Florida Tropics SC

Florida Tropics SC is a professional soccer club based in Lakeland, Florida. They are owned by Central Florida Sports Ventures, LLC, led by Dr. Panos Iakovidis, and former USL commissioner and Rochester Rhinos owner Chris Economides. The organization was originally founded in 2015 as a team in the Major Arena Soccer League[1] before expanding into other leagues.

This article is about the current soccer club. For the traveling Senior Professional Baseball Association team from 1992, see West Palm Beach Tropics.
Florida Tropics SC
Founded2016 (2016)
StadiumRP Funding Center
Lake Myrtle Sports Complex
Capacity5,137 (MASL)
OwnerCentral Florida Sports Ventures, LLC
Head CoachClay Roberts
J.P. Reyes
LeagueMajor Arena Soccer League
United Premier Soccer League
20211st, MASL
Playoffs: Eliminated from Semis
WebsiteClub website

The Tropics organization operates three senior teams across two different leagues. The first team is Florida Tropics SC, which plays in the professional Major Arena Soccer League. The club also fields two men's outdoor teams. The top outdoor is Tropics SC, which plays in the United Premier Soccer League First Division. There is also a Tropics Reserves team playing the UPSL's Second Division.

The club previously fielded a USL League Two team known as the Lakeland Tropics, and a Women's Premier Soccer League team.[2]

In addition to the senior squads, the Tropics organization also oversees two youth clubs in Central Florida. Lakeland Tropics FC in Lakeland, and Celebration FC Tropics in Celebration.

History

On May 3, 2016, the Tropics, in conjunction with the newly formed IPL, held a press conference at the RP Funding Center and stated they would be joining the IPL alongside the Baltimore Blast, Harrisburg Heat, and St. Louis Ambush.[3][4] However, on August 29, 2016, it was announced that all IPL teams including Florida would be joining the MASL.[5] The team finished 3rd in their division in their inaugural season, and averaged over 2,500 fans a game including one sell out. In their second season in the MASL, the Tropics again fell just short of the playoffs, finishing 3rd in the Eastern Division. It was in 2017 that the club fielded their first USL League Two franchise, and in 2019 a new squad was created to play in the UPSL Pro Premier Florida Division, who went on to win the leagues national championship. The official supporter group of the Tropics organization is the Swan City Syndicate.

The Tropics succeed the Tampa Bay area as the local indoor soccer club. The team is unrelated to the original Tampa Bay Rowdies, who were notorious for their indoor soccer success, as well as their outdoor. A current Rowdies team began to play in 2010 and is also unrelated to that club; the team exclusively plays outdoor soccer. Indoor soccer by the original Rowdies had officially ended when the team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association for one season (1986–87). For two seasons, another Tampa Bay area team played in the same league, from 1995 to 1997, called the Tampa Bay Terror; however, the team did not last more than two seasons, despite having some members of the Rowdies on the roster. It would not be until the Tropics first season that indoor soccer would return to the area.

Personnel

Active players
  • As of 14 February 2021[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  USA Nate Bourdeau
— DF  USA Jake Schindler
0 GK  USA Jorge Navarrete
1 GK  BRA Hugo Silva
3 DF  USA Chad Vandegriffe
4 FW  TRI Kiel Williams
5 DF  BRA Lucas Teixeira
7 FW  BRA Victor Parreiras
8 FW  USA Zach Reget
9 FW  CMR William Eyang
10 MF  USA Antonio Manfut
11 FW  BRA Ricardo Carvalho
16 DF  USA Drew Ruggles
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF  BRA Guilherme Dos Santos
20 FW  USA VcMor Eligwe
21 DF  JAM Stephen DeRoux
22 MF  USA Anthony Arico
23 DF  ECU J.P. Reyes
25 FW  BRA Bruno Henrique
26 FW  CAN Ian Bennett
27 MF  USA Joey Tavernese
33 DF  BRA Rafael Alves
70 FW  BRA Ricardinho Sobreira
85 MF  BRA Lucio Gonzaga
89 DF  USA Joshio Sandoval
90 DF  BRA Lucas Montelares

Inactive players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW  MEX Efrain Martinez
14 DF  MEX Victor Baez
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  BRA Pedro Ivo Dias
26 DF  BRA Fernando Machado

Staff
  • Clay Roberts – Head coach, (2016–present)
  • Wilbert Arroyo – Assistant/goalkeepers coach, (2016–present)
  • Alex Flores – Assistant coach, (2020–present)
  • Joel Muelbach – Athletic trainer, (2020–present)
  • Corey Mills – Performance coach, (2018–present)
  • Dr. Panos Iakovidis - Team owner (2017–present)/assistant coach (2019)

Notable players

Venues

References
  1. "Florida Tropics owner leaves past behind to start over in Lakeland". The Ledger. June 24, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  2. "Tropics Soccer Club and Pinellas County United SC Partner on WPSL Franchise, Lady Tropics SC". FLTropics.com. Florida Tropics SC. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  3. https://www.facebook.com/FLTropics/videos/1783778395175144/
  4. http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/soccer/bs-sp-blast-brief-0504-20160503-story.html
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2016-09-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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