3 Lions Football Club was formed in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2002. The team name was chosen to highlight that the roster included representatives from the three distinct communities that made up Colorado Springs; the Army, the Airforce and the civilian population. (The name has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that club founder, Mark 'Taz' Turner, is English, obviously!)
The Lions played their first competitive game in the Colorado Springs Soccer Club Mens Division 1 the fall season of 2002 at Flanagan Park versus Arsenal. The first ever 3 Lions roster that day consisted of...
Nathan Wysocki, Nelson Earnshaw, Lee Robinson, John Quezada, Rob Rodock, Bryson Blake, Darron Haughn (captain), Mark 'Taz' Turner, Chris 'Macca' Hanna, Josh Swilley, Abu Sanu, David Dubose, Andrew Pogany and Kendall Petty - some blasts from the past there, eh!
The game was fairly even as demonstrated by the final score-line, 1-1. Arsenal took the lead but in the tenacious spirit that would come to exemplify that early Lions team, we fought tooth and nail from start to finish converting a deserved equalizer late on. Macca had the distinction of scoring our first ever competitive goal to earn us that draw when he headed home a Rodock corner kick. Macca also had the distinction of winning our first ever Man of the Match vote that day - which contributed to him ultimately winning our first ever Players Player of the Season award that first year.
The Lions went on to record an impressive first season finishing 3rd in the table, drawing twice with current (and soon to be re-crowned) champs, Ascent, and recording the best defensive record in the league. And then Afghanistan happened - and suddenly over half the roster was gone almost over-night. Some frantic rebuilding took place and, in time, an even stronger team developed. And as our brave military brethren returned safely, thank God, from Afghanistan and then Iraq our team strengthened even further.
The 3 Lions name was now starting to get around town. The following season saw us take the next step and make the Championship Final. Unfortunately, our first final appearance ended in defeat to a very strong Airforce team. However, we found the perfect hang-over cure in the shape of our first ever summer tournament victory! 3 Lions resoundingly won the Guennel Cup (State Cup, Silver Level), trouncing our opposition 8-0! Jamar King did a 'Geoff Hurst' (google him!) scoring a hat-trick in the final.
Our performances, our success and the caliber of players we were starting to attract acted as beacon to other players in town. Soon we were running practices with 30 or so guys (the heady days!) which was great, but clearly not something we could support with just one team - so in the fall of 2004, one became two! The 'original' Lions team remained in division 1, whilst the new Lions team competed in division 2 - and the spring of that season saw our new Div 2 team qualify for and compete in their divisions' Championship Final game which they won, beating the current champs, Hustlers, in the process! Sadly, though the Div 1 Lions topped the table and made it to their second successive Championship Final, a heart-breaking extra time winner once again handed Airforce the title.
The following season our Div 2 team repeated their remarkable title winning feat AND our Div 1 team FINALLY broke their Airforce hoo-doo resoundingly beating them 4-0 to be crowned Div 1 champions! This remarkable Div 1/Div 2 Championship winning feat was something never achieved before in Colorado Springs Soccer Club history.
The summer of 2006 saw 3 Lions continue it's rich vein of winning form. A few days after the birth of Coach Taz's first child, Ethan, he was amongst six 3 Lions players who, after a hard fought game and extra time, dispatched their penalties to beat Arsenal and win the State Games of America tournament.
That summer also saw some huge decisions taken. The original 3 Lions team decided it was time to try their luck in Denver, moving to the Comets Premier League that fall season. The remaining Colorado Springs 3 Lions team moved up to the CSSC Division 1. The two teams experienced mixed fortunes that 2006/07 season.
The Denver team faired extremely well, perhaps benefitting from being a largely unknown quantity in the Denver area. By season end they had not only competed at that high level, they won the league! The Springs team, following some significant roster changes and another change of coach (the 3rd in 3 seasons), certainly competed in the CSSC Division 1, but were not winning quite as many games as they had become used to the past couple of seasons. Not making the Championship Final was no shame. Much had been learnt and the players who had battled through that first tough, transitional season had certainly grown and improved.
The following season was rough on both teams. 3 Lions Denver was suffering was the increasing demands being placed on many of it's players who were also on a semi-pro team outdoor roster. Though the semi-pro outdoor team didn't last long, it was replaced almost instantly by a semi-pro indoor team! Conflicting schedules, a taxing training regime and understandable split loyalties contributed to a fluctuating Lions roster and, ultimately, some of the guys, many of them from our starting 11, having to choose to commit to the semi-pro team full-time. This naturally had an impact on the Denver Lions squad. Only a late goal from Javier Larios in the last game of the season saved the Denver Lions from the indignity of relegation.
The Springs team continued to battle it out in the CSSC Division 1 but with yet another coaching change, and further disruption to their roster, by the end of the season it was obvious that some breathing-space was required to allow the team to regroup, gain some confidence and get back to winning ways. The tough decision was taken at the end of the season to drop the team back down to Div 2.
The season at least ended on a high with a combined Lions team giving another good account of themselves at the State Games of America tournament. Although they lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winner, Rush, they secured the 3rd placed bronze by once again coming on top in a penalty shoot-out!
The Denver Lions also wrapped up their season in style the summer of 2008. All of the semi-pro indoor guys made themselves available to play in the Vail and State Cup tournaments, allowing us to field undoubtedly the strongest 3 Lions rosters we've ever had at either event. We stormed the Vail tournament, playing confidently all the way to the semi-final. Though the other semi was played early, our semi got delayed due to rain. After nearly an hour waiting, we played and once again triumphed via penalty kicks! However, the rain-delay killed us. We had to go straight to the final game with literally NO break. Our opposition had the benefit of nearly 2 hours to recuperate! Though we played well considering, we got beat 3-1.
The last tournament of the season, the State Cup, didn't start well. We started group games suffering a 3-0 defeat to reigning champs, Guadalajara. We fought back and won our remaining group games to qualify for the knock-out stage, and ultimately made it all the way to the final were we faced...yep, you've guessed it, Guadalajara again! This time the Lions gave a much better account of ourselves. We pegged Guadalajara back, did not give them any time on the ball and created the 3 or 4 best chances of the first half - and should have been 2 or 3 nil up by the break. Sadly, our finishing was the only thing that let us down, so instead we ended the first 45 even. With no advantage to defend in the second period, our incredible efforts of the first finally caught up with us. Guadalajara, with more space and time to play as the game wore on, were more clinical with their chances.
Though we ended another final as runners-up, this 'swan song' showed just how far this group of Lions players had come - and how far we'd come as a club. 3 Lions was known throughout the Colorado soccer community. Everyone knew we played hard, we played well and that we were the real deal. No doubt, we earnt their respect.
The 2008/09 season saw a consolidated 3 Lions team playing CSSC Division 2. The Denver chapter was closed, for now, but the Springs team were delighted to welcome the likes of Nate Wysocki, Todd Chavanne and Nick Odil to their ranks. When Coach Mick Wilson handed the reins to Nate and Todd the summer of 2009, the future looked rosy. Mick had helped steady the ship and provide a great platform upon which Nate & Todd could build. There was still much work to do to turn a decent team in to a title winning one, though.
The guys immediately took to the new coach pairing and results swiftly followed. The Lions finished this 2009/10 fall season unbeaten and top of the table! Some aggressive and necessary recruitment took place to further strengthen and deepen the roster, resulting in some bright new faces - and some welcome old ones like Macca, Patrick Graham and Kevin Ridenour.
After topping the table, beating out second placed Wildcards by a massive 11 points, the Lions confirmed their place in the CSSC Division 2 Championship Final with games to spare! The Championship decider, the Lions 6th CSSC final appearance in just 8 short years, was a hard fought affair versus the ever-improving Wildcards. But goals from Nick Odil and Jacob Stuart not only gave us the edge in a 2-1 match, but also underscored the team's unity, with Nick having formerly been a Denver Lions player and Jacob a Springs Lion player.
The Lions rounded out their impressive season - preparing themselves perfectly for a renewed run at D1 in the fall - taking the 3rd place bronze medal at the State Games of America Tournament. This medal placing continued our clubs incredible run of winning a medal at this event every time we have participated! The only teams two place above the Lions, both D1 opposition, were the only two teams to beat them during this event - and even then by just a single goal.
The following couple of seasons were tough, lean years for the Lions. A revolving door of players made it hard to develop a strong, solid, consistent team. The team bounced between D2 and D1 all the while refusing to fold. With 3 Lions founder, Mark Turner, moved to Texas, 3 Lions 'originals', Nate Wysocki and Chris Hanna, continued to fight the good fight. But with other family and work pressures increasingly competing for their time it was because more and more difficult to keep the team competitive.
However, the team did give a good account of itself in D1 in the 2011/12 season and green shoots of progress suggested that 3 Lions wasn't done yet. Mark Turner returned from Texas and alongside Nate, Chris, and with a little help from other Lions 'long-timers', Pete Randall and Matt Upton, the team was once again on the rise. The summer of 2012 represented a remarkable 3 Lions milestone, our football club's 10 year anniversary, and the team celebrated by compounding their improved D1 league showing with 3rd place in the CSSC Summer Tournament. The Lions followed up on that success by securing 3rd place in the 2012 fall league, narrowly missing out on 2nd place and a Championship Final appearance.
Unfortunately, unrelenting conflicting commitments, and with some key players moving away, a tough decision had to be made; 3 Lions was 'put on ice' for the following season, with the liklihood of it's return uncertain. Several of the Lions players stuck together, however, playing Division 3 with a team called Jazz. After winning the Division 3 title with Jazz (with a starting 11 consisting of 7 former Lions players!) conversation started to happen around the possibility of getting the band back together!
So after our year in hiatus, some feelers were put out - and the response was overwhelming! 3 Lions FC came out of hibernation the summer of 2014 with a 21-man roster, 13 of whom had played for 3 Lions previously! Judging by the pre-season scrimmages the new Lions guys pulling on the famous red jersey for the first time appear to fit seemlessly with our club ethos and attitude. This newest 3 Lions squad will be competing this Fall 2014 in the Colorado Springs Soccer Club Mens Division 2 league.
...Or at least, that was the plan! However, the way the leagues got organized, although they weren't labelled numerically, 3 Lions ended up in Division 1 with last years D1 champions, D1 runners up, a typically strong AFA team, and the D2 champions! Needless to say, it was a tough season! However, despite our slow start to the season, our aged legs and lungs, and playing against teams all younger than us, 3 Lions acquited themselves well overall. A strong finish to the league season saw us pip Front Range to the 4th play-off place, although our involvement was brought to a close the following game in the play-off semi final via a narrow defeat to current (and shortly to be crowned again) D1 champs, Casuals.
The Lions were able to hold together the majority of what was a very exciting roster for the spring season 2015, where the team competed in Division 2. A strong showing in the league - winning every game - and success in the play-off semi final, matched them up against 2Casuals in the final. The Lions rounded out their perfect season with a 3-1 victory to secure another championship for our club.
