Western Mass Pioneers
- Leagues Played
- USA - USL League Two 79 USA USL PDL 28 USA - US Open Cup 3
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FC Boston
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AC Connecticut
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Seacoast United Phantoms
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[7] Westchester Flames
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[5] FC Boston
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[2] GPS Portland Phoenix
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Western Mass Pioneers
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| USA USL PDL | 05/31 23:30 | 1 |
[7] FC Boston
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Western Mass Pioneers
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D | 1-1 | |
| USA USL PDL | 05/26 23:30 | 1 |
[4] Western Mass Pioneers
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GPS Portland Phoenix
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W | 2-0 | |
| USA USL PDL | 05/21 20:00 | 1 |
Western Mass Pioneers
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Westchester Flames
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W | 2-0 | |
| USA USL PDL | 05/19 23:00 | 1 |
AC Connecticut
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Western Mass Pioneers
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| USA USL PDL | 05/13 22:00 | 1 |
Seacoast United Phantoms
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Western Mass Pioneers
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Wikipedia - Western Mass Pioneers
Western Mass Pioneers is an American soccer team based in Ludlow, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
The team plays its home games at Lusitano Stadium, where they have played since 1998. The team's colors are red, black and white.
History
In August 1997, the USISL announced it had awarded an expansion franchise to Gremio Lusitano, an amateur soccer club based in Ludlow, Massachusetts. The USISL had set a condition for new teams which prohibited ethnic team names which prevented the club from using the name Gremio or Lusitano. Therefore, the region's newspaper, the Springfield Union-News, held a week-long "name the team" contest which resulted in the selection of Pioneers. In October 1997, general manager Rick Andre named Leszek Wrona, who had both played for and coached Gremio Lusitano, as head coach of the Pioneers. In September 1999, the Pioneers expressed an interest in moving up to the A-League after winning the USL D-3 Pro League. However, the team elected to remain in the D-3 Pro League. In 2001, John Voight replaced Wrona has head coach. Wrona would return in 2005, leave in 2007 and return again in 2008. By 2003, the team was fielding ten Junior Pioneer youth teams which competed in the Super Y-League. Through all these years, the team has remained under the ownership of Gremio Lusitano.
On December 22, 2009, following the exodus of teams from the USL to the new North American Soccer League, the Pioneers announced that they would self-relegate, and play in the USL Premier Development League in 2010.
Pioneerernes trup består primært af spillere fra det vestlige Massachusetts, herunder mange tidligere college-spillere og lokale ungdomslandsholdsspillere. Holdet ledes af cheftræner Federico Molinari, en tidligere professionel fodboldspiller i Italien.
I deres første sæson i NPSL i 2016 sluttede Pioneers på andenpladsen i Keystone Conference med en rekord på 10-2-2. Holdet gik videre til slutspillet, hvor de tabte 2-1 til New York Cosmos B i kvartfinalen. I 2017 vandt Pioneers Keystone Conference med en rekord på 12-1-1 og nåede igen slutspillet, hvor de tabte 2-0 til FC Motown i semifinalen. I 2018 gik Pioneers ubesejret i den regulære sæson med en rekord på 14-0-0 og vandt igen Keystone Conference. Holdet nåede finalen i slutspillet, hvor de tabte 2-1 til Miami FC 2.
Pioneererne er kendt for deres stærke forsvar og evne til at score mål fra dødbolde. Holdet har også en stærk fanbase, kendt som "Pioneer Nation", der støtter holdet både hjemme og ude.
Western Mass Pioneers er et vigtigt medlem af fodboldsamfundet i det vestlige Massachusetts. Holdet giver lokale spillere mulighed for at konkurrere på et højt niveau og inspirerer unge spillere til at følge deres fodbolddrømme. Pioneers er også involveret i samfundet og deltager i forskellige velgørenhedsarrangementer.