The Edmonton Eagles were a Canadian professional soccer team in Edmonton, Alberta that competed in the original Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1983. They finished as champions in the league's only season.
14-880: After the Edmonton Drillers of the North American Soccer League folded following the 1982 season, a new professional team was founded by local business man, John Tiemessen, to play in the inaugural season of the new Canadian Professional Soccer League in 1983. Much of the Drillers fanbase carried over to support the Eagles, although they did not receive much television coverage, although some matches were carried by local radio station CKER-FM . Two local companies - Sorrento Restaurant and Lounge and 126 CFRN Radio partnered to purchase 15,000 tickets to matches to distribute to youth soccer players under
28-522: A number of players with him from the Netherlands. After Kraay, Timo Liekoski took over as coach in 1981, while Patrone would serve as the team's final caretaker coach until the team folded at the end of the 1982 season . During the outdoor season, the Drillers played their home games at Commonwealth Stadium , but dwindling crowds during the final year saw the team move to much older and smaller Clarke Stadium , which led to even fewer fans attending
42-768: A tricky deal with the owners of the Coliseum and Commonwealth Stadium relating to the attendance, concessions and parking at the indoor games; and as admitted by John Colbert, the Drillers' business manager in 1982, a business strategy that consisted a "top-down construction" for the team (i.e., bringing in expensive international players as opposed to developing cheaper local talent). Championships (1) Regular Season/ Division Titles (2) NASL All Stars NASL indoor MVP NASL indoor Scoring Champion NASL indoor Finals MVP NASL indoor All Stars Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame 1980%E2%80%9381 NASL Indoor season The 1980–81 season
56-545: The Eagles. The Eagles had been in a tough financial state for much of their tenure that season, with players not being paid in the latter months of the season, including for the championship final, and some players were not paid at all. The following players played for the Eagles: Edmonton Drillers (1979%E2%80%931982) The Edmonton Drillers were a North American Soccer League team that played both outdoors and indoors from 1979 to 1982, at
70-724: The NASL coaches and general managers. Each voter cast ballots for one goalie and five outfield players regardless of position. If a playoff series is tied after two games, a 15 minute, tie breaker mini-game is played. #Scheduling conflicts at the Portland Coliseum forced both games to be played in Chicago. *Scheduling conflicts at the Northlands Coliseum forced Game 1 of the Finals to be moved across
84-486: The Sting, 5–4, in front of a then-record NASL indoor crowd of 16,257 at Chicago Stadium to sweep the finals and claim the 1981 NASL indoor championship. In 1982, costs were skyrocketing for the team as they were with a number of the other NASL franchises. In Edmonton's case in particular, the following have been speculated as factors connected with the team's collapse: poor support by local media; difficulties stemming from
98-482: The age of 14 to watch matches, as part of the Eagles Junior Fan Club. Their first match was played on May 22 on the road against Hamilton Steelers , which they won by a score of 2–1. Their home opener came in their third game of the season, on May 29, also against Hamilton, which resulted in a 1–1 draw, in front of a crowd of 7,138 spectators at Clarke Stadium , which was their highest attendance of
112-401: The games. The Drillers played their two seasons of indoor soccer at Northlands Coliseum and also at Edmonton Gardens . The outdoor team was characterized by a strong defensive style of play, but their indoor style was built upon a run-and-go style of attack. Attendance for the outdoor games ranged greatly from 10,000 in the early stages of the franchise to 4,000 per game in 1982. By comparison,
126-459: The lowest ranked Calgary Mustangs in the best-of-three season, winning the first two matches (the third match was not played as it was not needed). In the one-match winner-take-all championship final, they defeated Hamilton 2–0, in front of over 7000 fans, to finish as league champions and win the Tip Top Cup. The day after the final, the league announced it was folding, ending the tenure of
140-599: The more successful and profitable indoor games had attendances ranging between 5,000 and 7,000 paying fans per game in 1981 and 1982. Because the Northlands Coliseum was booked, Game 1 of the 1981 NASL indoor finals was instead played at the slated-for-demolition Edmonton Gardens. On March 2, 1981, the Drillers defeated the Chicago Sting , 9–6, in front of 5,089 fans to lead the series. In Game 2, played five days later, Edmonton came from behind to down
154-634: The peak of the league's success. The team was brought to Edmonton by local entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Peter Pocklington , after witnessing the strong support for Brian Rice's Edmonton Black Gold team in 1978. Previous to playing in Edmonton, the team was known as the Oakland Stompers , Hartford Bicentennials and Connecticut Bicentennials . Joe Petrone was the Drillers general manager for their entire existence. The Drillers were coached in 1979 and 1980 by Hans Kraay , who brought
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#1732790698188168-529: The regular season. This was due to early season litigation which restricted NASL teams' travel between the U.S. and Canada. The Edmonton Drillers won the championship in a two-game finals-sweep of the Chicago Sting . This was the Drillers' first, and only, NASL indoor title. Kai Haaskivi of Edmonton won both the regular season and playoff MVP awards. W = Wins, L = Losses, GB = Games behind 1st place, % = Winning percentage, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against All-star selections were made, by region, by
182-410: The season. After two of the six league clubs folded in mid-June, the decision was made to abandon the remainder of the regular season and proceed directly to the playoffs on July 12. The Eagles were sitting in first place at the time with a record of 7 wins, 3 draws, and 0 losses, finishing five points ahead of second place Hamilton, despite having played two less games. In the first round, they defeated
196-542: Was the North American Soccer League 's second indoor soccer season. A total of 19 of a possible 21 NASL teams participated. New York and Montreal (who was moving from Philadelphia) were the only hold-outs this indoor season. Just as the season was getting underway, the Jacksonville Tea Men relocated from New England. Teams played an 18-game regular season. The four Canadian teams were realigned into one division and forced to play only one another during
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