Oklahoma City 1889 FC

Oklahoma City 1889 Football Club is an American men's soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL),[1] a semi-professional soccer league in US Soccer that includes qualification for and participation in the US Open Cup. The club is formerly a member of the UPSL.[2]

Oklahoma City 1889 FC
Nickname(s)The Imps, Fighting Imps
FoundedFebruary 21, 2017 (February 21, 2017)
StadiumTom Thompson Field
Edmond, Oklahoma
OwnerDustin Hooker
ManagerAdam Kay
LeagueNPSL
WebsiteClub website

History

The club's founding season in 2017 consisted of a summer schedule of friendlies only where the team competed under the name "OKC Fighting Imps" due to complications with joining a league.[3]

In 2018, they finished 3rd in the UPSL Central Conference North Division and missed playoffs by one spot behind Dallas Elite FC and champions Inocentes FC.[4] Niall Burley was selected to the UPSL Best XI Second Team for the Spring season.[5]

In the 2019 regular season, they finished 2nd in the UPSL Central Conference Pro-Premier (1st tier) North Division behind Inocentes FC and qualified for Central Conference playoffs.[6] The Central Conference playoff run includes a 3–1 victory against Reign FK, a 3–1 victory against FC Waco, a 2–0 victory against Matias Almeyda FC, and was capped off when Imps won the Central Conference championship 2–1 in extra time against Inocentes FC.[7] The season ended with a 4–0 loss to Southwest FC in El Paso in the UPSL National Quarterfinal.[8] Niall Burley was selected to the UPSL Best XI Second Team for the Spring season.[9]

The 2020 season was postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.[10] The Imps did compete virtually instead in the 2020 Lower League eCup, a competition that took place online in FIFA 20 between 120+ third tier or lower teams in the United States.[11] OKC 1889 FC was represented in the Xbox One tournament by Twitter user @LFC_RJ who made it through the group stage and on to the Round of 32 where he lost to FC Tucson by an aggregate of 4–1 over two legs.[12]

The Imps announced on March 24, 2021, that they will compete in Heartland Conference of the NPSL South Region for the 2021 season.[13] They finished third in the regular season behind Tulsa Athletic and champions Demize NPSL, and qualified for the Heartland playoffs.[14] The playoff run includes a loss to Tulsa Athletic 5–4 in penalties after the match finished 2–2 after extra time.[15] Fabian Forisch and Muhammad Bilal were selected on the NPSL Heartland Conference XI team.[16] Bilal was also selected to the South Region XI.[17]

Rivalries

Purple Reign derby

Rivalry with Reign FK in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

  • Record: 3-2-0 [W-D-L]; 15 GF-4 GA
Results
Date Competition Winner Score Location
June 5, 2021 NPSL OKC 1889 6–0 Edmond, OK
May 1, 2021 NPSL Draw 1–1 Bartlesville, OK
July 2, 2019 UPSL Playoffs OKC 1889 3–1 Norman, OK
May 4, 2019 UPSL Draw 2–2 Norman, OK
April 20, 2019 UPSL OKC 1889 3–0 Bartlesville, OK

War for I-44

Rivalry with Tulsa Athletic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

  • Record: 1-0-2 [W-D-L]; 5 GF-5 GA
Results
Date Competition Winner Score Location
July 14, 2021 NPSL Playoffs Tulsa Athletic 2–2 (5–4 in PKs) Tulsa, OK
June 27, 2021 NPSL Tulsa Athletic 0–2 Edmond, OK
May 16, 2021 NPSL OKC 1889 3–1 Tulsa, OK

Media coverage

The goal of the club according to is to "provide a serious, professionally run team by the community, for the community."[18] The club has gained notoriety by being the covered by various media outlets such as The UPSL Podcast, the Scissortail Podcast , the Tornado Alley Soccer Podcast, and the Full 90+ Podcast.[19] The first year of the Imps being in the NPSL, they gained large notoriety from coverage from an expert in American Lower League Soccer, Protagonist Soccer.[20] The club is also covered on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook frequently from the NPSL and various sources of lower league soccer content.

Year-by-year

Yearly results
Year Division League Regular Season W-D-L GF-GA Playoffs W-D-L GF-GA
2018 5 UPSL 3rd, Central North 3-3-2 27-16 Did not qualify N/A N/A
2019 5 UPSL 2nd, Central North 7-3-2 33-14 Central Conference Champions 4-0-1 10-7
2020 5 UPSL Did not play N/A N/A Did not play N/A N/A
2021 4 NPSL 3rd, South Heartland 5-2-3 33-10 Heartland Semi-Final 0-0-1 2-2

All-Time table
Match Type Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Goals Against Goal Difference
Regular Season 30 15 8 7 93 40 53
Playoffs 6 4 0 2 12 9 3
Total 36 19 8 9 105 49 56
  • Updated as of July 14, 2021

Head coaches
  • Includes all competitive matches: regular season and playoffs[21]
CoachNationalityStartEndGamesWinDrawLossWin %
Adam Kay  England February 21, 2017 present 36 19 8 9 052.78

Honors

Club
  • UPSL Spring Central Conference Championship (Level 5)
    • Playoff Champions (1): 2019[22]

Individual
  • Niall Burley - Forward - 2019 Spring UPSL Best XI Second Team
  • Fabian Forisch - Defender - 2021 NPSL Heartland Conference XI
  • Muhammad Bilal - Midfielder - 2021 NPSL Heartland Conference XI
  • Muhammad Bilal - Midfielder - 2021 NPSL South Region XI


Records
  • Biggest defeat: 5–1 v Irving FC, April 27, 2019[24]
  • First goal: Petar Durdevic v Inocentes FC, May 19, 2018[25]

References
  1. "NPSL TEAMS".
  2. "United Premier Soccer League Announces OKC 1889 as New Central Conference Expansion Team".
  3. {{cite web|url=https://www.bigdsoccer.com/2017/6/17/15819480/who-are-the-oklahoma-city-fighting-imps%7Cauthor=Jack Hazzard|title=Who are the Oklahoma City Fighting Imps?|date= June 17, 2017}
  4. "2018 UPSL Central Table".
  5. "The United Premier Soccer League (#UPSL) announces 2019 Spring Season Best XI Teams". August 19, 2019.
  6. "2019 UPSL Spring Central Conference".
  7. "2019 Spring UPSL Central Playoff".
  8. "United Premier Soccer League Presents the 2019 Spring Season National Finals". July 22, 2019.
  9. "The United Premier Soccer League (#UPSL) announces 2019 Spring Season Best XI Teams". August 19, 2019.
  10. "UPSL Announces June 20 as the Start of the Spring Season".
  11. "Lower League eCup". Protagonist Soccer. March 21, 2020.
  12. "FC Tucson vs OKC 1889". May 12, 2020.
  13. "OKC 1889 FC JOINS THE NPSL FOR THE 2021 SEASON". March 24, 2021.
  14. "NPSL 2020-2021 League Standings".
  15. "2021 Playoff Schedule".
  16. "NPSL Announces 2021 Conference XI Selections". National Premier Soccer League. 2021-07-22. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  17. "NPSL Announces 2021 Region XI Selections". National Premier Soccer League. 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  18. "MEET OKC 1889 FC". April 4, 2018.
  19. "Scissortail Podcast". Listen Notes.
  20. "OKC 1889 (NPSL)". June 7, 2021.
  21. "Game Recaps".
  22. "2019 Spring Central Conference champions".
  23. "Game Report - Game ID #7571980".
  24. "Irving FC vs OKC 1889". Eleven.
  25. "Goal OKC 1889".
  26. "Game Report - Game ID #7571980".
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