Semi-pro soccer is growing in New Jersey, and a night out for a family of four to FC Monmouth in Red Bank will cost you only $30! For local sports-fanatic families, like us, heading to a semi-pro soccer game packs enough action for any age and won’t break the bank.
Please enjoy this feature about FC Monmouth Semi-Pro Soccer from guest blogger, Alix Hayes. Alix Hayes has lived in Monmouth County for the past decade, and has a teenage son and a teenage daughter. As a former broadcast journalist, this forty-ish mama is always on the hunt for fun and different adventures, so she is constantly taking her hubby and kids on weekend activities. So far, they rarely complain!
At the three FC Monmouth games I have attended since last year, I probably spent $50 each time on tickets and food, comparable (or less) to a night at a Jersey Shore BlueClaws game, for example. Our most recent game experience cost even less because kids wearing soccer jerseys from their local travel teams got in for FREE!
Didn’t know New Jersey families can attend semi-pro soccer games?
While Red Bulls and NY/NJ Gotham professional soccer games are amazing, they can be pricey, or far away depending on where you live in New Jersey. Luckily, there are a few teams throughout the region!
Part of the NPSL (National Premier Soccer League), FC Monmouth plays a relatively short season playing at Count Basie Park in Red Bank, NJ. They play against Jackson, West Chester (PA), Philadelphia, Atlantic City and FC Motown (Morristown, NJ). Consider it similar to the baseball minor league: FC Monmouth plays in the Northeast Region’s Keystone Conference of NPSL, the fourth division of the American soccer pyramid (below USL and Major League Soccer leagues, like an elite development league).
What makes these matches and teams worthy of a dedicated and loyal fan base is the youthful energy at these games. The seven-year-old squad is made up of young adults, college soccer players on their summer breaks. It’s also a more casual and relaxed night — less anxiety-provoking than schlepping the fam into a car for an hour’s drive north to a pro game in Harrison (for us, anyway).
More on the last matchup in Monmouth County we saw: it was not only a relatively inexpensive evening out but a real family experience — especially for the kids (who happen to love playing soccer, too!).
My daughter and I (plus one of her travel soccer teammates) were lucky to catch FC Monmouth’s very first Women’s Soccer game in early June — and they got to be ball girls AND carry flags and walk the team out on the field. It was such a cool experience for the girls! (Not to mention the fact that they got to represent their home travel club, Ocean Township United Soccer Association, and be featured on OTUSA and FC Monmouth’s social media. Bonus!)
My daughter and her friend even got to duel it out on the pitch during halftime — and won prizes for trying to score off each other. Talk about immersive family fun!
Here’s a look at the FC Monmouth soccer season schedule for 2024. They pack quite a few games into a short season.
FC Monmouth Soccer Season Schedule
- Home Matches
Wednesday 5/15 7:30 PM vs West Chester PredatorsSaturday 6/1 6 PM vs Jackson Lions FCSaturday 6/15 6 PM vs Philadephia Union DS- Saturday 6/22 6 PM vs Atlantic City FC
- Saturday 6/29 6 PM vs FC Motown
- Away Matches
Saturday 5/11 12:30 PM at Philadelphia Union DSMonday 5/20 7 PM at Atlantic City FCSaturday 5/25 7:30 PM at FC MotownSunday 6/9 4 PM at West Chester Predators- Saturday 7/6 7 PM at Jackson Lions FC
For tickets and more information follow the team and learn more at www.fcmonmouth.com.
