Rosevelt SC to Kick Off 10th Season in the Maine State Premier League (March 26)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club will kick off its decennial season in the Maine State Premier League (MSPL) this weekend, when three of its teams host their season-openers.
The state-based league is administered by Soccer Maine and affiliated with U.S. Youth Soccer, and it’s the league Rosevelt SC teams have competed in every season since the club’s founding in 2015—except in 2020 when it was canceled due to COVID-19.
“When we attended our first league meeting in 2014, there were serious conversations about whether the MSPL had a future due to a couple franchise programs opting to register their teams in a New England-based league,” said Rosevelt SC chairman John Morgan. “But the MSPL has consistently grown in both quality and quantity over the last decade, and we’re proud of the work our club and our fellow MSPL clubs around Maine have put into improving the league.”
The league’s 12U-19U teams will play a 6-game schedule between March 30 and May 18, and bracket playoffs and finals will be played the weekend of May 31-June 1.
“Our league has improved quite a bit over the last ten years, but we still have room for improvement and growth on and off the field.”
Rosevelt SC Establishes Goal of Qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup by 2030 (March 19)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club has established a goal of qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup by 2030.
The competition, which was started in 1914, is a unique competition in the United States in that it features both professional and amateur clubs playing against each other. The first round of the 2025 edition of the U.S. Open Cup kicked off yesterday, and thirty-two games between professional and amateur teams are being played all across the United States this week—including in Lewiston, when the Portland Hearts of Pine make its U.S. Open Cup debut against the Massachusetts-based amateur club CD Faialense on Thursday.
“Ever since the Hearts of Pine ownership announced their intentions of bringing professional soccer to Maine, they’ve been expanding the aspirations and capacity for homegrown soccer in Maine,” said Rosevelt SC chairman John Morgan. “It’s taken our state’s soccer stakeholders longer than it should have to start building the infrastructure for amateur men’s and women’s clubs in Maine, but we’re now in the position where the U.S. Open Cup can be the lodestar for our club and other multigenerational amateur clubs in Maine.”
Working with the newly-sanctioned Maine Soccer Association and other Maine-based clubs, Rosevelt SC is continuing its work developing 23U Men’s and 23U Women’s programming this summer, while working with other state associations in New Hampshire and Vermont to gradually develop U.S. Open Cup qualifying league in northern New England by 2028.
“It’s a really exciting time to be involved in Maine soccer, and our future has never been brighter!”
Rosevelt SC Announces Yosaku Scholarship (March 12)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club is collaborating with Yosaku restaurant to provide annual scholarships to the club’s oldest players.
The idea was proposed by Ram Tray, the chef and owner of the Portland restaurant, and the Rosevelt SC’s board of directors approved the scholarship offer a few weeks ago. “We’re really grateful for Ram’s generosity,” said club chairman John Morgan. “He’s one of our charter coaches, and we’re really proud that he’s still interested in contributing to our club.”
Tray’s motivation for providing the scholarship is to recognize the commitment and loyalty of players who play with the club all four years of their high school career, so all players who play with the club as 15U, 16U, 17U, and 18U/19U players will be eligible for the scholarship at the end of their senior year. The total scholarship fund will be distributed among the players who qualify each year, so the player-by-player total will likely be a partial refund of registration fees that varies depending on the number of eligible applicants on a year-to-year basis.
“We’ve always appreciated the Tray family’s support and contributions to our club since our founding, and the Yosaku Scholarship is the perfect embodiment of that support and those contributions,” Morgan said.
Maine Soccer Association Approved as a Member of U.S. Soccer (March 5)
The U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) approved the Maine Soccer Association (MSA) as a Member at the USSF’s 2025 Annual General Meeting in Atlanta this past weekend, and the MSA is now a member of both the USSF and the U.S. Adult Soccer Association (USASA).
“This is a big deal for our club, because we’re a founding member of the MSA and have played an integral role in the association’s progress,” said Rosevelt SC chairman John Morgan, who is also the chairman of the Maine Soccer Association. “Our club’s short-term goal is to qualify for the U.S. Open Cup by 2030, and the MSA’s ability to develop a sanctioned qualifying league for Maine clubs dovetails with that goal.”
The Maine Soccer Association’s primary goal is to develop more men’s and women’s club programming in Maine, and it has organized and administered 23U Men’s and 23U Women’s programming featuring five Maine clubs the last couple summers to build the foundation for a U.S. Open Cup qualifying league.
According to Morgan, there are efforts underway to develop such a league for clubs in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont by 2028.
Rosevelt SC Announces ‘Positive Developmental Experiences’ Goals for 2024-2025 Season (February 26)
Following up on its inaugural goals for “Positive Developmental Experiences” (PDE) last season, the Rosevelt Soccer Club has announced its teams’ PDE goals for the 2024-2025 season.
The goals are for Rosevelt SC 12U-19U teams to earn a positive result (i.e., a win or a tie) in at least 50% of their Maine State Premier League games, earn a positive result in at least 33% of their showcase or tournament games, and play in competitive games (i.e., results +/-3 goals) at least 70% of the time. “We track the results of all of our 12U-19U teams in official competitions,” explained club chairman John Morgan, “and that data helps us strike the balance between our youth players’ long-term development and their teams’ positive results in competitive games.”
Rosevelt SC to Host Member Feedback Sessions (January 30)
The Rosevelt Soccer will be hosting member feedback sessions as part of its RSC 2030 Committee work next Thursday (2/7) at Westbrook High School.
“We celebrated our club’s tenth season last year,” explained Rosevelt SC chairman John Morgan, “and we want to give our members opportunities to be involved in our process of re-evaluating every aspect of our club as we prepare for our next decade of achievements and milestones.”
The initial feedback session next week will be focused primarily on club governance and other off-field topics, while the second member feedback session on March 6 will focus on programming and other on-field topics.
Rosevelt SC Brings Back Club Mentor Program (January 22)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club has restored its Club Mentor program this season, after first launching the program during the 2020-2021 season.
The program, which pairs up some of the the club’s oldest players with its youngest teams, is intended to provide public service opportunities for its older players and mentors to its younger players.
“The program strengthens our community and the game by empowering our club’s older players to grow as leaders and role models,” said one of the club’s directors Stephanie Harvie, “and it provides our younger players with the support and encouragement they need to find joy in the game and succeed on and off the field.”
So far this season, four of the club’s RSC Academy (19U) players are alternating in pairs to work with RSC Futures (9U) players every other Sunday morning, and there are still opportunities available for more Club Mentors to work with the club’s 10U and 11U teams every other week.
Sawyer is First Former Player to Become Co-Owner of Rosevelt SC (January 15)
Andrew Sawyer has become the first former player to become a co-owner of the Rosevelt Soccer Club, after completing his fifth season of coaching with the club last season.
When Rosevelt SC reincorporated as an independent club, the organization instituted an ownership model that provided its directors and coaches opportunities to earn ownership equity in the club through years of service. And Sawyer, a charter player who joined the club as a U15 player in 2014, is the first former player to also become a co-owner through that pathway.
“I would like to thank the people, coaches, and family for teaching me and pushing me into the place I am today,” Sawyer said. “RSC is in my blood and for more than 10 years, and it’s truly an honor to be a co-owner.”
Besides having an ownership stake in the club, Sawyer and his fellow 21 co-owners are involved in decision-making processes like selecting the club’s directors when there’s a vacancy.
“The motto of one of our core communities is ‘Grow with us,’” explained club chairman John Morgan, “and Andrew has grown with our club as we’ve grown: He was a charter youth player our first season, he captained our first 23U Men’s team, and now he’s our first homegrown co-owner.”
Rosevelt SC Reintroduces Futsal in Youth Programming (January 8)
After going a couple seasons without futsal as part of its youth programming, Rosevelt SC has reintroduced futsal as part of all of its youth teams’ winter programming on a limited basis starting in January.
“Most of our youth teams’ training sessions this season will still be played on turf at the Gorham Sports Center or on grass at Gambo Fields,” explained Rosevelt SC chairman John Morgan, “but we’re excited to reincorporate indoor and outdoor futsal as part of of all our youth teams’ programming again this season. Our futsal sessions are energetic, fast-paced, and they help our players improve their technical skills, creativity, and quick decision-making.
The club is partnering with the Town of Gorham by using Shaw Gym for a couple sessions every Sunday through April, and will continue its partnership with the City of Westbrook by using the Cornelia Warren Four Season Rink on Wednesday evenings in the spring.
“Gorham and Westbrook are two of our club’s core communities, and we’re excited to continue to build those community-based relationships on and off the field by contributing to the growing futsal culture in southern Maine,” Morgan said.
Rosevelt SC to Collaborate with Junction Bowl to Co-Host EPL Viewing Parties (January 4)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club will be collaborating with Junction Bowl in Gorham to co-host monthly viewing parties of English Premier League games this season.
The first viewing party will be on Saturday, January 18 when Arsenal vs. Aston Villa will be broadcast on NBC at 12:30p, and the remaining dates will be the third Saturday of each month: February 15, March 15, April 19, and May 17. The times for those dates have not yet been finalized due to unpublished broadcast schedules.
“Junction Bowl has been our club’s apparel sponsor for four seasons now, and we’re excited to partner with Ben Smith and his team again on a series of viewing parties. It’s a great atmosphere, the food is delicious, and it’s a really good opportunity for our members and the general public to hang out and watch soccer together,” said Rosevelt SC chairman John Morgan.
Besides having TVs designated for the games, the club will also be organizing prize contests and pay for two hours of bowling on a couple bowling lanes for their players to use.
Rosevelt SC to Kick Off 11th Season (Friday, January 3)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club is officially kicking off its eleventh season this afternoon, when its 10U and 11U teams host their first training sessions of the season.
“Last season was all about celebrating our tenth anniversary and recognizing ten key milestones our club accomplished in our first decade,” said club chairman John Morgan. “The focus this season will be on maintaining that momentum, while also working on what our club’s next ten years should look like.”
Along with the club’s two youngest teams, all of its other youth teams will be hosting their first training sessions of the season over the weekend before all 10U-19U teams begin their regular programming next week. Those teams’ two weekly training sessions will take place at either the Gorham Sports Center or at Shaw Gym in Gorham.
“We’re so grateful for the positive working relationship we’ve developed with the Gorham Sports Center over the last 11 years,” Morgan explained, “and we’re really excited about developing a positive working relationship with the Town of Gorham by reintroducing futsal as part of our programming on a limited basis.”
Rosevelt SC Chairman Interviewed for Maine Soccer Documentary (Monday, December 30)
The Rosevelt Soccer Club’s chairman John Morgan was interviewed Monday by a Knack Factory documentary crew at the Gorham Sports Center.
Knack Factory is a Maine-based production company, and the firm has been working on a documentary series about the development of the professional soccer club now known as the Portland Hearts of Pine since 2021.
“Today’s interview was a freshening of an interview we did in May 2021,” Morgan explained, “and the crew has been really busy documenting all of Hearts of Pine’s milestone developments over the last six months.”
The series, which will primarily be focused on the Hearts of Pines inaugural season as a professional club, will also feature other storylines about Maine soccer in general.
“Kurt Graser is the owner of Knack Factory and the lead producer of the series, but he’s also a soccer guy and really passionate about Maine soccer,” Morgan said. “The series will obviously focus on Hearts, but Kurt also understands and wants to depict how Maine’s soccer culture in general might both influence and be impacted by Maine’s first professional soccer club.”
As for the timeline of the documentary’s release and its broadcast or streaming platform, those details haven’t yet been finalized.
“It sounds like they have promising leads for getting it seen sooner than later, but they already have a great working title and the rough cut of the series trailer is really good,” Morgan hinted.