Long-running Triad soccer team gets new life in move to Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem’s newest soccer team has begun its first season, but it has long-running ties to the Triad. Salem City Football Club was formerly known as NC Fusion, which had played in Greensboro since 2018. Before that, the team was known as the Dynamo for more than 20 years.

The latest incarnation plays in what’s known as United Soccer League League Two. Many of its players have finished college and are pursuing a professional career.

Wake Forest University student Peyton Douglas is providing coverage for WFDD and spoke with the team’s managing partner, Chris Barnhart.

Interview highlights

On what prompted the move to Winston-Salem:

"We believe that soccer is going to be city-focused. That's how it is in Europe. And we believe that's what's going to happen in the United States. When it was in Greensboro, we tried to be a Triad team. So we tried to cover three cities... All cities are different, and they have different cultures. And we felt that we can move into Winston and just build on a Winston culture. All of our sponsors are local. All of our coaches are local. All our staff is local Winston folk, so we're trying to build it from the ground up."

On the reaction from Dynamo fans

"They already went through one move, because Dynamo changed from the Dynamo to NC Fusion back in 2018. The move from NC Fusion to Salem City has been a little quiet, at least, because we don't want to exclude fans from Greensboro who supported us over there. But yet we are saying we're a Winston-Salem-based team. So I'm sure there are some hard feelings that we moved over. But with that said, NC Fusion did keep the USL W team, which is the women's version of USL Two, and that will be playing in Greensboro and staying in Greensboro."

On the biggest challenge for the inaugural season:

"The challenge I thought coming into it was building up the fan support in the city itself. I knew (Winston)-Salem would get behind it, it's just a soccer town. But we didn't know. So in the beginning that was the thing that kept us up at night. But we've just been embraced. Everywhere we go now people are asking us about it. They're asking us to show up at their events, which is always fun. So that was going into it. That was our biggest fear. The best thing we have going for it we are a winning team. Carolina Dynamo was, is, one of the oldest franchises in the USL, which is amazing. So we have those fans who have kind of merged along because we had a lot of Winston folks who went over to watch them. Once we took over as NC Fusion, we've won every conference. We've made it to a national final in those five years. We have that winning behind us that folks who know who we are. Our biggest hurdle is named distinction, probably because we moved from NC Fusion to Salem City. We are different ownership. We're a different club or a different franchise, but yet we have that heritage within NC Fusion. So it's embracing that heritage, but also moving into the new era too, that's that's been a challenge."

On the team mascot: 

It's a chimera. A chimera is a mystical beast, mostly from Greek literature. We have a lion, a ram, and –most people don't notice it– but there's also a snake in there. So the way that came about was taking in the region. First of all, the team itself was formed from three other teams that came together to form Salem City. So that's one kind of nuance that came into that. We also wanted to show that yes, we are Triad with High Point Winston-Salem and Greensboro. So that came into that. And we worked with the coaches, because that's their style of play, believe it or not, they believe in the braveness of a lion, the toughness of a ram and the cunning of the snake.

On what drew him to Salem City FC and his goals for the team:

"It's fun. That's the biggest thing. When you experience the game from my position, and you see the people there and you see the kids there, and they're all watching players that aren't you know, they're not professionals. So, they're players that can still relate to them. And just to see the expressions on their faces and the fan momentum that gets behind that is just fantastic. The other thing I thoroughly enjoy is watching the players progress. Since we are kind of the bridge, our sole goal is to progress a player from an amateur racking ranking to a pro. So we handle that semi-pro area where we're just trying to progress these players so when I see a player get a pro contract at the end of the season, I just get thrilled"

Editor's note: Salem City FC is among WFDD's recent financial supporters.