John Lenard

John Lenard is a vector artist, armchair vexillologist, statistics nerd, writer, and podcaster. By day, they work in government IT, and by night, they blog about sports online. They once made flags for every single team in American professional soccer, a project that continues to grow as soccer does. They also make things for the Dallas Beer Guardians.
  • 2019 concacaf gold cup

    2019 Concacaf Gold Cup schedule and groups released

    It’s Gold Cup time once again, with the USA hosting the bulk of the tournament, joined by Jamaica and Costa Rica, which will both host two games each. Here’s how the groups ended up: GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇭🇳 Honduras...
  • Eastern Conference Part II

    2019 USL Championship mega preview: Eastern Conference Part II

    Welcome back to the finale of our four-part 2019 USL Championship mega preview! It’s been a long, long journey and we appreciate you sticking around for the ride. This time, we’ll be wrapping things up with the last nine teams to cover in the Eastern Conference. If you haven’t...
  • Eastern Conference Part I

    2019 USL Championship mega preview: Eastern Conference Part I

    Welcome back to the 2019 USL mega preview covering every single one of the 36 teams contesting the 2019 USL Championship season. The first two installments, covering the teams in the Western Conference, are already live. Click here for Part I and here for Part II. This time, we’re...
  • USSF Division III

    2019 USL Championship mega preview: Western Conference Part II

    Welcome back to the 2019 USL mega preview series, covering every single one of the 36 teams contesting the 2019 USL Championship season. If you missed Part I, go check it out here. We left off halfway through the Western Conference, so we’ll pick up right there and dive...
  • 2019 USL Championship

    2019 USL Championship mega preview: Western Conference Part I

    It’s almost time for USL action once again. The league is back as the permanent Division 2 league with a new brand, loads of new teams and some exciting changes for the 2019 season. The USL is now fresh off a (relatively) quiet offseason. No teams folded, no new...
  • Tim Hankinson - MLS history

    Record of every head coach in MLS history

    It’s the offseason, which means it’s the perfect time to do some quirky projects and put my Microsoft Excel skills to use. Below is a link to a sortable Excel spreadsheet with the record of every head coach to ever roam the touchline in MLS history. Toggle between the...
  • Project

    Project 50/50: Part IV

    Welcome once again to Project 50/50, the series in which I initially attempted to find the single best untapped soccer market in each state, which has instead become finding the top two, three or even four markets in some states. You might have noticed that this series hasn’t been...
  • This week

    This week in MASL: Week 3

    The MASL season is in full swing, and to make up for some lost time on the past two weeks, we’ll begin with a brief look at the first two weeks. Entering Week 3, Utica led the Eastern Division with three wins and a loss, followed by 2-1 Baltimore,...
  • Goalkeeper virgin

    Off the Bench: Goalkeeper virgin

    We last left off with me making my playing debut in the Fort Worth Vaqueros Liga 7, in which I fell over, got winded and watched my team lose 3-2. One week later, the Liga 7 Free Agents would return to Sycamore Park for our second match of the...
  • North Texas SC

    North Texas SC launches in USL League One

    DALLAS — On Thursday, FC Dallas officially launched its new USL League One team, named North Texas SC. It is the final USL League One team to be announced for the 2019 season, bringing the league up to 10 teams for its debut. FC Dallas season ticket members will...
  • 1st game

    Off the Bench: 1st game

    Back in October, I wrote a brief post on signing up for a rec league to play organized soccer for the first time in my life. I actually registered back in late September and wrote that piece a few weeks later. Due to the torrential rain that plagued North...
  • unraveling changes - USL

    Unraveling changes for 2019

    2019 already has the makings of a historic year for soccer in North America with not one, not two, but four new leagues launching next year. This piece here should hopefully straighten things out by summarizing and explaining what we currently know. First up, let’s talk some USL. The...