Rapid City FC Are Crowned MLIS Eastern Division Champions

Media Contact: Victoria Galindo

Phone: 616-822-8753

Email: customerservice@rapidcityfc.com

Website: Rapidcityfc.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Grand Rapids, Michigan - On Sunday, March 19th, 2023, Rapid City Football Club (RCFC) made MLIS history again. They concluded the regular season and took the MLIS Eastern Division title by defeating Detroit Waza Flo 13 to 4.

The Division Title wasn’t the only attraction of Sunday’s game. Braeleigh McCoy (Grand Rapids, MI) became the first female to play a Major League Indoor Soccer match. McCoy started as Goalkeeper for Detroit Waza Flo. A former Aquinas College Saint, she has quite the soccer pedigree:

• USA WMF World Cup Champion 2020
• WMF World Cup 2020 Golden Glove award winner
• 0 goals allowed as starting goalkeeper for the Grand Rapids Wanderers PASL team
• MASL M2 Muskegon Risers appearance as goalkeeper
• All American honors in college
• USA Youth Futsal starting goalkeeper from 2016 to 2018
• United Futsal World Champion in 2015
• ABK pro Futsal first Women’s team

McCoy's start was not only significant in MLIS history, but Professional Indoor Soccer. McCoy is the first female goalkeeper to ever start a Professional Indoor match. She is trained locally in Grand Rapids by Joe Brefczynski and has National team duty under Craig Rhodis, Head Coach of the Women's National Team and GK Coach Mark Litton.

Detroit was coming into the weekend’s match shorthanded. In the spirit of sportsmanship, a joint effort between RCFC and DWF was made where several free agents were brought in to play for DWF. The result was the closest match in the two Michigan teams’ season matchups. “It was great working with Devon, Louis, and Joe from Rapid City to provide opportunities for talented players from our communities…”, said DWF Head Coach Mario Scicluna. He continued, “Braeleigh was great for us and it was great to see her have the chance to compete against one of the best indoor teams in the country. I wish RCFC the best of luck winning double gold cups in their first year.”

Currently there is no MLIS provision for a forfeit in a regular season game, and clubs are not allowed to loan players.

Rapid City also played Cincinnati Swerve on Friday, March 17th. The final score was RCFC 12 - Cincinnati Swerve 9. RCFC will now begin their preparations for the MLIS Championships to be held in Chicago.

Louis Stephens III is on a 7 game winning streak since taking over as Head Coach mid-season. “This is what we’ve been preparing for”, Stephens said. “We will be focusing on the MLIS Championships in Chicago over the next few weeks. We have great momentum going in, and I believe the team is ready to compete on such a big stage. We would love to bring home a League Title in our first year.”

Rapid City Football Club is the newest team in Major League Indoor Soccer, having been formed in September of 2022. With a regular season record of 10-2, they are likely to head into the MLIS Championships as the number two seed ahead of their Division Rival Cleveland Crunch who are currently in a Playoff wildcard position.

Stay up to date with Rapid City Football Club by visiting rapidcityfc.com or following the team on social media.

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