Palmetto State Rewind: Soccer Franchise Edition Part 2
Remembering the former soccer clubs that called South Carolina home
On any given Saturday, the soccer fan in South Carolina can see matches in almost every major city from eight national leagues. Almost twenty teams call the Palmetto State home from USLC to UPSL to WPSL to the brand new APSL. This wasn’t always the case. Here is a look back at some of the historic clubs that put South Carolina soccer on the map.
Franchise, Years of Operation, League Affiliation, Home Venue
South Carolina Shamrocks 1996-1999 USISL Select and USL D3, Greer City Stadium
The franchise played four years of USISL/USL soccer in the Upstate finishing in second place in the South Atlantic Division in both 1996 and 1997. The team finished in fifth place in 1998 and 1999 and the club had their USL franchise rights revoked by the league before the 2000 season for “not meeting league financial requirements.” Several Shamrocks would later play for the Lions in the Upstate.
Greenville Lions: 2001-2003, USL D3/USL PDL, Sirrine Stadium
The Lions roared right out the gates in 2001 advancing all the way to the 2001 USL D2 Final where they narrowly lost 0-1 to the Utah Blitzz to finish as national runner-up. The team did well in 2002 but lost in the first round of the playoffs. 2003 was the team’s worst finish in 6th place as they missed the playoffs and folded the franchise before the 2004 season. In 2002 they did advance to the second round of the US Open Cup where they lost to 0-3 to the Charleston Battery.
Performance FC Phoenix, 2008, NPSL, Greenville Area
Performance FC Phoenix played just the 2008 season in the NPSL Southeast Division posting a 3W-3L-2T record. They failed to make the playoffs finishing seven points adrift of first place Atlanta FC. Tom Morris was the coach of the team.
FC Carolina United: 2014, NPSL, Manchester Meadows Soccer Stadium
The Rock Hill side only played one season and was affiliated with the Discoveries Soccer Club. The team played out of the Manchester Meadows Soccer Stadium and finished second in the NPSL South Atlantic standings with a 4W-4L-2T record on 14 points. 2014 was the only season with multiple NPSL teams playing in the Palmetto State as Upward Stars and the Myrtle Beach Mutiny were opponents that season. It would be almost five years later before USPL teams in Columbia and Charleston provided as many playing opportunities around the state as there were in 2014 for the three SC NPSL teams.
Upward Stars FC: 2014-2015, NPSL, Upward Stars Complex
The team bounced around the Upstate playing matches at USC-Upstate, Bob Jones, University, and Furman University before settling into the brand-new Upward Stars Complex. The team won the NPSL South Atlantic Conference in 2014 with a 7W-3L-0T record. The team was bounced 4-2 by Tulsa Athletics in the Regional Semi-Finals that postseason. 2015 was a totally different campaign as the team finished in the basement of the South Atlantic Conference with a 1W-7L-4T record and ceased operations before the 2016 season.
Greenville FC: 2018-2019, NPSL, Sirrine Stadium
Greenville FC played two seasons in the Upstate as part of the NPSL Southeast Conference. The team finished in 7th place with a 4W-7L-3T record in 2018 and followed that with a 2nd place finish in 2019 posting a 5W-1L-4T mark. Greenville and Asheville City always had a great rivalry on the field and Asheville defeated Greenville 1-0 a.e.t. in 2019 to knock GVL FC out of the NPSL playoffs. The team folded before the 2020 season.
All of these South Carolina soccer franchises may be gone…but they aren’t forgotten. Their history is part of our current soccer success and teams like the Triumph, Soda City, Electric City, SCU Heat, Charleston United, Boiling Springs, SCU Bantams, Emerald City, River City, Palmetto Athletic, and Liberty ae just writing the next chapters of our shared Palmetto State soccer story.
Look for future articles in this series where some of the epic matches and important players and coaches have their stories shared here in the Palmetto State Rewind.