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The 2021 Birmingham Legion FC season was the club's third season of existence and their third in the USL Championship, the second tier of American soccer.
| 2021 season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owners | List
| |||
| Head coach | Tom Soehn | |||
| Stadium | BBVA Field | |||
| USL Championship | Central Div.: 2nd | |||
| USL Championship Playoffs | Conf. Semifinals | |||
| Biggest win | BIR 6–0 SKC (10/24) | |||
| Biggest defeat | LOU 2–0 BIR (6/16) TUL 3–1 BIR (8/17) | |||
|
| ||||
- As of May 17, 2021[1]
| No. | Pos. | Player | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | GK | Ford Parker |  United States |
| 1 | GK | Matt Van Oekel | United States |
| 2 | MF | Marcos Ugarte | United States |
| 3 | DF | Phanuel Kavita |  DR Congo |
| 4 | DF | Freddy Kleemann (on loan from Austin FC) | United States |
| 5 | MF | Mikey Lopez | United States |
| 6 | MF | Anderson Asiedu |  Ghana |
| 7 | DF | Ryan James |  Canada |
| 8 | MF | Bruno Lapa |  Brazil |
| 10 | FW | Prosper Kasim | Ghana |
| 11 | FW | Neco Brett |  Jamaica |
| 12 | MF | Eli Crognale | United States |
| 13 | DF | Jake Rufe | United States |
| 16 | MF | Daigo Kobayashi |  Japan |
| 17 | MF | Jaden Servania |  Puerto Rico |
| 18 | GK | Trevor Spangenberg | United States |
| 20 | MF | Zach Herivaux |  Haiti |
| 21 | DF | Alex Crognale | United States |
| 22 | DF | Ben Ofeimu | United States |
| 23 | FW | JJ Williams | United States |
| 24 | DF | Jonathan Dean | United States |
| 25 | MF | Jackson Wrobel ([A]) | United States |
| 77 | FW | Junior Flemmings | Jamaica |
- ^ USL Academy Contract
Exhibitions
| March 13 Preseason 1 | Birmingham Legion | 2–0 | Chattanooga FC | |
| Report |
| March 28 Preseason 2 | Birmingham Legion | 0–0 | Atlanta United FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 11:30 AM CDT | Report | Stadium: BBVA Field |
| March 28 Preseason 3 | Birmingham Legion | 0–1 | Atlanta United FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 02:00 PM CDT | Report | Walkes  33' |
Stadium: BBVA Field |
| April 9 Preseason 4 | Birmingham Legion | Cancelled | Nashville SC | |
| Report |
| April 17 Preseason 5 | Birmingham Legion | 4–1 | Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | Birmingham, AL |
| 10:30 AM CDT | Report | Stadium: BBVA Field |
USL Championship
Standings — Central Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville City FC | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 61 | 37 | +24 | 61 | Advance to USL Championship Playoffs |
| 2 | Birmingham Legion FC | 32 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 51 | 31 | +20 | 60 | |
| 3 | Memphis 901 FC | 32 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 50 | |
| 4 | FC Tulsa | 32 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 47 | |
| 5 | OKC Energy FC | 32 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 30 | 38 | −8 | 37 |
Source: USL
Results summary
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 8 | +1 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 |
Source: USLC Standings
Results by round
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | L |
Match results
Birmingham's schedule was announced on March 30 featuring 32 matches, 28 of which were contested against Central Division opponents.[2]
| May 1 1 | Birmingham Legion | 0–1 | Indy Eleven | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Asiedu  61' Williams  87' |
Report | Arteaga 28' Hamilton 90+5' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Attendance: 0 Referee: Greg Dopka |
| May 8 2 | Louisville City | 1–1 | Birmingham Legion | Louisville, KY |
| 6:30 PM CDT | McMahon 3' 58' Hubbard 60' DelPiccolo 60' Souahy 74' Gómez 90' |
Report | Brett 60' (pen.) |
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 7,652 Referee: Joshua Encarnación |
| May 15 3 | Birmingham Legion | 1–0 | Memphis 901 | Birmingham, AL |
| 3:30 PM CDT | Asiedu 10' Rufe 53' Brett 60' |
Report | Carroll 20' Oduro 57' |
Stadium: Legion Field Attendance: 10,177 Referee: Kyle Johnston |
| May 22 4 | San Antonio | 2–1 | Birmingham Legion | San Antonio, TX |
| 7:30 PM CDT | Patiño 1' 18' Varela 25' Cuello 60' Fogaça 74' Lindley 81' Perruzza 81' |
Report | Kavita 18' Brett 90+4' |
Stadium: Toyota Field Attendance: 3,845 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk |
| May 26 5 | Birmingham Legion | 1–0 | OKC Energy | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Lapa 49' Kleemann 51' |
Report | Brown 18' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Attendance: ? Referee: Matthew Thompson |
| May 30 6 | Atlanta United 2 | 0–1 | Birmingham Legion | Kennesaw, GA |
| 2:30 PM CDT | Mertz 49' Allan 73' |
Report | Herivaux 89' Lapa 90+3' (pen.) |
Stadium: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Referee: Thomas Snyder |
| June 6 7 | Birmingham Legion | 2–1 | FC Tulsa | Birmingham, AL |
| 4:00 PM CDT | Brett 30', 75' James 43' |
Report | Folla 47' Suarez 83' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Elvis Osmanovic |
| June 12 8 | OKC Energy | 1–2 | Birmingham Legion | Oklahoma City, OK |
| 7:30 PM CDT | Bijev 50', 73' (pen.) |
Report | Brett 3' Asiedu 37' James 66' Oekel 73' Williams 83' |
Stadium: Taft Stadium Attendance: 2,049 Referee: Mark Allatin |
| June 16 9 | Louisville City | 2–0 | Birmingham Legion | Louisville, KY |
| 6:30 PM CDT | McCabe 24' Lancaster 25' (pen.) Matsoso 48' |
Report | A. Crognale 90' |
Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Referee: Lukasz Szpala |
| June 19 10 | Birmingham Legion | P–P | Austin Bold | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Jonathan Bilinski | |||
| Note: Match postponed due to inclement weather.[3] | ||||
| June 23 11 | Miami FC | 0–1 | Birmingham Legion | Miami, FL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Ballard 19' Akinyode 67' Martínez 89' |
Report | Williams 4' A. Crognale 40' Asiedu 70' Herivaux 79' Brett 82' Lopez 89' |
Stadium: FIU Soccer Stadium Referee: John Griggs |
| June 30 12 | Birmingham Legion | A–A | Atlanta United 2 | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | James 24' Brett 41' |
Report | McFadden 13' Kamdem Fewo 19' Washington 30' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Matthew Corrigan |
| Note: Match abandoned at half-time due to weather with score tied at 1–1[4] | ||||
| July 3 13 | Indy Eleven | 0–1 | Birmingham Legion | Indianapolis, IN |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Ouimette 7' Ayoze 76' |
Report | Brett 8' (pen.) Lapa 29' Servania 65' |
Stadium: Michael A. Carroll Stadium Attendance: 6,999 Referee: Jervis Atagana |
| July 10 14 | Birmingham Legion | 0–1 | Memphis 901 FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | James 62' |
Report | Salazar 27' Oduro 45+2' Murphy 53' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Joshua Encarnación |
| July 24 15 | Indy Eleven | 1–2 | Birmingham Legion | Indianapolis, IN |
| 6:00 PM CDT | Kavita 77' (o.g.) |
Report | Servania 45+1' Kasim 54' A. Crognale 64' Dean 90+1' |
Stadium: Michael A. Carroll Stadium Attendance: 5,999 Referee: Kevin Fikar |
| July 31 16 | Birmingham Legion | 2–2 | Atlanta United 2 | Birmingham, AL |
| 8:00 PM | Lopez 52' Brett 66' (pen.) Flemmings 69' Dean 80' A. Crognale 90+1' |
Report | McFadden 35' Fortune 56' Kamdem Fewo 65' Mertz 86' Matheus 90+6' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: John Matto |
| August 4 12 | Birmingham Legion | 3–1 | Atlanta United 2 | Birmingham, AL |
| 8:00 PM | Williams 11' Lopez 49'Flemmings 51' Dean 81' E. Crognale 89' |
Report | Goodrum 9' McFadden 40' Bauer 62' Fortune 90+3' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Ben Meyer |
| Note: Re-schedule of abandoned June 30 match.[5] | ||||
| August 7 17 | FC Tulsa | 3–1 | Birmingham Legion | Tulsa, OK |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Jadama 71' Sheldon 25' Marlon 88', 89' Kibato 90+1' Ayagwa 80' |
Report | Brett 45+1', 66' (pen.) Vancaeyezeele 77' Rufe 84' |
Stadium: ONEOK Field Attendance: 3,389 Referee: Jeremy Scheer |
| August 11 18 | Birmingham Legion | 4–2 | Sporting Kansas City II | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM | Brett 7' Williams 70' Flemmings 81' Asiedu 90+1' |
Report | Čuić 4' Duke 68' Roberts 74' Barbir 90+3' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: John Griggs |
| August 14 19 | Memphis 901 FC | 1–1 | Birmingham Legion | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:30 PM CDT | Murphy 58' |
Report | Flemmings 37' |
Stadium: AutoZone Park Attendance: 4,864 Referee: Gabriele Giusti |
| August 22 20 | Birmingham Legion | 1–2 | FC Tulsa | Birmingham, AL |
| 4:00 PM CDT | Flemmings 68' |
Report | Johnson 8' Suárez 56' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Sergii Demianchuk |
| August 28 21 | Birmingham Legion | 2–1 | Louisville City FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Dean 16' Lopez 44' Brett 51' Williams 78' |
Report | Watts 50' DelPiccolo 62' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Brad Jensen |
| September 1 22 | Sporting Kansas City II | 0–1 | Birmingham Legion | Kansas City, KS |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Report | Kasim 42' Lopez 63' Williams 69' |
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Referee: Brandon Stevis |
| September 4 23 | Memphis 901 FC | 3–2 | Birmingham Legion | Memphis,TN |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Kissiedou 45+2' Lamah 90+3' Gonzalez 90+6' |
Report | Kasim 42' Vancaeyezeele 43' Dean 70' A. Crognale 79' E. Crognale 83' Lopez 87' |
Stadium: AutoZone Park Attendance: 3,162 Referee: Luis Guardia |
| September 11 24 | FC Tulsa | 1–1 | Birmingham Legion | Tulsa, OK |
| 7pm CDT | Da Costa 12' Suárez 29' (pen.) Coutinho 88' |
Report | Kasim 53' Lopez 65' Williams 80' |
Stadium: ONEOK Field Attendance: 3,439 Referee: Natalie Simon |
| September 18 25 | Birmingham Legion | 1–1 | OKC Energy | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Flemmings 47' Lopez 55' |
Report | Kurimoto 35' Bijev 39' Batista 65' Ellis-Hayden 81' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Matthew Franz |
| September 22 26 | Atlanta United 2 | 0–4 | Birmingham Legion | Kennesaw, GA |
| 7:30 PM | Conway 47' Matheus 56' Kamdem Fewo 88' |
Report | Vancaeyezeele 17' Servania 71' Brett 78', 90+3' Kasim 82' |
Stadium: Fifth Third Bank Stadium Attendance: 717 Referee: Luis Arroyo |
| September 26 27 | Birmingham Legion | 2–1 | Charlotte Independence | Birmingham, AL |
| 4:00 PM CDT | Asiedu 21' Brett 25' Williams 41' Lopez 66' E. Crognale 70' Herivaux 85' |
Report | Fuchs 16' Armour 82' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Gerald Flores |
| October 1 28 | Sporting Kansas City II | 0–1 | Birmingham Legion | Kansas City, KS |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Davis 56' |
Report | A. Crognale 10' Lopez 52' |
Stadium: Children's Mercy Park Referee: DeShun Beard |
| October 10 29 | Birmingham Legion | 3–1 | Indy Eleven | Birmingham, AL |
| 4:00 PM CDT | Brett 8' Kavita 45' Vancaeyezeele 54' E. Crognale 74' Rufe 90+4', 90+4' |
Report | Law 42' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Sergii Demianchuk |
| October 13 10 | Birmingham Legion | 3–1 | Austin Bold | Birmingham, AL |
| 7:00 PM CDT | Taylor 15' (o.g.) Brett 75' Lapa 82' Kavita 90+3' |
Report | Adaptation 23', 61' Báez 26' Rissi 88' Guadarrama 90+3' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: John Griggs |
| Note: Re-schedule of postponed June 19th match. | ||||
| October 17 30 | OKC Energy FC | 0–0 | Birmingham Legion | Oklahoma City, OK |
| 5:00 PM CDT | Osmond 90+3' Chavez 90+5' |
Report | A. Crognale 52' Asiedu 88' Lopez 90+2' Kavita 90+4' |
Stadium: Taft Stadium Attendance: 3,246 Referee: Jeremy Scheer |
| October 24 31 | Birmingham Legion | 6–0 | Sporting Kansas City II | Birmingham, AL |
| 4:00 PM | Herivaux 4', 63' Lapa 18', 39' Brett 31' Kavita 40' Asiedu 45' Flemmings 70' Kasim 76' |
Report | Lenis 86' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Greg Dopka |
| October 30 32 | Birmingham Legion | 0–1 | Louisville City FC | Birmingham, AL |
| 6:30 PM CDT | Asiedu 34' James 87' |
Report | Jimenez 38' Gomez 55' Gonzalez 75' Hoppenot 82' |
Stadium: BBVA Field Referee: Matthew Thompson |
USL Cup Playoffs
| November 7 Conf. QF | Birmingham Legion | w/o | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC | Birmingham, AL |
| 4:00 PM CST | Report | Stadium: BBVA Field | ||
| Note: Match canceled after multiple Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players tested positive for COVID-19.[6] | ||||
| November 13 Conf. SF | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1–0 | Birmingham Legion | St. Petersburg, FL |
| 6:00 CST | Ekra 57' Scarlett 90+4' |
Report | A. Crognale 39' Kasim 46'E. Crognale 89'Williams 90+3' |
Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 5,949 Referee: Elton García |
Appearances and goals
| No. | Pos. | Name | USL | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 1 | GK | Matt Van Oekel |
9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | Marcos Ugarte |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Phanuel Kavita |
9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Freddy Kleemann |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Mikey Lopez |
4 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Anderson Asiedu |
9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Ryan James |
9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Bruno Lapa |
9 | 2 | 9 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | Prosper Kasim |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Neco Brett |
9 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| 12 | MF | Eli Crognale |
9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Jake Rufe |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Daigo Kobayashi |
6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Jaden Servania |
8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Zachary Herivaux |
6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Alex Crognale |
5 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Ben Ofeimu |
7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | JJ Williams |
8 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | Jonathan Dean |
8 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 77 | FW | Junior Flemmings |
6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Source: Stats
Disciplinary record
| No. | Pos. | Name | USL | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | | | |||
| 1 | GK | Matt Van Oekel |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Phanuel Kavita |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Freddy Kleemann |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Anderson Asiedu |
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Ryan James |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Jake Rufe |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Zachary Herivaux |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Alex Crognale |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | JJ Williams |
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Stats
Clean sheets
| No. | Name | USL | Total | Games Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Ford Parker |
0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Matt Van Oekel |
3 | 3 | 9 |
| 18 | Trevor Spangenberg |
0 | 0 | 0 |
Source: Stats
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