With the UPSL’s Fall Season well-underway, we were fortunate to have NY Empire FC’s co-founder, Max Ferro, reply to our request for an Under the Lights article. He was generous with his time and answered all of our questions about the newest club in the Northeast American (North) Division of the United Premier Soccer League.

by Joshua Duder

With the UPSL season well-underway, we were fortunate to have Emporia FC’s Director of Communications, Gabe Diaz-Serrano, reply to our request for an Under the Lights article. He was generous with his time and answered all of our questions about the club in the Midwest South Division of the United Premier Soccer League.

by Joshua Duder

Andy Aguilar founded FC Arcadia with the goal of creating a connection with the community and getting people together basically to share their love for soccer. Learn more about them, Under the Lights.

“We currently play in the Greater Chicago Soccer League (formerly known as the National Soccer League, the oldest currently operating league in the entire country.) If we had ambitions to progress to a higher league, the next step would be the Midwest Premier League. However, as a club, we've decided our scope is set on being a local Sunday League Club. I think the move to the MWPL would be a very large commitment to a lot of our players that we don't want to push out of our club. So we're just deciding to keep it local and keep it fun.”

“We saw an excellent opportunity to bring something that the community is hungry for in a fantastic mid-size city in the Chicagoland metropolitan area. We felt like with our experiences as well as the communities passion for the game it felt like a great fit.”

“Everett City FC was founded in 2022 by Angel and Uriel Herrera who are two cousins that have love for the game of Soccer. With Uriels time playing in Bellingham for multiple years, he wanted to be closer to home (Snohomish, WA) with continuing a high level of indoor soccer. Which brought the idea of bring a new club to our local community.”

“The club was originally founded in 2010. At the time, we were known as Southie FC. However, after a steady decline between 2018 to 2021, I took over the club for the 2022 season and renamed it to Atletico Boston… For the badge, we wanted to show the iconic Zakim Bridge.”

“We started by making sure each season included aims to raise funds or awareness for the many incredible groups in our area as well as drives for the underserved in and outside of our games. We also had a good history with the local school system around here where we would hold events and shine a light on the terrific talent that was coming out of the refugee- and immigrant-heavy parts of our city.“

“California Storm is very active in the community. Soccer should be accessible to everyone. We put on free soccer clinics for kids with Autism. These clinics are year round and each child is provided a soccer ball, swag bag, snacks, and water bottle. We connect with the kids using soccer as a tool to encourage fun and exercise through playing. We also put on a shopping spree for kids from underserved communities. This project is called Gear Up. The kids shop with the Storm players for soccer equipment, cleats, shin guards, balls, jerseys, tshirts, shorts, etc.”

“We're extremely excited to be back in the U.S. Open Cup this year with our USL2 side. Missing out on the 2023 Open Cup after finishing second in the Southeast Division definitely stung, but reclaiming our division title en route to a Southern Conference championship and league semifinal appearance put us back in the qualifying range for USL2 teams. Being part of one of the most historic athletic competitions in North America is always a huge privilege.”