Rochester FC announced today that they will be moving to the USL League Two and the USL W League, bringing the city of Rochester it’s first club in the league.
It places the the club founded by former Med City players Midhat Mujic and Muharem Dedic at a higher level in the somewhat objective tiers within pre-professional American soccer, with USL League Two by and far seen as the best of the various leagues at that level. A stylish new badge was also included in the announcement.
The original press conference regarding this news can also be found here.
The move puts Rochester FC, who have played in the UPSL up to this point, at an equal and perhaps higher pedestal than their neighbors, 2022 NPSL North conference champions Med City, providing an interesting new narrative to explore in Rochester and Southern Minnesotan soccer.
The move would also make a major impact on women’s soccer. It would give Rochester it’s second high level pre-professional women’s side, along with the WPSL’s Rochester United, and give Minnesota it’s second ever USL W League side, the other being the globally known 2022 Runner up’s Minnesota Aurora. This will mark a massive upgrade in regard to Rochester FC’s women’s program, having previously only fielded a men’s adult side.
The club first played in the UPSL in 2019, taking part in the Midwest-West. They held a 7-1-2 WDL record, earning 21 points and finishing second, just behind Vlora.
With the 2020 season canceled, RFC would return to the pitch in 2021 to a new look Midwest-West. They would go 2-1-5, earning just 7 points and finishing seventh out of nine places.
Rochester had a difficult season in 2022, finishing with two wins, two draws, and six losses. That said, the club has continued to develop its identity as a locally focused club, taking on a large sum of high school and collegiate talent that calls Rochester or neighboring towns and cities like Austin or Albert Lea.
This move will take form in 2023, so Rochester will have time to adjust to their new league, which we won’t see them play in for some time. That said, it’s an exciting move that sees USL League Two secure a third club in Minnesota following Minneapolis City and St. Croix Legends and sees the W League become an increasingly key part of Minnesota’s lower league landscape.
You can read more about the W League portion of this move via the league’s website, here.
For more on the move, make sure to follow Sota Soccer as well as Rochester FC’s various social media accounts, which will surely include more details about the move.
Andrew Nelson