By Kevin Kyle
Coming into its much-anticipated home opener, Sunday evening at Bob Young Stadium in Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls City Football Club was looking for a third consecutive victory in its first season in the United Soccer League Women (USL W).
After dropping its initial Central Conference Heartland Division match on the road, City rebounded to claim a pair of road victories over Chicago City Dutch Lions and Rochester FC in quick succession – helping build Sioux Falls community excitement heading into City’s fourth tussle on home territory. 
Unfortunately for City players and fans alike, a pair of 30-minute delays prior to the scheduled action eventually turned into a forfeit by the visitors that left all wanting. Citing poor air quality, caused by smoke from recent Canadian wildfires, RKC said it would not play – despite the league deeming the air quality (checked several times prior to the scheduled match time) was within acceptable standards.
Although the forfeit results in City (3-0-1, 9 pts.) receiving three points in the standings, there was initially little to cheer about; especially for City fans who have waited two weeks to see its side compete in the USL W.
“We didn’t expect it and were holding out during the 30-minute wait and… then another,” said veteran City defender Mo Malone. “We had great anticipation that we’d be able to get on the field, but at the end of the day, they chose not to play.”
That, however, didn’t stop this classy organization from not only putting on a good show for its faithful, but also help support one of the many causes SFCFC brings focus throughout each campaign.
After more than an hour of waiting to see a match, Sioux Falls’ steadfast soccer supporters watched City play a 45-minute intrasquad match, engage with its young fans invited to watch from the sideline, line the touchline for an ‘autograph alley’ and the match’s conclusion and rally around its cause to draw more attention to, and support of, the homeless in the community.
“We made do with what we had, and our amazing fans came out to watch us anyway. It was basically like a practice to us, but they decided to stay even after they were refunded,” said Malone. “It shows our community is invested in us just as much as we’re invested in them.”
And the reciprocal support wasn’t only demonstrated with the fans’ raucous greeting of the entire squad, but also in what the players donned in taking the field – sunny, bright yellow tees backing the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House and longtime proponent Lisa Bondy.
“The players came to me at the beginning of the season and wanted to do something to honor of my mom,” said former City player and current Director of Player Care Anna Bondy. “The one thing I thought of was the homeless. My mom worked for the state of South Dakota for 20 years and did a lot of work on grants toward helping eliminate homelessness; she did the homeless count every year in the state and had a big passion for the homeless community. I thought it was a perfect way to blend the two passions together. I think it was amazing that the team would want to do something like this for me and my family – extra special because City is my second family. My brother Chris and I, and the whole family really appreciated it.”
On behalf of Lisa Bondy, who passed away suddenly on Oct. 21, 2024, after suffering a brain aneurysm, those in attendance were encouraged to donate to the Bishop Dudley Hospitality
House – where gifts will help provide warm beds and hot meals for those seeking temporary shelter.
“They can help get people ID cards to help them get jobs, and it’s a place where my mom helped people every year – talked with them all the time,” said Anna Bondy. “They’ve also developed a special award for the outstanding employee at her work, in my mom’s name, because she did so much for the homeless community. I think it’s amazing thing to bring awareness to because homelessness is an epidemic.
And the power and poise of SFCFC, on and off the pitch, was deeply felt throughout the evening.
“Initially, we have a few causes that we return to every year, but we thought we’d do something different this year because of what happened to Anna’s mom,” said Malone. “We didn’t know which way Anna wanted to go with this… maybe a commemoration of her mom’s life. She ended up choosing what was near and dear to her mom’s heart. Coming from California, homelessness is a really big problem there and this initiative is something that I was very excited about, but also an area where we could pay tribute to Anna’s mom – a beautiful human who wanted to help people. That’s what Sioux Falls stands for; we want to help everyone and invest in this community. And that means everyone, people who don’t even have a home… want to help them too.”
City will be back in action Friday at 7 p.m. when it once again hits the road, taking on Heartland Division leaders Minnesota Aurora FC (4-0-0, 12 pts.) at TCO Stadium in Eagan, MN.