By David Mundee of the Dothan Eagle
As the final whistle blew on Dothan United’s 3-0 win over Apotheos FC on Saturday night, Dothan players on the bench started dancing and spraying water on teammates with squirt bottles, including teammates coming off the field to the sideline. Players Rodrigo Lopes and Oscar Vallejo doused coaches with an ice bucket. Others on the field jumped into teammates’ arms.
The celebration was on at Dothan’s Rip Hewes Stadium for the new USL2 South Central Division soccer champions.
Behind three first-half goals and another suffocating defensive effort, Dothan United clinched the title outright with the win over Apotheos before 5,400 Dragon supporters inside Rip Hewes, giving Dothan its first division title in the three-year history of the program.
Dothan broke out of a tie with the Southern Soccer Academy Swarm in the division, improving to 9-1-2 in league play.
“We set many goals to start the season, but this was the big one,” Dothan United head coach Ricky Davey said. “To clinch it here before an amazing fan base that supports us non-stop every week is fantastic. I am happy to get it done.
“The guys deserve it more than anything. They work hard. They work for each other. They work for the city. I am proud of them as well as the amazing staff I have here too. I am happy for everybody.”
Players and coaches quickly placed sparkling new baseball championship caps onto their heads. Shortly after, team owner Mike Schmitz, with the players surrounding him in a circle, twirled around with the Division Championship trophy before handing it off to Lopes, who was quickly swallowed in a sea of white jersey teammates who closed in on him and the trophy as they jumped on the turf closely together at midfield.
Team owner and president Steve Donner and other Dragon staff members hugged players, while fans, including kids, walked out of the stands to come see their heroes on the pitch.
There were two members of the Circle City Inferno, the official fan club of the Dragons, unfurling a banner with the words ‘History Made, South Central ’26 Champs’ in red and black letters, much to the delight of the players. Then came an extended fireworks show over the north end zone along with plenty of team photos and hugs.
“It is surreal,” Donner said. “When we came to Dothan (with soccer), that was our goal from day one – to compete for championships and playoffs. It is one thing to say things and another to achieve it.
“I am so proud of the coaches and players. It is the next step in our growth. I couldn’t be more proud of the community and the support tonight. We are celebrating it as a family and as a community with everyone.”
Dothan players were equally elated at the division title.
“Amazing,” said Lopes, who scored the Dragons’ first goal in the clinching win. “It is my first trophy in the USL. I have been in it since 2024. It has been an amazing experience from the beginning.”
Ryan Holmes, who scored the other two goals, had a similar sentiment.
“It feels awesome,” Holmes said. “This is what we play for from the start of the season. It feels good to get the job done.”
Dothan entered the night tied with the Swarm, which already completed its season on Wednesday. The Dragons needed only a tie to break the deadlock and win the title. However, they didn’t want to back into the title with the tie but break down the front door with a win.
“We had one mission: It was not to tie the game, but to win the title with a win,” Lopes said. “We did our job.”
Shortly after the first-half hydration break, the Dragons’ offense got rolling.
Lopes scored on a header inside the box at the 30:25 mark off a cross from Josh Hallenberger to stake Dothan United to a 1-0 lead. He pushed the goal to an open right side for the score.
“I didn’t know (it was open),” Lopes said. “The cross came from the right and I knew the keeper would shift with the ball (toward the left). I tried to put it in the corner where he was going the opposite way.”
Less than three minutes later, Holmes took a pass from Dyson Clapier and fired a rocket shot that was too hard for the Apotheos goalkeeper to handle as the shot deflected off his hands as it rocked him backwards with the ball flying into the back of the net at the 33:03 mark.
“I was trying to get it on target and as long as I am on target, there is a chance it will go,” Holmes said.
Five minutes later, Holmes lined up for a penalty kick after a hand ball violation inside the goalie box on an Apotheos defender during a scramble in front of the net. Holmes went to the right side for the score, ahead of the diving goalkeeper, pushing the Dothan advantage to 3-0.
Dothan, which controlled the ball for 90 percent of the game inside Apotheos’ side of the field, had several scoring chances in the second half, but misfired on all of them.
The Dragons had 11 shots on goal on the night, while Apotheos had just three shot attempts.
Dothan goalkeeper Yago Darub had one save in recording the shutout, though he made several nice decisions to seize the ball on cross attempts.
Davey said the Dragons were glad to earn the title in front of the home fans.
“The coach will tell you he will do it in front of anyone at any time, but I know it meant a lot to the players (to do it at home) and a lot to the fans. You see this now,” Davey said, motioning to the throng of fans and players celebrating together to his right side.
“It is incredible. It was a big goal (to win the division) before the year and I was happy we could do it here – to share these moments. We talked about it, you never know when the next time will be that you will be able to compete for a trophy or lift one, so enjoy it tonight and have the memories of the people then move on to Thursday.”
Dothan now shifts its attention to the USL2 Playoffs and an opening-round game on Thursday night at Rip Hewes Stadium at 7:30 p.m.
Though not official, Davey felt the Dragons’ opponent would be Brave FC of the Villages, Fla., in the opener. Brave is the Southeast Division champion. Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) and Swarm are the other two teams in the playoff bracket and would likely play the other match at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
The two winners play on Saturday for a chance to advance to the following weekend’s acton.
