Black Rock

The 2018 season is the one that put Black Rock on the map. In the Premier Development League (PDL) they won the Northeast Division with nine wins, two defeats and three draws, then went into the Eastern Conference playoffs and were knocked out there. The title earned them a place in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, where they reached the First Round.

The team that did it had no settled home. Black Rock began in 2013 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, with a narrow purpose: to give players from Berkshire County a route into serious football. Since then the club has moved from Lakeville, Connecticut, to Manchester Center, Vermont, where it played at Applejack Stadium, and on to Colby-Sawyer College in New London, New Hampshire. It now plays in Nashua, at Joanne Merrill Field on the Rivier University campus, in sky blue and white. Its nearest regional rival is AC Connecticut.

Zeiko Lewis, a Bermuda international, went 17th overall in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft to the New York Red Bulls. Justin Donawa was taken in the third round of the 2019 draft by Columbus Crew. Jacob Shaffelburg signed with Toronto FC, and Ousseni Bouda and Ismaila Jome went on to San Jose Earthquakes and to Minnesota United and Portland Timbers respectively.

The best-known name is Jack Harrison. The Chicago Fire chose him first overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. He later played for Manchester City, Leeds United and New England Revolution, and for England.