Croatian Eagles
Soccer club / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Croatian Eagles Soccer Club (Croatian: NK Hrvatski Orlovi) is an American soccer team that plays in the United Premier Soccer League. The club was established in 1922 by Croatian Americans, and is one of the oldest continuously run soccer club in North America.[1] According to legend, the club was originally going to be named "NK Hrvatski Sokole" but the founders of the club were not able to translate "Sokole". The club's biggest rivals are the United Serbians Soccer Club and Milwaukee Bavarian SC.
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Full name | Croatian Eagles Soccer Club | ||
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Founded | 1922 | ||
Stadium | Croatian Park Franklin, Wisconsin | ||
Capacity | 2,500 | ||
Board President | Fredy Jany | ||
Head Coach | Chris Logan | ||
League | United Premier Soccer League | ||
2015 | 5th | ||
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Current season |
The club participated in the 2006 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. They were champs of the Wisconsin Adult Soccer Association's Challenge Cup five times, from 1999 to 2003.[2] The club is also a regular participant in the Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament which they have previously hosted 4 times and they last hosted in 2017. They have not won a tournament to date.
The Croatian Eagles represented the state of Wisconsin at the USSF National Amateur Cup Region II in Bowling Green, KY (6/27/08-6/29/08). They completed the tournament with a 2–1 victory over the St. Louis Scott Gallagher team. The women's team has won the open cup and is in regionals. This men's team has many players who eventually play professional soccer throughout the world. Many players from the Majors team at Croatian Eagles Soccer Club have many Division 1 along with Division 2 and 3 players in the summers.
The Croatian Eagles also have a growing youth program with many teams that complete in the Wisconsin Developmental Academy and Midwest Regional League. The former director of coaching, Scott Suprise, has grown the youth program of Croatian Eagles from one team in 1998, to 34 teams at the end of 2016. The club uses the youth program to uniquely feed college, post-college, and professional players to their Premier League of America team, headed by current coach, Chris Logan.
On Sunday July 22, 2012, the Croatian Eagles represented the state of Wisconsin at the USASA National Cup winning 3–2 over the ASC New Star's from Texas and were national Champions for 2012.[3] They automatically qualified for competing in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The 2015 season saw Croatian Eagles enter their men's team in the fledgling Great Lakes Premier League along with teams from Illinois and Michigan. They finished fifth that season, and continued with the league, re-branded as the Premier League of America until that league merged with the United Premier Soccer League.