WILMINGTON, N.C. — Nic Gunyon chased the sport of soccer all around the United States and landed in Wilmington.

He and a few others played on a minor league team in 2021 that didn’t pan out the way they’d hoped. However, it did push them to create the Port City FC.

What You Need To Know

  • 2022 was Port City FC’s inaugural season
  • The team conducts open tryouts to give everyone in the community an opportunity to play at a higher level
  • Port City FC wants to be a stepping stone to get players to professional levels
  • The United Premier Soccer League team hopes to become the reserve team for a future United Soccer League team in Wilmington

“We just sort of just assigned each other roles that we felt that we would be good at. And it just kind of took off,” Gunyon said.

Since Port City FC is a minor league team, many of the players have jobs outside of soccer. Gunyon works as a contractor.

The beauty of this team is that it gives anyone the opportunity to play high-level soccer in the Wilmington area.

The reason I'm here is, you know, I'm done with college, I have a career, and I still want to play at a higher level.“The reason I'm here is, you know, I'm done with college, I have a career, and I still want to play at a higher level. And who knows how many other players are exactly in that situation here in Wilmington?” Gunyon said.

In their first season in the United Premier Soccer League, the team placed seventh in its conference and held close games with some of the top teams.

“Nothing but praise coming from all the other teams, like, 'hey, you know, we're happy that you are in this league. You guys are making this a more competitive league.' And that's exactly what we want,” Gunyon said.

Port City FC is giving people more than the opportunity to play at a high level. The team is also a stepping stone to get athletes to play at the professional level. Gunyon says a player from last season, Tim Williams, signed a contract to play professionally in Australia.

“There's always that little step in between that a lot of players need to get into to get that exposure because it comes down to opportunity. If you can't get the right opportunity, it's hard to become a professional," Gunyon said. "So we're hoping to provide that opportunity to be seen by someone of that professional level."

The team has organized open tryouts to give anyone in the Wilmington area a shot to play at this higher level — the second tryout takes place Saturday.

“Wilmington is full of great people, and we want those people a part of our organization,” Gunyon said.

You can find more about the team on its Facebook page or Instagram page. 

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