UPSL MINNEAPOLIS CITY II NewsMICHAEL PRUNTY TO LEAD MC2October 30News / U23sMichael Prunty takes the reins of Minneapolis City 2, the club’s U23-focused development team that competes in the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL), replacing the retired Ryan Nichols. Prunty recently moved to the Twin Cities from Adel, Iowa, where he was the head women’s soccer coach at Coe College in Cedar Rapids. In his playing days, Prunty was a defender at Simpson College in Iowa. He brings experience as a men’s and women’s collegiate coach, assistant director of coaching, high school coach, and staff coach for Iowa ODP to the table and will be a key part in developing the next generation of talent for the club. “With Minneapolis City, I finally found a club that loves Twitter as much as I do.” – Michael Prunty “MC2 has played a critical part in the success of the club” said General Manager Adam Pribyl. “Every season guys from MC2 have made an impact with the NPSL team and now are regulars. Michael’s experiences give him knowledge of what is needed at collegiate level and an appreciation for development as well.” 2020 was going to be MC2’s first season in the UPSL, but the pandemic caused the season to be cancelled. Thus, Prunty gets to lead the team in its inaugural tilt at the UPSL, where MC2 compete in the Midwest Region with clubs from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. Like this:Like Loading...... Read more...ALLI LIPSHER JOINS AS DIRECTOR OF GOALKEEPINGOctober 28Features / News / NPSL / U23sGeneral Manager Adam Pribyl announced that Alli Lipsher as the club’s first Director of Goalkeeping. Lipsher joins the Mighty Crows with a stellar coaching and playing background. She was a four-year starter at Duke, where she helped the Blue Devils to two Sweet-16 and one Elite-8 appearance. She then had a six-year professional career in the United States and Australia. Currently, she is also the Director of Goalkeeping at the University of Minnesota, Fusion Soccer Club, and owner of First Line Futbol. “We are creating a high performance environment for our players, and to do that you need great coaches” said Pribyl. “As we grow, we are committed to providing great coaching, and more specialized coaching, to our players. Alli is a top coach with a fantastic pedigree and she is going to be great.” Lipsher will train the club’s senior goalkeepers and develop the training approach and methodology for goalkeepers across the club. “The mission, the approach, the level of the players, all of it, it’s all top-notch and I am so excited to be a part of it” – Alli Lipsher Lipsher becomes the first woman to coach in the NPSL North Conference and is one of a very few to ever hold a coaching position in the league. She is also one of a very few people ever to trade Hawaii, where she was born, for Minnesota. Clearly she is a woman of taste and erudition. “Soccer has that old boys club feel about it in many places” said Co-Founder Dan Hoedeman “but that’s their loss if they are willing to overlook big talent because of gender. I’m so excited that Alli is joining because she’s a great coach and because she’s now our great coach.” Like this:Like Loading...... Read more...UPSL BECKONS & OTHER CHANGES FOR U23sOctober 2blog / News / U23sThere are two huge changes for Minneapolis City U23: first, the team will now be called Minneapolis City II; second, the team will be competing in the UPSL in 2020. The team is a core part of the club, creating a development pathway for players. In just two seasons, players like Troy Louwagie, Aidan O’Driscoll, Eli Goldman, Mike Riley, and Noah Senn, among others, have used the U23 experience to launch into the NPSL side. “Competitive games in a national league will help the players continue their growth.” – Jon Bisswurm “After two years of refining our set-up, we are taking the next logical step and joining a structured, national league” said club co-founder Jon Bisswurm. “We talked to the players and they wanted the opportunity to play for a trophy, so we put them in a position to compete for one. Adding competitive games in a national league will help the players continue their growth.” The team, complete with new league-mandated moniker, will continue to focus on elevating players to the next level. Head coach Ryan Nichols said “playing in this league will give us some extra structure and motivation, and there is no doubt we will be doing everything we can to win both the NPSL and UPSL trophies.” The team will compete in the Midwest Conference West which last year included Rochester FC, Vlora City FC from Burnsville, Turbo Sports FC from the Twin Cities, Granite City FC from St Cloud, FC Minneapolis, and Dakota Young Stars FC from Sioux Falls. Like this:Like Loading...... Read more...NICHOLS IS NEW U23 HEAD COACHSeptember 23blog / News / U23sCity have elevated Ryan Nichols to head coach of the U23s after two successful seasons as an assistant. Nichols, a former defender at Bethel University under Jeremy Iwaszkowiec, brings coaching experience from his time at City and also from Fusion S.C. and DeLaSalle High School that sets him up well to help players elevate. “I think Ryan was the natural choice and at the same time an extremely exciting hire” – Adam Pribyl Technical Director Adam Pribyl said “I think Ryan was the natural choice and at the same time an extremely exciting hire for Minneapolis City. Ryan has been with the club for two years and has demonstrated strong leadership skills. I have seen firsthand his ability to connect with players and get the most out of his squad. The future is very bright for our club with coaches like Ryan dedicating themselves to be Crows.” Jon Bisswurm, who helped found the club, continued “He has the tools to step in and join those ranks with his experience inside our organization as well as his successes outside of it at the youth club level. With this appointment we surely have to make wearing shoes on the sideline a mandatory, but I think he would gladly comply with that request now that he is in charge.” The U23 side has been an important part of the club, providing a high level of competition for places that has pushed the NPSL team to back-to-back conference titles, and proving to be a conveyor belt of players into the NPSL team. Last season, players like Eli Goldman, Mike Riley, and Noah Senn moved into the NPSL team and made a huge impact. Not to mention players like Troy Louwagie, Aidan O’Driscoll, and Matt Murakami who made the step up before the season. “The U23s certainly help us be competitive on the field” said club Co-Founder Dan Hoedeman “and, even more importantly, they are a way for us to bring in younger players and help them elevate. Next season we’ll see even more young guns make their mark.” “I’m super excited…it’s pretty much the coolest job in coaching” – Ryan Nichols Nichols shared the enthusiasm. “I am super excited to continue in this new role for the club. Developing local guys and prepping them to play for a club like City is, when you think about it, pretty much the coolest job in coaching. This will be the first year the U23s will be playing in a league, which I think will give us some extra structure and motivation. Hopefully we can end this year with two league trophies.” Like this:Like Loading...... Read more... Roster Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading...
