Dayton Dutch Lions

The club was started in the fall of 2009 and co-owned by Erik Tammer of Tammer Sportmanagement and Mike Mossel of Business and Sports Performance. Tammer is a former professional soccer player in the Netherlands who played for clubs such as Heerenveen and Sparta Rotterdam, while Mossel played in Europe for RBC Roosendaal and Turnhout and in the USL for the Cincinnati Riverhawks. The team played its first competitive game on May 8, 2010, a 3–3 tie with the Cincinnati Kings. The first goal in franchise history was scored by Eddie Hertsenberg. On July 8, 2010, the Lions announced that they would be self-promoting to the USL Second Division for the 2011 season, as well as adding a brand new women's team in the USL W-League. During the announcement, team owner Mossel said "The promotion to USL-2 and development of a W-League club was just a matter of time. To be the best, we must begin to play among the upper-echelon clubs. We want to set a standard, and I believe we have done that so far in the PDL in our first season. But more importantly, our decision was made with our Premier Academy in mind.". With the merger of the USL First and Second Divisions to form USL Pro in 2011, the Dutch Lions were announced as a founding team. In 2012, the Lions reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where they defeated the MLS Columbus Crew 2–1 in the third round, then defeated the Michigan Bucks in the fourth round in extra time. They were knocked out of the tournament…