BUFFALO, N.Y. — Countless New Yorkers start playing soccer in their formative years, and across the state there are programs and clubs whose mission it is to see those who commit, succeed. FC Buffalo has solidified itself as a cornerstone of Western New York and national competition.
“There’s a market for it,” said Ashton Jell, midfielder for the FC Buffalo men’s team. “People are always going to be there for the sport. It’s the best sport in the world. And obviously super excited to see what that looks like in the future.”
That future starts now for so many pro-am teams like the 716’s own club.
“It’s super important to play at a high level over the summer to stay sharp, stay fit,” Jell added. “But it means even more to be able to come home to Buffalo to play for my city.”
The season kicks off in mid-May; the men play at the top amateur tier of USL 2 and the women play in the similarly leveled USL-W.
“There’s a lot of people, a lot of little kids out there who obviously want to be on those fields one day, too, and playing at this level that we are,” said goalkeeper for the FC Buffalo Women’s crew, Shea Vanderbosch, who also tends the net for the Syracuse University side. “So I think it honestly pushes everyone in Buffalo to want to reach that level. And I think it’s something that everyone can look forward to, and you can shoot for that. And you know that anything’s possible with that.”
At the head of the entire club are a handful of people, including club president Nick Mendola.
“This basically started out of nothing. There was kind of a gap. There was a place, a spot to fill and we filled it,” said Mendola.” What started as me and a bunch of dudes were in my wedding, you know, trying to see if we could make something happen has really turned into something long lasting and, in my opinion, pretty special.”
Mendola and company have grown the blue and gold from humble beginnings in 2009 to a major steppingstone for local athletes.
“Our first league games were in New Jersey and Baltimore, and that was tough,” he said. “Now I think you’ve had teams that have showed up that you can get a crowd, that you can put a team together, that you can get a real spirit behind it. Dots start to get connected. And it becomes a lot easier when your road trip is an hour and a half, rather than eight or nine hours.”
The league and the sport continue to see growth and with them, the communities they play for.
“The games are super high, intense games. The rivalries are there, the level’s there. I know that we have a fan support club as well,” said Jell.
“For me, when I come back here and play soccer in Buffalo, it’s just like there’s a piece of me that I’ll always carry with me, no matter where I go,” said Vanderbosch. “I think just the atmosphere alone just honestly gets everyone going. It’s really, truly something.”
The women are coming off a second league final they hosted but feel just short of claiming last season, while the men missed a spot by mere points, which means chasing greatness is on the horizon this season.
“That’s where we want to be. We want to make it to the postseason. We want to win our league table and move on and see what we can do in postseason,” said Jell.
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