Cedar Rapids Inferno Soccer Club has a “very remarkable” season

The Cedar Rapids soccer club is undefeated and won its first conference title last weekend

CEDAR RAPIDS – It was a “very remarkable” season for the Cedar Rapids Inferno.

“We understand that what we have done so far is very remarkable and quite successful for a small team from Cedar Rapids, Iowa,” said Kenan Malicevic, owner, founder, coach and player of Inferno Soccer Club.

Founded in 2018, The Inferno is a semi-professional adult club comprised of high school and college level athletes competing in the Midwest Premier Soccer League.

The Inferno has remained undefeated so far this season.

“We know we have two games left this season and although we need a win to win the title, we want to remain undefeated,” Malicevic said before clinching the title with a win over AFC Columbia on Saturday. “So I keep reminding the guys that we set a goal at the beginning of the season, which was not to lose a single game.”

Cedar Rapids Inferno (6-0-2) is part of the eight-team Gateway Conference. The conference consists of teams from Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

The Inferno is in first place in the conference.

“It’s pretty awesome,” said Gabe Chapa, a former Linn-Mar Prep player who is a third-year player on the Western Illinois University team. “I love the atmosphere, it’s all guys I’ve played with pretty much my whole life. Plus, there are some of these older guys that have been here before me and are showing great leadership for the team, so it’s pretty awesome.”

The Inferno environment welcomes new players from all over the world. Malicevic is one of those players, coming to Cedar Rapids from Bosnia.

“We have a lot of international players on our team,” said Callum McKenna, an Inferno player from England who played for Mount Mercy University. “We come from different cultures and different parts of the world, but football is like our common bond.”

With only two games left, the team continues to fight its way through the season.

After defeating AFC Columbia on Saturday to win its first league title, the team is confident and humble going into its final two games. The Inferno will play Pearl City Soccer Club in Muscatine on Saturday. The season will end on July 27 against Pearl City at Mount Mercy’s Plaster Athletic Complex.

“It took us several years to gather all the necessary positions and attitudes, but now that we have them, the results speak for themselves,” said Malicevic.