Home Sweet Home: ECFC Establishes Hoyne Field as Official Home Stadium

ECFC Fans watch the Women's First Team from Hoyne Field's stands. Credit: Tyler Navas

The Rooks have finally found a place to call home. Hoyne Field is now the official home stadium for the Edgewater Castle Football Club (ECFC). Mainly used by Loyola University Chicago’s (LUC) men’s and women’s soccer teams, the club will host their home games at Hoyne for the summer season.

After building a strong partnership with LUC, loyal Edgewater fans can now see the teams play right in their very own neighborhood. Located at 6336 N Hoyne Ave, this stadium provides bleacher seats for fans to cheer on the Rooks from and beautiful views of the Rogers Park neighborhood. These along with other factors amount to what ECFC stands for: being Onward and Upwards. Always.

Last Saturday marked the first home game for the Women’s First Team. Previous ECFC home games have been played at the Fire Pitch in North Center, however, playing at Hoyne Field highlights a new beginning for the club. After working hard to find a stadium in the Rogers Park/Edgewater neighborhood , ECFC is now able to flourish within their community.

Andrew Swanson, president of ECFC, explained this latest collaboration. “Our partnership with Loyola this year has made [this stadium] possible in a bunch of ways. Working with Dawn Collins and her department [LUC’s Community Outreach Department] and [LUC’s] Athletics Department has been pretty perfect. We’ve been imagining [playing at Hoyne] for a really long time and [having our first home opener at Hoyne] was the dream that we hoped it would be.”

From a fan’s perspective on the bleachers, Hoyne Field is a larger stadium than the Fire Pitch with a different atmosphere. However, coaches and players see profound differences between Hoyne and ECFC’s former stadium. Women’s First Team’s head coach Emma Woodley reflected on this experience: “[Hoyne Field] is different, much more professional. It’s a beautiful complex, thanks to Loyola for letting us use it this summer. A much more professional and collegiate environment that allows us to perform at our best and provide the resources that we need. The excitement and energy is there [amongst the players]. It definitely feels like we’re home.” Woodley is determined to guide her team to victory, and Hoyne Field serves as a powerful source of motivation.  

Although the professional upgrade can be recognized by the coaching staff, it's the players themselves who truly feel the difference. After running up and down the new home field, Lauren Hall, captain of the Women’s First Team, excitedly commented: “[Playing at Hoyne Field today] was a more elevated experience. You have the bleachers, the stadium, the sound [from the speakers], it felt like I was back on a huge stage playing college soccer again. It just put me in that mindset and it was awesome, better than I could have imagined.” 

With their first official win on Saturday 4-1 against Indiana United, the Women’s First Team have firmly staked their claim on their new home turf and are fired up for the season ahead. The Men’s First Team will kick off for the first time at Hoyne for their home opener against Strikers Fox Valley on May 31st at 7:00 pm.