At Protagonist Soccer, we pride ourselves in telling the stories and history of the clubs in the lower leagues of the United States. We do this out of a love of the game and, quite frankly, these stories won’t get told otherwise. By telling these stories, we open lower league soccer up to people who may not know much about it. Take for instance Dynamo FC St Cloud. Located in Minnesota, these guys have only been around for three years, but have gone from small time players in social media circles to being one of the more talked about clubs from Minnesota, behind Minnesota United of MLS and Minneapolis City SC (NPSL).

While Dynamo has been on the rise, our site’s coverage of the club was limited to just a single piece. That one was on their kit design approach from 2018. Since then, the site has been silent, but today, I’ll break the streak.

On a whim, I contacted the club through their Facebook to learn more about them. Their social media manager, Logan Lommel, expressed his appreciation for everything Protagonist has done to this point for the lower league soccer scene. When I explained that I wanted to do a club profile, he jumped at the opportunity. He even told me he would get with some of the players and staff to ensure I was given the best view of the club. In addition to this, they recently released their 2020 kits. So, needless to say, this has been one of the more exciting profiles I’ve gotten to do.

In three seasons you guys have established a solid presence in the MASL, can you tell me if there’s anything outside of the on field success that’s attributed to the identity of the club?

There are many things that have attributed to the identity of the club outside of the on field success, the people involved in the club thoroughly participate and give their opinions on many things that we do in the club. Our players, sponsors, and coaching staff always have an input to what we would like to decide. For example with our uniforms, tryouts, or setting up a tournament, they are examples where everyone would have something to say about how we it done. Also the interaction on social media has attributed to our identity, Logan Lommel, our social media "geek" does a tremendous job interacting with our fans, he has put out the name of Dynamo FC St. Cloud to many people to follow, and that interaction also makes the club's presence strong, better, and the gives us more motivation to get the positive results we see on the pitch. Our club is a true democracy! (Eduardo Silva: Dynamo co-founder and co-manager, Sartell, MN, native of Brazil)

Are there still plans to move to NPSL? Have there been discussions of moving to UPSL first?

Right now, our main focus is sustainability. Our overall goal as a club has always been to move into the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), but it comes with a large price tag. Our managers Ed and Eduardo also want to see how we fair competitively in Division 1 of the MASL this season. Depending on our succes, it could help push us to a move in the near future. (Logan Lommel: crest designer, fourth year with the club, youngest player in inaugural season)

How has the local community reacted to the club and its success?

Our connection with the community through social media has proved crucial. We've talked with local news sources such as WJON Sports, the St. Cloud Times, and others that has helped to have the community get involved with coming to matches or even becoming apart of the team some way, shape, or form. I also think having a core group from St. Cloud has also helped drive our success, and now we're being talked about in areas such as Brainerd, which is an hour north of us, and now all the way southwest of us in Willmar. We hope to continue to grow the sport just in St. Cloud, but throughout the entirety of Central Minnesota. (Kevin Argueta: fourth year with the squad, midfielder, St. Cloud, MN)

It seems that there’s been a solid core of players with the club over the first few years of existence, how do they feel about being considered “legends” of the club?

I think the "legends" that can see the big picture of what our club wants to accomplish (which is most of them) would feel honored that we were able to represent the club from its humble beginnings. Having a core group of guys that are great players for one, but also Central Minnesota born and/or raised is really important to the story and history of our club. (Leighton Lommel: Club captain, fourth year with the squad, St. John's University soccer captain, St. Cloud, MN)

I think the players that have played for our first three seasons with Dynamo would be considered a "legend" because you've been deciding the success of this club and how far it has reached so far. Personally, I've been working hard to help get this club to where it is today, and I'm only going to continue doing that. (Abdiaziz Handule: goal-scorer, fourth year with the squad, St. Cloud, MN/Somali immigrant)

What does the future hold for the club? Are there any special plans in the works?

There are a couple of special plans in the works for the 2020 season. We're currently working on a live stream for fans with a local production company for our home matches. We're just figuring out the logistics at the moment. Every season so far we've tried to add something to our palette as a club in a model of sustainable growth. (Logan Lommel: crest and social media designer, fourth year with the club, youngest player in inaugural season)

Is there anything you and the players/coaches/owners would like to share about their experiences with the club or they would like to say to readers?

I have had an incredible experience playing with Dynamo. The players and coaches are so determined and committed to the program, and that is what makes it so special. Guys from all over Central Minnesota coming together and building friendships while playing the best game in the world is truly an amazing experience. It's also amazing how well we have been doing between both teams in both divisions. I can't wait for what the future entails. (Dylan Michaud: third year with the squad, defender, Concordia soccer mainstay, Sartell, Minnesota)

I chose to join Dynamo because after playing them and watching them play possession soccer and the fact that everyone was smiling and having a great time even when they went down one or two goals in a tournament match where I played them. Every other match I played Dynamo, we were killed like 9 to 0. I just knew I wasn't going to grow as a player or win any more matches unless I switched teams. Not to mention, I ran into Dynamo player Kevin Argueta several times when he used to work at Best Buy and attempted to recruit me. Soon enough, I showed up to practice and met the team. I got to know the managers Ed Johnson and Eduardo Silva, and Dynamo welcomed me with open arms. For these reasons, I continue to promote and play for Dynamo. The rest is history! (Joshua Draewell: seasoned veteran, father, leader, third year with the squad, Sartell, Minnesota/Chicago native)