(PEORIA, ILLINOIS) — After two thrilling weekend wins, Peoria City has punched its ticket to the USL League Two Central Conference Championship.
The Flying Carp are poised to take on perennial league power Flint City Bucks for the Central title, and it all goes down in Peoria. USL League Two has chosen Peoria, Illinois to host both the Central and Western Conference Championships at Bradley University’s Shea Stadium.
The action begins Friday at 3:30 p.m. when Project 510 out of Oakland will take on Southwest Division member FC Tucson for the Western Conference Championship, followed by the Central Conference title game between Peoria City and Flint City Bucks. Friday’s two conference champions will meet in the national semifinal game Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Shea Stadium.
Jim DeRose, President of Peoria City, calls Sunday’s triumph over Des Moines one of the wildest games he’s ever seen. On behalf of John Dorn, Peoria City’s Managing Partner, DeRose expresses the utmost gratitude for the entire Peoria community’s support these last three years.
“We started this venture three years ago, and to say, ‘we never thought we’d be here this quick’ is an understatement,” DeRose said. “Today was a testament to how wonderful our community is, along with Bradley University and the incredible venue of Shea Stadium.”
DeRose said he’s incredibly proud of the Peoria City players for their historic run this season.
“It begins and ends with the players. Their performance today had so much resolve. Going up a goal, down a goal, scoring a man down, and then heading into penalty kicks. You could go through our entire team and find something to say about each and every one of them,” DeRose said. “Our coaching staff, Mike (Paye) and Ryan (Woodside), have done an incredible job along with our support staff. Everyone has been there to make these guys the best players they can be. And we’d like to give a big thanks to their college coaches, for those still playing, to keep them in this venture. This provides them an opportunity to see a part of the soccer experience that most don’t get to see.”
DeRose calls The 309, along with the entire community’s support “everything.”
“You can’t find a player, coach, or any of us in the front office that wouldn’t tell you that the fans put us over the top on Sunday. The fans, for us, are players. To come back from a goal, we never quit on them,” DeRose said.
“The kids come out on the field after the game with the community, it’s everything. We’d like to pack the house at Shea Stadium and show people that Peoria is a future destination for a lot of great soccer.”
Tickets are on sale now for USL League Two Championship Weekend in Peoria, Illinois.
Early-bird pricing is available through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 24th. You can find purchase tickets here.
The full-price offer goes into effect at midnight Thursday morning, July 25th. Ticket pricing and seating options can be found here.
Season-ticket holders have received a dedicated ticket link via email from Peoria City staff.
For Friday, fans can purchase their tickets and receive admission to both games with one ticket.
Tickets to the National Semi-Final can be found here.
#UpTheCarp
