Time flies, doesn’t it? Seems like yesterday that we cooked up the idea to give away an award to our Club of the Year. Since 2018, when Inocentes FC from Ft. Worth, Texas won our first Club of the Year, we’ve done this five times. The WPSL’s Pensacola FC won the second year, while Maryland Bobcats took home the third award in 2020. In 2021, KC Courage was chosen as the Club of the Year and last year Tormenta FC, after winning championships in both USL League One and W League, took home our 5th Club of the Year.

We haven’t changed our approach over the years. As we near the end of the year, we discuss our candidates, take submissions from the public, and narrow it down to four or five clubs we think deserving. Then we put together our best argument as to why each club deserves your vote. We put those out as articles over the course of a week, then let our readers decide by voting. On January 1, we announce the Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year. So let’s celebrate an amazing year of lower league soccer by highlighting four tremendous clubs who deserve your vote. Here’s the fourth and final nominee, Flower City Union.

First off, all talk about what happens to Flower City Union in 2024 is off limits in this article. Because, one, we don’t know exactly what will happen to its division three men’s side. And, two, this nomination is for 2023, not 2024. So the future can be left for tomorrow, because we’ve got enough to talk about in the present, specifically the past. I think that all makes sense. Or I hope it did.

Flower City Union emerged onto the NISA scene two years ago. There was a lot of excitement about the club. Founders had some big-time pedigree, branding was clean and well-done, the team would play in the Rochester Community Sports Complex (former home to the Rhinos), the list went on and on. And then the season kicked off. It was a rough one. FCU struggled to accomplish much of anything, finishing 2-3-18 (18 is losses, by the way).

In the offseason, FCU’s neighbor to the north, AC Syracuse, closed up shop and got “absorbed” into the Rochester club (though what Syracuse brought is hard to say). Flower City, for it’s part, went about building a solid roster through free agency, including golden boot runner-up Alioune Diakhate from ALBION San Diego. Around Diakhate, the club added a cast of excellent players, giving many a reason to think that 2023 would be a year that the club would take a big step.

But those steps came slowly and they weren’t always forward. It took the club six matches to get its first three points and 10 matches to get to six points. It was clear that the team had talent, but it wasn’t coming together as quickly as hoped. The entire season, Flower City Union flirted with the bottom spot on the table. And each time the team would begin to show promise, it would bog down and drop points. It was hard to see how this season would end well for the club.

And yet, the club turned it around. Talent won out. The team got just enough points throughout the season to hold on the final playoff spot (also much thanks to Michigan Stars for beating up on Club de Lyon at the end of the season). In the playoffs, the club was on the road throughout, thanks to its sixth place finish, but that didn’t bother Flower City Union. On the road to LA Force, the club came alive offensively and won 4-2. Then in the semifinal matchup against the club with the best record in the league, Chattanooga FC, FCU battled through regular time, extra time, and won on penalty kicks. In the final against Michigan, the team would do just enough to win the match 1-0 and claim the 2023 NISA Championship.

This team were road dogs throughout the playoffs. *Image courtesy of Flower City Union*

Aside from the men’s side’s unpredictable run to the crown, Flower City Union has done plenty else this year to deserve a chance at your vote. Few clubs are as active online, connecting to their audience and the broader soccer community. That work is paying off in the seats, as Flower City Union saw an average increase of over 200 fans a match over last year. The club also added a women’s side this year, Flower City 1872, which plays in the UWS. It’s a move that opens the doors for women’s players in Rochester looking for a place to develop their talent. It makes the club more complete and inclusive, and we celebrate that kind of movement from any club in the country.

The future may not be clear for Flower City Union, but the club continues to make progress, even in the face of adversity. 2023 saw the club add a championship and a women’s side for Rochester. It was an amazing year and it should be recognized and celebrated. In a nod to all that progress, Flower City Union deserves your consideration for 2023 Protagonist Soccer Club of the Year.

- Dan Vaughn