It's official. A semi-professional soccer team is coming to Northeast Ohio in 2026.
Wednesday morning, the United Soccer League announced that Lorain County will be the home of a new USL League Two club.
“The focus on community engagement and providing a clear development structure for local players is exactly what makes League Two clubs special,” said Joel Nash, USL SVP of Youth and Pre-Professional Properties. “Lorain County’s new team has the opportunity to become a pillar of its community, and with the ambition in its leadership group we are excited to see what’s in store.”
The team's home field will be ForeFront Field, the Lake Erie Crushers' stadium, and will face opponents from Toledo, Cleveland, and Akron as part of the USL's Great Forest Division in League Two’s Central Conference.
News 5 first covered the team coming to Lorain County when the owners were finalizing an agreement for the team to play at a converted field at the Crushers' stadium. Officials with the team said it will utilize about 75% of the field.
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The team is guided by an ownership group, led by Chairman Andrew McDonnell, who was recently a minority owner of Akron FC.
“Lorain County has such a proud sporting tradition, and soccer is the next chapter of that story,” McDonnell said. “This community deserves a club that reflects its spirit and provides opportunities for players and fans right here at home. The club has already established relationships with a number of local businesses, civic leaders and local youth soccer clubs, and it is only just the beginning.”
When we spoke with McDonnell in August, he said many USL2 teams average 4,000 fans per game. The Annapolis Blues, a team with a fanbase similar in size to Lorain County's, has regularly attracted 10,000 fans.
The team, which has yet to be named, will be at the pre-professional level of the U.S. professional soccer “pyramid.” It will be part of USL2, which is two tiers below Major League Soccer (MLS) teams, like the Columbus Crew or Cincinnati FC.
