | Lubbock, Texas | 2023 | |
| LCU Soccer & Track Facility | 2,000 | Lubbock, Texas | 2024 | Hosted the First and Second Round of the 109th Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup |

## Players and staff
### Head Coaches

| Name | Nationality | Tenure | G | W | L | T | Win % |
| Paul Gilbert | United States | December 21, 2021 – April 16, 2024 | 27 | 18 | 7 | 2 | 66.6 |
| Brandon Misuraca | United States | April 17, 2024 – August 16, 2024 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 50.0 |

### Staff

Executive :
| Owner | Michael Hitchcock |
| Owner | Brent McCarty |
| Owner/Investor | David Joyner |
| Owner/Investor | Eric Cunningham |
| Owner/Investor | Lance Patton |
| General Manager | Dustin McCorckle |
| Business Ops Manager | Eleni Hitchcock |
| Community Outreach Manager | Alexandrea Torrez |
| Marketing & Operations Manager | Thomas Wolf |
| Coaching staff ||
| Manager | Brandon Misuraca |

### Current Squad

    As of 04 June 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ESP | Eduard Hurtado |
| — | GK | CAN | Tyler Kaeppeli |
| — | GK | ISR | Adam Salama |
| — | DF | GBR | Adam Thompson |
| — | DF | USA | Dennis Erdmann |
| — | DF | CHI | Diego Vasquez |
| — | DF | PAR | Ezequiel Fidabel |
| — | DF | JPN | Kodai Kobayashi |
| — | DF | CRO | Lovro Horvat |
| — | DF | CYP | Pana Georgiou |
| — | DF | MEX | Roberto Hernandez |
| — | DF | BRA | William Rodriguez |
| — | DF | JAM | Tremain Simpson |
| — | MF | BRA | Enzo Jaques |
| — | MF | USA | Daniel Reiter |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | BEL | Hugo Staunton |
| — | MF | BRA | Iago Luiz |
| — | MF | WAL | Jack Pascoe |
| — | FW | USA | Nako Amare |
| — | FW | FRA | Adonis Igouwe |
| — | FW | ENG | Evan Howard |
| — | FW | MAR | Saad Faiz |
| — | FW | ENG | Elhadj Diaoune |
| — | FW | SUI | Diogo Silvestre |
| — | FW | ITA | Francesco Pettinaroli |
| — | FW | ESP | Pablo Diez |
| — | FW | AUS | Miguel Da Silva |
| — | FW | AUS | Pedro Gallardo |
| — | FW | CAN | Quintin Benn-John |

## Club culture
### Mascot

The Mascot of the Lubbock Matadors is a bull named Notorious. He was officially unveiled on February 25, 2023 at the Two Docs Brewing Company, the main kit sponsor for the Matadors. Notorious has since been a key part of the marketing efforts for the Matadors both at games and at different events throughout the community.

### Supporters

The Lubbock Matadors' officially recognized supporters group is the Mozos. The group consists of fans that play different instruments, have chants and songs prepared for throughout the game, and smoke bombs that go off following a Matadors Goal.

### Rivalries

The Lubbock Matadors' main rivalry is with West Texas FC in El Dustico. The two teams compete for the Golden Tumbleweed, symbolic of the two teams - who are separated by just 118 miles.

## Record
### Year-by-year

| Season | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | League | Position | Position | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
| Season | League | Conference | Pld | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD | Pts | PPG | Conf. | Overall | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
| 2022 | NPSL | Lone Star | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 15 | +10 | 20 | 1.66 | 6th | 36th | DNQ | DNE |
| 2023 | NPSL | Lone Star | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 8 | +28 | 30 | 2.72 | 1st | 3rd | Conference Finals | DNE |
| 2024 | NPSL | Lone Star | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 19 | +8 | 16 | 1.60 | 5th | 41st | DNQ | Third Round |
| Total | Total | Total | 33 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 83 | 42 | +39 | 66 | 2.00 | | | | |

### Top All-Time Goalscorers

    As of 06 July 2024
    Active player name(s) in bold
| # | Name | Career | NPSL | NPSL Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Total |
| 1 | Pablo Diez | 2022 - Present | 15 | 2 | 0 | 17 |
| 2 | Ethan Giwa-McNeil | 2023 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Luke Jones | 2022-2023 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Evan Howard | 2024 - Present | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | Markus Krogstad | 2023 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Mitar Mitrovic | 2023 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Francesco Pettinaroli | 2024 - Present | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Saad Faiz | 2024 - Present | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Iago Luiz | 2024 - Present | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | Andres Realis | 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Anthony Vargas | 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Nico Riveros | 2022 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Salvador Martinez | 2024 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Shuma Sasaki | 2024 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Stephan Moreira | 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | Will Rodrigues | 2022 - Present | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |

## Honors
### NPSL

* Lone Star Conference Regular Season Champions: 2023