Legion FC Drops Opening Game, Criticizes Field Conditions

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Birmingham Legion FC kicked off its third season in the USL Championship at BBVA Field Saturday night against Central Division rival Indy Eleven, falling 1-0.

Despite a good crowd and enthusiastic fan base in attendance, officials with the team said the playing surface made getting into of a rhythm difficult for both teams.

"We are extremely disappointed with the condition of the field tonight," Legion FC president and general manager Jay Heaps said after the game. "We were assured by the UAB Athletic Department and UAB Grounds Crew that the field would be ready for the first game of the season after transitioning the surface from rye grass to bermuda grass. Unfortunately, the field was not ready and nearly unplayable. Without making excuses about the field’s impact on the result, as a professional soccer team and partner in this community, our players, opponents, sponsors, and fans deserve better from the UAB Athletics Department as we, and BBVA, have invested in this stadium and campus. We are disappointed and feel let down as this situation put both teams at risk."

Head Coach Tommy Soehn said other factors were also at play in the Legion FC's loss.

"I felt like we lacked the quality, especially in the attacking aspects -to the final pass or the pass to break the lines," Soehn said. "I thought we played really conservative, and you can't afford to do that. Especially when we win the ball, we have to be more precise and more direct and get after it. To credit them, they complicated things and made it tough in the middle of the park. There’s a lot to learn from this and a lot to take and hopefully we’ll come out better."

Birmingham plays Louisville on the road next Saturday and returns to home for a match against Memphis May 15.