Duluth FC Returnees Fueled by 2023 Heartbreak
BlueGreens undefeated at home
DULUTH, Minn.- Following their best season in program history, Duluth FC appears to be picking up right where they left off.
“It’s great to be back,” says Tyler Limmer. “We’ve got a great group of lads here. Everybody’s super committed to what we’ve built with the club. We’re just here to win games and have fun doing it.”
“We were pretty lucky that we were able to return 16, 17, 18 guys from last year.” Said Manager Sean Morgan. “I think there’s plenty to build on from last year, especially when it comes to playoffs. Looking to try and kind of go all the way, I think, this year.”
Morgan is pleased to have his captain Jake Starling return to Duluth for his fifth season with the BlueGreens.
“There’s a reason I’ve come back for five seasons,” says Starling, who lives in his home state of Florida during the offseason. “The atmosphere, the culture of the club, the fans. There’s nothing better than playing some summer footy up here in Duluth.”
“You can’t ask for anything more from the guy, especially with integrating with new guys.” says Morgan.
“Jake’s a dog, he’s our captain. He’s our leader.” Limmer stated. “You can’t ask for any better leader, and just a great, great mentor to have for the young guys. But also, us more experienced guys, we also respect the hell out of him.”
Limmer is another veteran presence back for more action after a stellar first season in Duluth.
“He brings lots of goals,” Smiled Morgan “(Limmer) brings a really high work rate. He decided to come back for another year. So yeah, looking forward to working with him again.”
While Starling and Limmer are still in their 20s, some might perceive them as seasoned vets compared to their college-age teammates.
“Oh, yeah, (we) definitely get the old jokes.” Starling noted.
“Jake (Starling) probably pokes more fun at us being old than anybody else does,” Limmer joked. “But the social media staff does like to do it as well.”
By combining their young talent with proven leadership, Duluth FC hopes to avoid a similar heartbreaker that ended last year’s championship campaign.
“It’s been in the back of my mind,” Limmer says in regard to their double-overtime loss in the Midwest North Conference Final. “That final (match) replays in my head almost daily. I want to get back there. We need to lift some silverware. That’s the main goal of this season. We’ve got to win something, and that’s what we’re here to do.”
“I mean, obviously really disappointed with the way things ended last year for the amount of work that we put in and just trying to kind of rectify that this year and take it a step further,” says Morgan. “We have a couple of different aims throughout the year, different goals that we want to get to, and ultimately, we want to be playing in the last weekend of July.”
“You know, doing all the right things to still come up short, it really speaks volumes of when you really do need to tune in and do the right thing,” says Starling. “So, this year, we never forget the feeling, we definitely remember the feeling, but we’re looking forward to new goals and getting back where we were last year and hopefully getting the trophy.”
Duluth FC will be on the road Saturday night to face Dakota Fusion. The BlueGreens’ next home match will be on Wednesday against Minnesota TwinStars FC.
