Welcome to the Soccer Tavern, where we’re discussing the history, culture, and philosophy of the beautiful game. My name is Dave and in this video, we’re talking about the history of Dynamo Football Club Saint Cloud. Pull up a seat and let’s start the discussion.
Dynamo FC St. Cloud is located in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The club represents the entire central region of Minnesota, which is where the city of St. Cloud is located. Minnesota is located in the upper midwestern part of the United States.
Dynamo’s 1st team currently plays in the Minnesota Amateur Soccer League’s (MASL) Division 1 and the club’s second team plays in the MASL Division 3. The MASL is a league that has promotion and relegation with an average of 10 teams in each of the 4 divisions. US Soccer does not have a fully functional pyramid and there are technically no divisions below the 3 fully professional divisions, but the MASL Division 1 is likely the equivalent of a 5th or 6th tier division if US Soccer did have a pyramid.
For the past three seasons, Dynamo FC has played at Whitney Park. In 2019, the club also played some matches at the College of Saint Benedict’s new stadium.
Origin
Dynamo FC Saint Cloud was founded on March 15, 2017 by current Co-managers Eduardo Silva and Ed Johnson, as well as then general manager, Nathan Kroll. The club was formed to give a platform for college, high school, and other aspiring players in Central Minnesota a place to play and develop together. The name, crest, and colors were voted on by the players that played in the inaugural season. The managers wanted the players to feel like they owned the club.
Nickname
The club’s nickname is based off the first part of the club’s official name, Dynamo. Dynamo was selected as the club’s name because Central Minnesota’s granite industry was fueled by the power of electric generators, which are also known as dynamos. Without the granite industry, the St. Cloud area wouldn’t be what it is today. Dynamo FC aspires to be the catalyst for soccer in the community just like dynamos were the catalyst for the granite industry in the area.
Crest
Let’s take a look at Dynamo’s crest now.
The hammer and pickaxe symbolize the St. Cloud area granite industry, and the bolt represents the electricity that the dynamos provided for the industry.
The stars on the crest represent the club’s pride in being an American club.
The gold color in the crest was selected to represent electricity, and the black and white colors provided a nice complement to the gold.
Important Events
I’d like to highlight 4 important dates in the club’s history in this section.
On June 24, 2017, the club won its first trophy the Wilson Cup, which is a tournament for the teams in Divisions 2 through 4 of the MASL. Dynamo was the first Division 4 team to win the Cup in over a decade. Later in that same season, Dynamo won the title and earned promotion to Division 3 for the 2018 season.
On March 18, 2018, Dynamo announced the addition of a second squad, Dynamo FC ‘18 that would also play in the MASL. The squad was the result of incredible interest in the club by local players as well as a way to develop young players in the squad. The 2018 season resulted in another successive promotion for the first team, although they finished 2nd in the division to rivals Lions FC.
On January 29, 2019, AS Roma’s English account honored Dynamo FC St. Cloud as its Twitter Team of the Day for Dynamo’s work on social media. The AS Roma account has hundreds of thousands of followers and this was amazing for raise the club’s profile & awareness online.
Lastly, on July 28, 2019, Dynamo FC clinched promotion to Division 1. It was the first time in history that a team from the St. Cloud area would have the right to play in Division 1 of the MASL. Both squads also won the title of their respective divisions this season.
Noteworthy Players
I’d like to quickly highlight 8 players in this section.
First, I’d like to mention the Lommel brothers: Leighton, who wears #10, and Logan, who wears #16. The Lommels do a lot for the club on and off the field. Notably, Logan designed the club’s crest, and Leighton scored the club’s first ever goal on May 7th, 2017.
Next, I’d like to highlight the Rodriguez brothers: Uriel, who wears #9 and Christian, who wears #26. The Rodriguez’s play with flair and skill. Christian is coming off of a 40 goal high school season with Rocori. And Uriel has been a core player for Dynamo since day 1. He assists, scores, and helps with the overall flow of the attack.
Kevin Argueta wears #8 and has been a mainstay in the club since its inception. Kevin has also played a role in helping player manage the second team.
Abdiaziz Handule wears #11 and is a speedy winger that can score goals in key moments. He famously scored the match winner that won Dynamo the Wilson Cup.
David Verwijs grew up in Holland, and he is Dynamo’s iron man. No player has appeared in more matches for Dynamo than the center back.
And lastly, Junior Perez wears #6 and is a player that can play genuinely any position well (including goalkeeper). Junior has been instrumental to Dynamo earning three successive promotions.
Noteworthy Managers
So far, Eduardo Silva and Ed Johnson have co-managed the first and second team to an overall record of 66 wins, 19 losses, and 3 draws. They have put in countless hours on and off the pitch to better the club. They are always looking for new ways to improve the club financially, aesthetically, and most importantly, the on-the-field product. Eduardo & Ed believe in playing meaningful possession, and they are always willing to adjust in order to get a positive result.
Ed Johnson has 13 years of coaching experience under his belt, and has coached from youth to adult ages at various levels.
Eduardo Silva hails from Brazil and coaches with passion. Both him and Ed’s love for the game have driven them to provide a club for the community.
Rivals
Dynamo FC St. Cloud has 2 rivals: Lions FC & Granite City FC
Lions FC has been Dynamo’s biggest rival on the pitch. Over the last two seasons, the two clubs have fought for the title. In 2018, Lions FC won the battle, securing the Division 3 title, and in 2019 Dynamo won the Division 2 title. Both were runners-up to each other in each season. All-time, St. Cloud is 1-3 versus Lions FC and this rivalry should continue to develop as both clubs will be in Division 1 in 2020.
And Dynamo’s other rivalry has a unique backstory. Granite City FC and Dynamo FC have yet to play an official match versus each other. The two clubs are rivals due to the fact that they exist in the same location. The clubs also have varying visions. Oddly enough, a group of players from Dynamo originally played for Granite City, but left that club to create a more ideal club for the St. Cloud community.
Stats & Records
The stats and records we’re about to discuss are as of December 2019, which is when we are recording this video.
2020 will be St. Cloud’s 4th season in the MASL. It will be the first time that they have earned the right to play in Division 1 after three successive promotions.
The club has won 4 trophies. These include:
- 2 MASL Division 4 titles (once with the first team in 2017 & once with the second team in 2019)
- The Wilson Cup in 2017
- and the MASL Division 2 title in 2019
Before we get to the last interesting fact, I wanted to mention that Dynamo FC is always looking for new people that are excited to expand the beautiful game in the St. Cloud area. If you or anyone you know is interested in playing, coaching, managing the club, or collaborating in any way, please reach out to them. Their email is dfcstc@gmail.com and we also link to their social media accounts in the video description below.
And 1 last interesting fact about the club: in the match that clinched promotion to MASL Division 1 versus Lewis Dragons away, Dynamo started with seven players in a 3-3 formation due to flash floods that put highways to a stop. As the match wore on, players showed up 1 by 1, and St. Cloud won the match by a score of 3-0.
So there you have it… a bit of history on Dynamo FC St. Cloud. Let’s continue the discussion in the comments section below the video.
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