Real Central New Jersey is a soccer club from Trenton, New Jersey, United States, founded in 2020. The club's men's First Team competes in the Mid-Atlantic Division of USL League Two, and began playing in the 2021 season.[1] The women's team participates in the Women's Premier Soccer League.
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Full name | Real Central New Jersey Soccer | ||
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Founded | 2020 | ||
Stadium | Mercer County Community College | ||
Owners | Ben Chrnelich, Ira Jersey, Jeremy Ryan | ||
Head Coaches | USL2 - Brian Woods, WPSL Brian Thomsen, EPSL - Rob Nydick | ||
League | USL League Two
Women's Premier Soccer League Eastern Premier Soccer League | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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The club marks the first soccer team to play in Mercer County since the Penn-Jersey Spirit of the now-disbanded American Professional Soccer League last played in 1991[2] and the New Jersey Wildcats which folded in 2012. Like the Spirit, RCNJ intended to play out of The College of New Jersey's Lions Stadium.[3] Although the club intends to play at TCNJ in the future, due to COVID-19 related issues, the club played its inaugural 2021 season at Mercer County Community College. It kicked off the season against in-state rivals the Ocean City Nor'easters,[4] losing 3–0.[5]
In its inaugural campaign, Real Central NJ's WPSL team placed second in the Metropolitan Conference South. After besting MatchFit Academy in the semi-finals, the team lost to the NJ/NY Gotham FC Reserve team in the conference finals.[6]
The team's women's program is coached by Brian Thomsen, the Technical Director of Next Level Soccer Academy in Pennington, NJ.[7] The men's first team inaugural coach was Patrick Snyder, former college and PDA Soccer staff coach. Following the 2021 season, retiring William Patterson men's head coach Brian Woods was named the clubs USL team top job.[8]
The RCNJ men's program also participates in the Delaware River Conference of the Eastern Premier Soccer League.[9]
Year | Level | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
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2021 | 3 | Women's Premier Soccer League | 2nd, Metro Conf. South | Conf. Finalist | |
2021 | 4 | USL League Two | 7th, Mid Atlantic Div. | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
2021 | 5 | Eastern Premier Soccer League | 3rd, Delaware River Conf | Qualified |
USL League Two | |||||||||||
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Eastern Conference |
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Central Conference |
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Southern Conference |
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Western Conference |
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Seasons |
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Miscellaneous |
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Sports teams based in New Jersey | ||
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Baseball |
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Basketball |
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Football |
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Hockey |
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Roller derby |
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Rugby league |
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Soccer | ||
College athletics (NCAA Division I) |
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College athletics (NCAA Division II) |
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College athletics (NCAA Division III) |
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