2023 Birmingham Legion FC season

Birmingham Legion FC

2023 season
President and general manager	Jay Heaps
Head coach	Tom Soehn
Stadium	Protective Stadium
USL Championship	7th
Playoffs	Conference Semifinals
U.S. Open Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	Enzo Martínez (11 goals)
colors Away colors Third colors

The 2023 Birmingham Legion season was the fifth season of play in the club's history in the USL Championship.

Squad information

Roster

As of March 9, 2023

No.	Pos.	Player	Nation
1	GK	Matt Van Oekel	United States
2	DF	Ben Reveno (on loan from New England Revolution)	United States
3	DF	Phanuel Kavita	DR Congo
4	DF	Collin Smith (on loan from FC Dallas)	United States
5	MF	Mikey Lopez	United States
6	MF	Anderson Asiedu	Ghana
7	FW	Diba Nwegbo	Nigeria
9	FW	Juan Agudelo	United States
10	FW	Prosper Kasim	Ghana
11	FW	Neco Brett	Jamaica
13	MF	Jake Rufe	United States
15	FW	Tyler Pasher	Canada
16	DF	Gabriel Alves	Brazil
17	MF	Matthew Corcoran	United States
18	GK	Trevor Spangenberg	United States
19	MF	Enzo Martínez	Uruguay
21	DF	Alex Crognale	United States
23	MF	Grayson Dupont	United States
30	GK	Seth Torman	United States
33	DF	Moses Mensah	Ghana

Competitions

Preseason

Charlotte FC v Birmingham Legion FC

February 18, 2023 (2023-2-18)	Charlotte FC	3–2	Birmingham Legion FC	Charlotte, North Carolina
	Jóźwiak 11' Świderski 26' Copetti 34'	Report		Stadium: Bank of America Stadium

USL Championship

Main article: 2023 USL Championship season

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
5	Louisville City FC	34	14	12	8	41	44	−3	50	Playoffs
6	Indy Eleven	34	13	11	10	46	38	+8	49
7	Birmingham Legion FC	34	14	16	4	44	53	−9	46
8	Detroit City FC	34	11	15	8	30	39	−9	41
9	Miami FC	34	11	15	8	43	44	−1	41

Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) head-to-head points; 2) head-to-head goal differential; 3) points-per game within conference; 4) total wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) total goals scored; 7) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots

Regular season

All times in Eastern Time Zone.

Birmingham Legion v Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

March 11, 2023 (2023-3-11) 1	Birmingham Legion	1–1	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Crognale  6', 28' Asiedu  23'	Report	Forbes  41' Mertz 72'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 6,722 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

Birmingham Legion v FC Tulsa

March 17, 2023 (2023-3-17) 2	Birmingham Legion	3–2	FC Tulsa	Birmingham, Alabama
7:00 p.m.	Pasher 4', 83' Gabriel Alves  51' Crognale  65' Asiedu  75' Brett 90+2'	Report	da Costa 49' Corrales  45+1' Epps 54' Fernandez  82'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 4,077 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Hartford Athletic v Birmingham Legion

March 25, 2023 (2023-3-25) 3	Hartford Athletic	0–1	Birmingham Legion	Hartford, Connecticut
1:00 p.m.	Kibato  42' Merrill  70' Logue  90+2'	Report	Gabriel Alves 24' Agudelo  45+5'	Stadium: Trinity Health Stadium Attendance: 3,106 Referee: DeShun Beard

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Birmingham Legion

April 1, 2023 (2023-4-1) 4	Tampa Bay Rowdies	0–2	Birmingham Legion	St. Petersburg, Florida
6:30 p.m.	Lasso  59' Guillen  90+1' Dennis  90+5'	Report	Brett 45+5', 83' Smith  50' Kavita  76' Agudelo  78' Gabriel Alves  89'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 6,397 Referee: Thomas Snyder

Birmingham Legion v Phoenix Rising FC

April 9, 2023 (2023-4-9) 5	Birmingham Legion	1–2	Phoenix Rising FC	Birmingham, Alabama
4:30 p.m.	Agudelo  56' Gabriel Alves 59' Martínez  59'	Report	Lambert  34' Cuello  39' Krutzen  45+2' Arteaga  56' Trejo 58',  90' Harvey 66',  87' Zambrano  67' Njie  77' Fuenmayor  89'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 4,750 Referee: John Griggs

Loudoun United FC v Birmingham Legion

April 15, 2023 (2023-4-15) 6	Loudoun United FC	3–0	Birmingham Legion	Leesburg, Virginia
5:00 p.m.	Leggett 32' ElMedkhar 42' Houssou  50' Ryan 69',  90+4'	Report	Rufe  54'	Stadium: Segra Field Attendance: 2,505 Referee: Luis Arroyo

Orange County SC v Birmingham Legion

April 22, 2023 (2023-4-22) 7	Orange County SC	1–2	Birmingham Legion	Irvine, California
9:00 p.m.	Nielsen 30' Scott  55' Partida  57'	Report	Agudelo 33' Kavita  40' Crognale  53' Martínez 59',  64'	Stadium: Championship Soccer Stadium Attendance: 4,114 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Birmingham Legion v Hartford Athletic

April 30, 2023 (2023-4-30) 8	Birmingham Legion	3–2	Hartford Athletic	Birmingham, Alabama
4:00 p.m.	Asiedu  45' Martínez  64', 65', 76' Crognale 90+3'	Report	Cedeno 38',  60' Lewis  45+4' Edwards 67' Sánchez  89'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 4,813 Referee: Greg Dopka

Miami FC v Birmingham Legion

May 3, 2023 (2023-5-3) 9	Miami FC	3–1	Birmingham Legion	Miami
6:00 p.m.	Sorto 2',  56' Crognale 16' (o.g.) Repetto  49' Dowouna 71'	Report	Corcoran  34' Martínez 36' Asiedu  81' Gabriel Alves  90+4'	Stadium: Riccardo Silva Stadium Attendance: 1,070 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk

Birmingham Legion v Oakland Roots SC

May 6, 2023 (2023-5-6) 10	Birmingham Legion	1–4	Oakland Roots SC	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Lopez  6' Kavita  35'  Martínez 48',  82' Gabriel Alves  62' Van Oekel  77'	Report	Formella 45+3' (pen.) Wright  47' Mfeka 64',  67' Reid 71' Rito  83' Diaz  87' Rodriguez 88'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Sergii Boiko

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC v Birmingham Legion

May 13, 2023 (2023-5-13) 11	Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC	2–1	Birmingham Legion	Pittsburgh
6:00 p.m.	Dikwa 11', 70' Dossantos  53'	Report	Corcoran 35',  64' Mensah  69' Gabriel Alves  83' Reveno  90+3'	Stadium: Highmark Stadium Attendance: 5,123 Referee: Adam Kilpatrick

Birmingham Legion v El Paso Locomotive FC

May 20, 2023 (2023-5-20) 12	Birmingham Legion	1–2	El Paso Locomotive FC	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Agudelo 17' Asiedu  55'	Report	Solignac 19' Rose 58'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Matthew Thompson

Detroit City FC v Birmingham Legion

May 27, 2023 (2023-5-27) 13	Detroit City FC	1–0	Birmingham Legion	Hamtramck, Michigan
3:00 p.m.	Rodriguez 29' Williams  68' Matthews  82' Amoo-Mensah  90+3'	Report	Mensah  28' Lopez  35' Smith  44' Dupont  90'	Stadium: Keyworth Stadium Attendance: 6,164 Referee: Melvin Rivas

Birmingham Legion v Indy Eleven

June 17, 2023 (2023-6-17) 14	Birmingham Legion	2–1	Indy Eleven	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Gabriel Alves  21' Nwegbo 55' Crognale  62' Asiedu  64' Martínez 89'	Report	Boudadi  8' Vázquez  24' Guenzatti 56'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Olvin Oliva

Birmingham Legion v Loudoun United FC

June 21, 2023 (2023-6-21) 15	Birmingham Legion	2–0	Loudoun United FC	Birmingham, Alabama
7:00 p.m.	Nwegbo 34' Agudelo  58' Gabriel Alves  75' Brett 83'	Report		Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez

San Antonio FC v Birmingham Legion

July 1, 2023 (2023-7-1) 16	San Antonio FC	3–1	Birmingham Legion	San Antonio
8:00 p.m.	Hernandez 10' Azócar  29' Oluwaseyi 62' Bailone  86' Dhillon 90+1'	Report	Gabriel Alves  53' Crognale  66' Martínez  70' Pasher 81' Asiedu  89'	Stadium: Toyota Field Attendance: 8,266 Referee: Natalie Simon

Las Vegas Lights FC v Birmingham Legion

July 8, 2023 (2023-7-8) 17	Las Vegas Lights FC	3–3	Birmingham Legion	Las Vegas
9:30 p.m.	Preston 60' Carleton 67' Botello Faz 90+3'	Report	Agudelo 31' Pasher 45' Martínez 81' Kavita  90+5'	Stadium: Cashman Field Referee: Brad Jensen

Birmingham Legion v Tampa Bay Rowdies

July 15, 2023 (2023-7-15) 18	Birmingham Legion	1–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Martínez 49',  83' Asiedu  53' Smith  83'	Report	Guillén  89'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Brandon Stevis

Louisville City FC v Birmingham Legion

July 22, 2023 (2023-7-22) 19	Louisville City FC	1–2	Birmingham Legion	Louisville, Kentucky
7:00 p.m.	Mares 34',  70' McCabe  58' Ownby  67'	Report	Smith  14' Crognale  19', 90+2' Agudelo 55' Rufe  77'	Stadium: Lynn Family Stadium Attendance: 9,584 Referee: Abdou Ndiaye

Birmingham Legion v Charleston Battery

July 29, 2023 (2023-7-29) 20	Birmingham Legion	1–2	Charleston Battery	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Crognale  25' Gabriel Alves  38' Kasim 43' Mensah  68'	Report	Markanich  18' Palma  48' Trager 82' Dodson 90+1'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Matt Thompson

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC v Birmingham Legion

August 4, 2023 (2023-8-4) 21	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	2–1	Birmingham Legion	Colorado Springs, Colorado
8:00 p.m.	Beckford 11' Tejada 84'	Report	Brett 58' Nwegbo  90+5'	Stadium: Weidner Field Attendance: 8,023 Referee: Natalie Simon

Indy Eleven v Birmingham Legion

August 9, 2023 (2023-8-9) 22	Indy Eleven	4–0	Birmingham Legion	Indianapolis
6:00 p.m.	Guenzatti 24', 63' Martínez  41', 65' Molina 89'	Report	Martínez  48' Nwegbo  49' Brett  61' Smith  90+1'	Stadium: Michael A. Carroll Stadium Attendance: 7,194 Referee: Adam Kilpatrick

Birmingham Legion v Sacramento Republic FC

August 12, 2023 (2023-8-12) 23	Birmingham Legion	1–1	Sacramento Republic FC	Birmingham, Alabama
6:30 p.m.	Corcoran  34' Mensah  48' Smith 64' Crognale  75'	Report	Archimède 83' Donovan  89' López  90+5'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Gerald Flores

Birmingham Legion v Louisville City FC

August 19, 2023 (2023-8-19) 24	Birmingham Legion	2–0	Louisville City FC	Birmingham, Alabama
5:30 p.m.	Martínez 5' Brett 24' (pen.) Crognale  46' Mensah  81'	Report	Jimenez  45+4' Lancaster  59' Charpie  90+6'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Matthew Corrigan

FC Tulsa v Birmingham Legion

August 23, 2023 (2023-8-23) 25	FC Tulsa	1–3	Birmingham Legion	Tulsa, Oklahoma
7:00 p.m.	Goodrum 14',  53' Nelson  18'	Report	Brett 19' (pen.), 21', 33' Agudelo  89'	Stadium: Oneok Field Attendance: 3,927 Referee: Calin Radosav

Birmingham Legion v Detroit City FC

August 27, 2023 (2023-8-27) 26	Birmingham Legion	2–3	Detroit City FC	Birmingham, Alabama
4:00 p.m.	Brett 29' (pen.) Martínez 38' (pen.) Mensah  48' Lopez  66'	Report	Morris 31', 44' Kavita 45' (o.g.)	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Greg Dopka

San Diego Loyal SC v Birmingham Legion

September 3, 2023 (2023-9-3) 27	San Diego Loyal SC	3–0	Birmingham Legion	San Diego
5:00 p.m.	Bodily 18' Moshobane 39' Martin  69', 84'	Report	Nwegbo  20' Mensah  70'	Stadium: Torero Stadium Attendance: 4,224 Referee: Joshua Encarnación

Birmingham Legion v New Mexico United

September 10, 2023 (2023-9-10) 28	Birmingham Legion	1–0	New Mexico United	Birmingham, Alabama
4:00 p.m.	Mensah  46' Brett 73'	Report		Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Jeremy Scheer

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros v Birmingham Legion

September 17, 2023 (2023-9-17) 29	Rio Grande Valley FC Toros	1–0	Birmingham Legion	Edinburg, Texas
7:00 p.m.	Cerro  22' López 49'	Report	Lopez  34' Corcoran  42' Kasim  71' Mensah  89'	Stadium: H-E-B Park Attendance: 3,705 Referee: Alexis Da Silva

Birmingham Legion v Memphis 901 FC

September 20, 2023 (2023-9-20) 30	Birmingham Legion	1–1	Memphis 901 FC	Birmingham, Alabama
7:00 p.m.	Kasim 48' Crognale  55' Agudelo  90'	Report	McFadden 52' Peters  71'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Matthew Corrigan

Birmingham Legion v Miami FC

September 24, 2023 (2023-9-24) 31	Birmingham Legion	0–2	Miami FC	Birmingham, Alabama
5:30 p.m.	Lopez  19'	Report	Valot  22' Ofeimu 35',  41' Telfer  77' Murphy 84'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Referee: Abdou Ndiaye

Memphis 901 FC v Birmingham Legion

September 30, 2023 (2023-9-30) 32	Memphis 901 FC	1–2	Birmingham Legion	Memphis, Tennessee
7:00 p.m.	Molloy  13' Ward  28' Rodrigo 40' (pen.)	Report	Nwegbo 46' Brett 51' Martínez  57' Agudelo  90+8'	Stadium: AutoZone Park Referee: Alejo Calume

Birmingham Legion v Monterey Bay FC

October 8, 2023 (2023-10-8) 33	Birmingham Legion	2–0	Monterey Bay FC	Birmingham, Alabama
4:00 p.m.	Martínez  24' Tabortetaka  28' Agudelo  46', 60' Crognale  52' Kasim  73' Smith 80'	Report	Okoli  36'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 6,329 Referee: Elvis Osmanovic

Charleston Battery v Birmingham Legion

October 14, 2023 (2023-10-14) 34	Charleston Battery	1–0	Birmingham Legion	Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
4:00 p.m.	Markanich 33' Segbers  64' Rodríguez  67' Muse  86'	Report	Pasher  60' Kavita  64' Rufe  64'	Stadium: Patriots Point Soccer Complex Attendance: 3,265 Referee: Austin Saini

Playoffs

Main article: 2023 USL Championship Playoffs

Conference Quarter-finals

Birmingham Legion v Tampa Bay Rowdies

October 21, 2023 (2023-10-21)	Birmingham Legion	3–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 PM EDT	Martínez  9' Preston 41' Nwegbo 57' Kasim 77'	Report	Lasso  39' Jennings  45+1'	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 5,249 Referee: Matthew Thompson

Conference Semifinals

Charleston Battery v Birmingham Legion

October 28, 2023 (2023-10-28)	Charleston Battery	2–1	Birmingham Legion	Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
7:00 PM EDT	Ycaza 17' Dodson 68'	Report	Kasim 41' Agudelo  61' Rufe  70' Lopez  86'	Stadium: Patriots Point Soccer Complex Attendance: 2,762 Referee: Elton Garcia

U.S. Open Cup

Main article: 2023 U.S. Open Cup

Second round

Chattanooga Red Wolves SC v Birmingham Legion

April 5, 2023 (2023-4-5)	Chattanooga Red Wolves SC	1–4	Birmingham Legion	East Ridge, Tennessee
7:30 p.m. EDT	Lombardi 79'	Report	Agudelo 45+1', 63' Smith 47' Nwegbo 87'	Stadium: CHI Memorial Stadium Attendance: 500 Referee: Benjamin Meyer

Third round

Birmingham Legion v Chattanooga FC

April 26, 2023 (2023-4-26)	Birmingham Legion	1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	Chattanooga FC	Tuscaloosa, Alabama
7:00 p.m. CDT	Kasim 31'	Report	Naglestad 68' (pen.)	Stadium: University of Alabama Soccer Stadium Attendance: 150 Referee: Abdou Ndiaye
	Penalties
	Pasher Agudelo Gabriel Alves Rufe Martínez		Naglestad Dixon Prepeliță Mwape Alvarenga

Round of 32

Birmingham Legion v Memphis 901 FC

May 10, 2023 (2023-5-10)	Birmingham Legion	3–0	Memphis 901 FC	Birmingham, Alabama
7:00 p.m. CDT	Agudelo 20' Martínez 39' Pasher 64'	Report		Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 3,150 Referee: Lorenzo Hernandez

Round of 16

Birmingham Legion v Charlotte FC

May 24, 2023 (2023-5-24)	Birmingham Legion	1–0	Charlotte FC	Birmingham, Alabama
7:00 p.m. CDT	Kasim 60'	Report	Malanda  28'  51'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 12,722 Referee: Guido Gonzales Jr.

Quarter-finals

Birmingham Legion v Inter Miami CF

June 7, 2023 (2023-6-7)	Birmingham Legion	0–1	Inter Miami CF	Birmingham, Alabama
7:00 p.m. CDT		Report	Stefanelli 56'	Stadium: Protective Stadium Attendance: 18,418 Referee: Sergii Demianchuk