Head Coach: Peter Carey
Venue: JSerra Stadium
2024 Regular Season: 4W-3D-9L, 15 pts, finished 3rd in the NISA Western Conference
2024 Season Recap:
Capistrano FC (a.k.a. Capo FC) was announced as an expansion team in NISA last December after playing across various amateur leagues since the club’s founding in 2006. Capo FC has played in the Southwest Premier League, United Premier Soccer League, USL League Two, and NISA Nation. The club had moved up many players from its NISA Nation side. Also, it brought in some NISA veterans during the preseason, like Brandon Zambrano, Ari Claro, Cameron Vickers, and Pablo Martinez. Capo FC’s first competitive match was in the 2024 U.S. Open Cup opening round, losing 5-4 in penalties after a 2-2 draw after extra time against USL2 side Des Moines Menace. Capo FC’s debut in NISA got off to a good start, securing five points in their first three matches, getting draws against Irvine Zeta FC and Arizona Monsoon FC while getting a shocking 2-0 win on the road against the Los Angeles Force. Once the calendar turned to May, Capo FC went winless, losing two matches and getting a draw against Zeta FC. Over the summer, Capo FC went 3W-0D-3L during June and July. Capo FC also got eliminated in the first round of the NISA Independent Cup, losing 2-1 to NISA Nation side ALBION Silicon Valley. Capo FC finished its inaugural season on a five-match winless streak, losing to Irvine Zeta FC and the LA Force. At the same time, the league canceled two postponed matches against Arizona Monsoon. Three of the four wins for Capo FC this season were against Arizona. Capo FC’s record against the top two teams in the Western Conference was 1W-0D-6L against the LA Force while going winless against their OC Clasico rivals Irvine Zeta FC 0W-2D-4L. Capo FC finished third in the conference with 15 points, and Parker Scalzo finished as the club’s top goalscorer with five goals.
Offseason Updates
It’s been a quiet offseason for Capo FC since their season ended on September 21. I have not heard much about their plans for next season or any roster move announcements. The club has been active with its youth programs while their NISA Nation side takes a break during the fall season. Capo FC announced a USL W league team to begin play in the 2025 season. In a recent interview on BT90, Kartik and Calum asked NISA Commissioner John Prutch in part 3 of their interview series about the process of how Capo FC was able to move up to pro status despite not meeting the ownership requirements of the professional league standards (PLS). Commissioner Prutch shared some insight on that process from Calum and Kartik’s recent interview last month below:
“I would tell you that Capo is a great club and has been around for a lot of years. We worked with US Soccer. It’s an experiment that we decided that we wanted to see if we could take a club that had been around a long time with a significant youth program, promote them up to the pros, which is where they wanted to be, and see how they perform. Even though they may not qualify as an owner, U.S. Soccer approved that process. And so they are our first experiment. So think about this, if it really works, if we can take some of these clubs that have been around for years and years and years, but not necessarily qualify, should they be able to play professionally, right?
And so this was the experiment. I think we’ve been successful with Capo.”
We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for Capo FC down the line in Orange County. I’ll keep you all posted once I hear more info on their plans for 2025. That’s the latest season recap I have for you all. What are your thoughts on Capo FC’s 2024 season in NISA? Let me know in the comments section below. Next week, I’ll recap the Savannah Clovers FC’s 2024 season in NISA.
NISA Today FC Podcast 