90-day launch? No sweat for Cleveland SC

Cleveland SC had heard the horror stories of rushed NPSL launches. They don’t always go so swimmingly.

Take the case of Los Angeles-based City of Angels FC, for example. In about two weeks’ time, the club assembled a roster, landed a venue, and designed a crest and kit. While the rushed effort to get on the pitch for the 2017 NPSL season was admirable, the results proved utterly disastrous. City of Angels FC finished league play with two wins, 13 losses and a draw to go with a breathtaking minus 66 goal differential. The experience caused the club to quietly decide to go dark in 2018 — after just one campaign — though the club intends to return this year.

Ahead of the 2018 season, Cleveland SC attempted a rapid 90-day launch into the NPSL hoping to avoid some of the pitfalls experienced by City of Angels FC. Perhaps the team was the exception to the rule, but avoid pitfalls, it did.

“It was extremely rushed considering all of us have day jobs and other responsibilities,” Cleveland SC president Sam Seibert explained. “However, the soccer community in this town was great in assisting us to get pointed in the right direction from stadium, to coach, to sponsorships. It was an amazing effort from a handful of guys and ultimately became a byproduct of a city ready for another great sport team.”

Cleveland SC won seven of its 12 matches in the regular season, finishing second in the Midwest Region’s East Conference while outscoring opponents 34-11. The team even racked up a playoff victory, stomping Erie Commodores FC 4-0 in the Midwest quarterfinals. A narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of AFC Ann Arbor ended Cleveland SC’s impressive inaugural run.

“Honestly, at the beginning of the season my aim for the team was to finish in the top two, so from that standpoint I was happy,” said Cleveland SC head coach Ryan Osborne, or “Ozzy” for short. “There were some good teams in the East Division this year, each game presented a unique challenge that we had to overcome, so to finish second was pleasing. However, when we put ourselves in the position to go to Erie in the final regular-season game with a tie or a win guaranteeing us winning the division, to lose was a bitter experience. I think looking back though, to finish as runner-up was a good starting point for the club and hopefully something that we can build on.”

Beyond the difficulties involved in assembling a competitive side on short notice looms an even bigger beast: the financial statement. For every lower-division “success” story of clubs like Minneapolis City SC and Kingston Stockade FC that are able to operate at close to break even or turn a small profit, there’s an Old Bhoys SC, which incurred a $23,000 net loss after the first-year budget had forecasted operating only a few grand in the red.

Heck, even fully professional teams in Division 2 struggle to operate in the black ink. While Cleveland SC defied the odds on the pitch, the brisk launch affected the University Heights, Ohio-based team’s ability to connect with fans, and thus its bottom line — a trend the club hopes to reverse in its second year.

“Financially, it’s an interesting story as fans only had limited time to engage with us,” Seibert said. “At the same time, we exceeded our revenue expectations and have quite a few great ideas to blow that number out of the water in 2019.”

The hindered fan engagement that resulted from the swift launch didn’t prevent Cleveland SC from having its own passionate supporters’ group, however. The 6th City Syndicate, which already existed prior to Cleveland SC’s launch, took the team under its wing and loudly and proudly supported the men in orange on match days and beyond.

And more often than not, Cleveland SC supporters were treated with an eye-pleasing brand of football. Osborne prides himself in such a style.

“I would say that my coaching philosophy is one that is very adaptable to the group that I am working with,” he said. “Typically though, I like to play on the front foot and in a way that allows the players to express themselves with a freedom whereby we attack or possess with the purpose of attacking. Defensively, I buy into the idea that no man gets a free pass and that we defend as a group from the front and in a way that we are hard to break down and penetrate. Structurally, I like the lines to be tight so that we can suffocate the opposition and win the ball back quickly with the opportunity to either build or exploit space quickly.”

Cleveland SC opted for a sleek rebrand in early 2018 to touch up its image, enlisting the services of local graphic designer Mike Kubinski and his CLE Clothing Co. for the refresh. The end result provided Cleveland SC with a unique, stoic identity exemplified by the new crest. The upgrade was more so the club’s initial branding rather than a true rebrand, as the prior crest only served a temporary purpose.

Before:

After:

“The crest shows our year of inception and is a direct influence of the transportation bridge that connects the two sides of our city over the Cuyahoga River,” Seibert explained.

As for the on-field product, Coach Osborne — who’s also an assistant and the recruiting coordinator on the Notre Dame College of Ohio men’s staff — liked what he saw from his side in 2018 and wants to build upon that foundation this year. He hopes to bring back several familiar faces from last year’s roster.

“In my opinion, our best player in 2018 was Chris Cvecko,” he said. “He was consistent, reliable and honestly is a coach’s dream. He goes above and beyond and gives you great balance as a fullback from a defensive and an attacking standpoint. Vinny Bell also came on strong towards the end of the season and hopefully we can get more out of him earlier heading into 2019.  I have confidence that many of our roster will return for 2019 and that we will be able to add some new quality additions that will once more allow us to compete for the East Division title.”

While Cleveland SC is perfectly content where it’s at for now — navigating the NPSL amateur waters — the club is wholly open to a potential move to the professional ranks in the future. Whether that’s the NPSL Founders Cup or another pro league remains to be seen, but the team is clearly intrigued by the concept of upward mobility.

“This team is ready to take on anything,” Seibert added. “We have professional talent on this team whilst a dedicated city and supporter group rabid for championships. Founders Cup and other opportunities interest us, but our main focus is unifying the city of Cleveland’s vast array of soccer initiatives under one representation. As we build our own house you will see us do great things at multiple levels.”

While the chaotic nature of lower-division soccer is perpetually difficult to overcome, Cleveland SC seems to have gotten the hang of it rather quickly.

Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly referred to the 6th City Syndicate as having formed to support Cleveland SC. The story has been corrected to indicate that the supporters’ group already existed prior the formation of Cleveland SC.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.

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