Seacoast United Phantoms

Seacoast United Phantoms
Full name	Seacoast United Phantoms
Nickname(s)	The Phantoms
Founded	1996; 28 years ago
Stadium	New England Sports Park; Alex Ryan
League	USL League Two
2023	1st, Northeast Division; Playoffs: Conference Quarterfinals
Website	Club website
	Home colors
	Home colors

New Hampshire Phantoms logo through 2010

The Seacoast United Phantoms (formerly the New Hampshire Phantoms) are an American

American Soccer Pyramid

. The team's colors are blue, white, gold and black.

The team also fields a team in the USL's

United Soccer Leagues

umbrella.

History

USISL Pro League/USISL D-3 Pro League

New Hampshire Phantoms joined the ranks of American pro soccer in 1996 as an expansion franchise in the third-tier USISL Pro League. They finished their first season in competition with a decent 8–7–1 record, in 6th place in the Northeast Conference behind

Albuquerque Geckos in the semi-finals. Ron Murphy

was the Phantoms' top scorer in a very successful year, with 19 goals, the fourth best in the league.

Things were even better for the Phantoms in 1998, as they improved their regular season performance for the second straight year, finishing with a 10–6–2 records and 2nd in the Northeast behind

Chicago Stingers in the Championship Game, but fell 3–2 in another overtime classic, and eventually finished the year as the second-best team in the D3 Pro League. In the post-season awards, goalkeeper Jeremy Bailey

was honored as one of the top stoppers in the league, with an impressive 1.09 GAA average.

USL D-3 Pro League

1999 cemented New Hampshire's position as perennial contenders: they finished third in the re-structured Northern Division behind Western Mass Pioneers with a 13–5–0 record, and beat New Jersey Stallions 1–0 in the conference playoff semi-finals, but failed to progress to the national competition for a third straight year as they were beaten 1–0 in overtime by Western Mass in the Conference Final. Ron Murphy was again the Phantoms' top scorer, with 15 goals, while Andrew Boyea posted encouraging 1.27 GAA goalkeeping stats.

The Phantoms made the post season for a fourth time in 2000, finishing third behind the

Reading Rage first time out. 2001 was much of the same: second in the regular season behind the expansion Boston Bulldogs with an 8–8–2 record, but out in the first round of the playoffs following a 4–2 loss to their divisional rivals, the New Jersey Stallions, although Ron Murphy

continued to be a potent goal scoring force for the Phantoms, with 17 goals on the season. 2002 was the first year that things did not go the Phantoms' way, as they finished the year bottom of the Northern Conference table with just four wins all season, and out of the playoffs for the first time in four years.

USL Pro Select League

The D3 Pro League became the Pro Select League in 2003, and the Phantoms bounced back superbly in regular season play, finishing second in the Northern Region behind

Rochester Raging Rhinos. Bjørn Hansen

was New Hampshire's top scorer, with 17 goals, the fourth best figures in the league.

2004 brought the first piece of silverware to New Hampshire when, after eight years of competition, they topped the Northern Division standings, four points clear of second placed

Chicago Fire Reserves in the second round. Bjørn Hansen was again New Hampshire's top scorer, with 16 goals on the season, while Kyle Singer

posted 1.223 GAA goalkeeping stats.

USL Second Division

The USL Pro Select League was renamed the USL Second Division in 2005, and converted to a single-table format, but the Phantoms never got to grips with the new setup, and struggled on the field. The Phantoms lost five of their six opening games, conceding three goals in four of the games, and were grasping for any kind of run in form almost from the beginning of the season. A 6–0 hammering of the

Northern Virginia Royals at home in early June that featured a brace from striker Mark Manganello briefly raised the spirits, and back-to-back wins over Long Island Rough Riders and Charlotte Eagles hinted that a late-season surge could be on the cards in Manchester, but the Phantoms reverted to their poor form quickly. A win and three ties in July effectively ended their playoff hopes, and the 5–2 defeat on the road at Long Island was the low point of the year. A final day victory over the Rough Riders made up for their pummeling earlier in the season, but it was too little too late for New Hampshire, who ended the season in 7th place, 22 points behind regular season champions Western Mass Pioneers. Bjørn Hansen and Thomas McNeil shared the goal scoring spoils, with 6 goals each, while Ricky Charles, Hansen and James Proctor

weighed in with 3 assists apiece.

2006 was a year of mid-table obscurity for the Phantoms, finishing with a 9–10–1 record, and in 5th place in the USL Second Division standings, just missing out on the post season once more. The year started brightly for New Hampshire, with two wins and a tie in their first three games, including 3–1 victory over

T.J. Tomasso when completing an 8–0 rout on the final day of the season. Almir Barbosa

was the Phantoms' top scorer, with 10 goals, while Thomas McNeil contributed 5 assists.

The Phantoms sank to their lowest ebb in 2007, winning just three games in what turned out to be a long and difficult season. They started the season with a 7-game winless streak, being hammered 4–0 by both the

Bermuda Hogges, to whom they lost twice. Almir Barbosa

was New Hampshire's top scorer for the second year in a row, with 6 goals, while Thomas McNeil contributed 2 assists.

In an attempt to consolidate their finances and restructure their organization, the Phantoms took voluntary relegation from the

Premier Development League

at the end of 2007.

USL Premier Development League

The club's transition into the PDL began with an inconsistent run of performances, however after winning their division and reaching the regional finals in 2014 the Phantoms have now established themselves as a force within the North East Division. In 2016 they appointed Alistair Bain as their new head coach, who arrives from GPS Portland Phoenix having had a very successful 7-year tenure in charge. In 2017 they won the regular season of their division.

USL League Two

In 2019, the club moved to the newly created USL League Two, the fourth division of American soccer. In their inaugural season, they finished 6th in the Northeast division, and missed out on the playoffs.

Players

Current roster

Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Year-by-year

Year	Level	League	Regular Season	Playoffs	U.S. Open Cup
New Hampshire Phantoms
1996	3	USISL Pro League	6th, Northeast	did not qualify	did not qualify
1997	3	USISL D-3 Pro League	3rd, Northeast	Semifinals	did not qualify
1998	3	USISL D-3 Pro League	2nd, Northeast	Final	did not qualify
1999	3	USL D-3 Pro League	3rd, Northern	Conference Finals	did not qualify
2000	3	USL D-3 Pro League	3rd, Northern	Conference Quarterfinals	did not qualify
2001	3	USL D-3 Pro League	2nd, Northern	Conference Semifinals	did not qualify
2002	3	USL D-3 Pro League	4th, Northern	did not qualify	did not qualify
2003	3	USL Pro Select League	2nd, Northern	Regional Finals	3rd round
2004	3	USL Pro Soccer League	1st, Northern	Semifinals	2nd round
2005	3	USL Second Division	8th	did not qualify	did not qualify
2006	3	USL Second Division	5th	did not qualify	3rd round
2007	3	USL Second Division	9th	did not qualify	did not qualify
2008	4	USL PDL	4th, New England	did not qualify	did not qualify
2009	4	USL PDL	8th, Northeast	did not qualify	did not qualify
2010	4	USL PDL	7th, Northeast	did not qualify	did not qualify
2011	4	USL PDL	2nd, Northeast	Conference Semifinals	did not qualify
Seacoast United Phantoms
2012	4	USL PDL	6th, Northeast	did not qualify	did not qualify
2013	4	USL PDL	7th, Northeast	did not qualify	did not qualify
2014	4	USL PDL	1st, Northeast	Conference Semifinals	did not qualify
2015	4	USL PDL	2nd, Northeast	Divisional Playoff	2nd round
2016	4	USL PDL	5th, Northeast	did not qualify	1st round
2017	4	USL PDL	1st, Northeast	Conference Semifinals	did not qualify
2018	4	USL PDL	7th, Northeast	did not qualify	2nd round
2019	4	USL League Two	6th, Northeast	did not qualify	did not qualify
2020	4	USL League Two	Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	4	USL League Two	3rd, Northeast	Conference Semifinals	did not qualify
2022	4	USL League Two	1st, Northeast	Conference Final	did not qualify
2023	4	USL League Two	1st, Northeast	Conference Quarterfinals	did not qualify