Salem City Football Club is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the "North Carolina Fusion" in the USL W League. The teams play their home games at the Crater Stadium.
History
The team, which was named "Greensboro Dynamo" until 1996,[1][2] was owned by Neil Macpherson, a passionate follower and former shareholder of English football club Nottingham Forest, as could be seen from the similarities between the crest of Greensboro Dynamo and the crest of Forest.[3]
In 2018, the Carolina Dynamo merged with NC Fusion to form "North Carolina Fusion U-23".[4] In 2023, the club was purchased by a private group who rebranded the club as "Salem City FC", seeking to link the team more directly with Winston-Salem.[5] Plans were announced in June of the 2026 USL League Two season of an eventual move to the USL League One [6]
Year-by-year
| Year | Division | League | Regular season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greensboro Dynamo | |||||
| 1993 | N/A | USISL | 1st, Atlantic | Champions | did not enter |
| 1993/94 | N/A | USISL Indoor | 3rd, Northern | withdrew after 3 games | N/A |
| 1994 | 3 | USISL | 1st, Atlantic | Champions | did not enter |
| 1995 | 3 | USISL Pro League | 6th, Atlantic | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| Carolina Dynamo | |||||
| 1996 | 2 | USISL Select League | 1st, South Atlantic | 2nd Round | Quarterfinals |
| 1997 | 2 | USISL A-League | 2nd, Atlantic | Final | did not qualify |
| 1998 | On Hiatus | ||||
| 1999 | 3 | USL D3-Pro League | 3rd, Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | 3rd Round |
| 2000 | 3 | USL D3-Pro League | 4th, Southern | Conference Semifinals | did not qualify |
| 2001 | 3 | USL D3-Pro League | 2nd, Southern | Conference Semifinals | 2nd Round |
| 2002 | 3 | USL D3-Pro League | 3rd, Southern | Quarterfinals | 1st Round |
| 2003 | 3 | USL PSL | 1st, Southern | Regional Finals | 3rd Round |
| 2004 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, Mid Atlantic | National Semifinals | 3rd Round |
| 2005 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, Mid Atlantic | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2006 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | 4th Round |
| 2007 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, Southeast | Conference Finals | did not qualify |
| 2008 | 4 | USL PDL | 6th, Southeast | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2009 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, Mid Atlantic | Divisional Semifinals | did not qualify |
| 2010 | 4 | USL PDL | 4th, Mid Atlantic | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2011 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | 1st Round |
| 2012 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, South Atlantic | Finals | 1st Round |
| 2013 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | 2nd Round |
| 2014 | 4 | USL PDL | 4th, South Atlantic | did not qualify | 2nd Round |
| 2015 | 4 | USL PDL | 4th, South Atlantic | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2016 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | did not qualify |
| 2017 | 4 | USL PDL | 10th, South Atlantic | did not qualify | 2nd Round |
| 2018 | 4 | USL PDL | 6th, South Atlantic | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| North Carolina Fusion U23 | |||||
| 2019 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | did not qualify |
| 2020 | 4 | USL League Two | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2021 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, South Atlantic | National Final | Cancelled |
| 2022 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, South Atlantic | National Semifinals | 3rd Round |
| 2023 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | 3rd Round |
| Salem City FC | |||||
| 2024 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Semifinals | did not qualify |
| 2025 | 4 | USL League Two | 1st, South Atlantic | Conference Quarterfinals | did not qualify |
Honors
Premier Development League / USL League Two
- Regular Season Champions (1): 2006
- National Championship Final (2): 2012, 2021
- Eastern Conference Champions (2): 2004, 2012
- Southern Conference Champions (2): 2021, 2022
- Division Champions (12)
- Mid Atlantic Division (1): 2004
- South Atlantic Division (10): 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Southeast Division (1): 2007
Others
- USISL Champions (2): 1993, 1994
- USISL Atlantic Division Champions (2): 1993, 1994
- USISL Select League South Atlantic Division Champions (1): 1996
- USL Pro Select/Soccer League Southern Division Champions (1): 2003
- National Amateur Cup (1): 2013
Head coaches
Michael Parker (1993–1995)- Alan Dicks (1996–1997)
Joe Brown (1999–2000)- Robert Rosario (2001)
- Joe Brown (2002–2003)
- Carl Fleming (2004)
- Joe Brown (2005–2010)
- Marc Nicholls[7] (2011–2015)
Tony Falvino[8] (2016–2018)
Chris Williams (2018–2025)- William Lennie (2026–present)
Stadium
- UNCG Soccer Stadium; Greensboro, North Carolina (1993–1996)
- A.J. Simeon Stadium; High Point, North Carolina (1996–1999)
- Macpherson Stadium; Browns Summit, North Carolina (2003–present)
- Truist Sports Park; Winston-Salem, North Carolina 3 games (2009–2010)
- Vert Stadium at High Point University; High Point, North Carolina 1 game (2010)
- Truist Point; High Point, North Carolina 3 games (2021–2021)
- Truist Sports Park; Bermuda Run, North Carolina (2024–2025)
- M. Douglas Crater Stadium; Winston-Salem, North Carolina (2026–Present)
Average attendance
Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html and Kenn.com https://kenn.com/blog/soccer/all-time-usl-third-division-attendance/, and https://kenn.com/blog/soccer/all-time-usl-league-two-attendance/.
Greensboro Dynamo
- 1993: NA Playoffs: 1,869
- 1994: NA Playoffs: 2,592
- 1995: 2,263
Carolina Dynamo
- 1996: 1,552 Playoffs: 2,187 or 1,787 Overall: 1,597 or 1,568
- 1997: 2,605 (10th in A-League) Playoffs: 1,533 Overall: 2,471
- 1999: 922
- 2000: 839
- 2001: 1,064 Playoffs: NA
- 2002: 910
- 2003: 732 Playoffs: NA
- 2004: 716 (6th in PDL) Playoffs: 948 Overall: 762
- 2005: 957 (4th in PDL)
- 2006: 1,460 (3rd in PDL) Playoffs: 1,300 Overall: 1,440
- 2007: 2,168 (3rd in PDL)
- 2008: 948 or 1,952 (4th in PDL)
- 2009: 863 or 1,048 (9th in PDL) Playoffs:NA
- 2010: 1,676 (4th in PDL) or 1,153 (7th in PDL)
- 2011: 1,703 (3rd in PDL) Playoffs: 2,519 Overall: 1,794
- 2012: 1,703 (4th in PDL) Playoffs: 3,260 Overall: 2,222
- 2013: 1,779 (4th in PDL)
- 2014: 1,866 (5th in PDL)
- 2015: 1,195 (4th in PDL)
- 2016: NA Playoffs: NA
- 2017:NA
- 2018:NA
North Carolina Fusion U23
- 2019:NA
- 2021:NA
- 2022:NA
- 2023:NA
Salem City FC
- 2024:NA
- 2025:NA
See also
References
- ↑ "Salem City FC to compete in USL League Two in 2024". USL League 2. October 18, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ Franklin III, JD (January 22, 2024). "Winston-Salem's new soccer team, Salem City FC, begins inaugural season in May 2024". Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ Ashdown, John (December 13, 2013). "The Joy of Six: weird and wonderful football club crests". theguardian.com. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Salem City FC to compete in USL League Two in 2024". USL League 2. October 18, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ Franklin III, JD (January 22, 2024). "Winston-Salem's new soccer team, Salem City FC, begins inaugural season in May 2024". Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ "Announcing Pro Soccer in Winston-Salem". Instagram.com. June 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Dynamo Name Nicholls New Coach". pdl.uslsoccer.com. February 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
- ↑ "Former Player Becomes First Alum To Lead Club". Premier Development League (PDL). March 4, 2016.
