Misplaced Pages

#370629

35-857: Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California . Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid , in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference until 2012. The team played its home games at Eagle Stadium on the campus of Concordia University , where they played from 2007 to 2012. The team's colors are white and black. Blue Star began life as Orange County Zodiac in

70-675: A 2–2 record. Paralleling their efforts to increase the level of competition, BYU left the collegiate club division of soccer, and purchased a franchise in the Premier Development League (now known as USL League Two ), where they began play in May 2003. Part of the United Soccer Leagues, this league provides the year round competition necessary to develop individual and team skills that in hand will better prepare them for success in their international travels. BYU

105-541: A 6–1 hammering by Los Angeles Legends , a 3–0 home defeat by Fresno Fuego , and a humiliating 4–2 loss away to Lancaster Rattlers in what was that franchise's second ever victory. As July came round, Blue Star were rooted at the foot of the Southwest standings, but three victories in their last three games, including an impressive 3–1 win over Bakersfield Brigade , gave their year at least some small semblance of respectability. Nevertheless, Blue Star finished 8th of 10 in

140-525: A USASA state association. The first region of the four USASA regions are teams located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The region includes the following state soccer associations: BYU Cougars soccer Men's soccer has had a presence at BYU dating back to 1955, when Carl and Harold Boden – two brothers who had recently moved from Germany to attend

175-414: A clear 11 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Southern California Seahorses . Once again, Blue Star were the league's free-scoring entertainers, scoring more than four goals on six occasions, including a 6–2 road victory over San Diego Gauchos , and two 5–0 demolitions of BYU Cougars and Nevada Wonders . The 2005 squad included a number of players who would later go on to grace Major League Soccer and

210-616: A club team. The Cougars traveled for 10 days throughout Europe, playing 6 games in Spain and the Netherlands. BYU compiled a 4-1-1 record, with games in Spain against Vallecas CF , Rayo Vallecano reserves , and FC Barcelona reserves, and in the Netherlands against FC Sittard and Minor Nuth . In 2002, they spent 6 days in Pachuca and Mexico City playing 4 games against the various reserve teams of C.F. Pachuca and Cruz Azul , compiling

245-451: A late equalizer in the return game against Fresno to draw 2–2 when victory looked to be on the cards. Even their cup run ended quickly with a 5–2 loss at the hands of NPSL side Sonoma County Sol . A final day 1–0 victory on the road in Utah against BYU Cougars restored a little bit of pride for the team which once dominated the division, but it was much too little too late, and they finished

280-484: A number of free-scoring victories, putting five past Nevada Wonders in mid May, and topping rivals Southern California Seahorses 4–2 in June. The playoffs saw them take care of Spokane Shadow in the opening game, but eventually lose the Western Conference title to Fresno Fuego . Blue Star enjoyed probably the most successful year in their history in 2005, retaining their division title with comparative ease by finishing

315-653: A pair of 5–1 victories over Fresno Fuego and San Diego Gauchos , a 5–2 demolition of Nevada Wonders , and a breathtaking 5–4 win over BYU Cougars which featured a hat trick by Ryan Coiner . The year 2003 was a landmark season due to the participation of a certain German player named Jay Göppingen, who played eight games and scored five goals for Blue Star. Goppingen was actually the pseudonym used by former Inter Milan , Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur striker Jürgen Klinsmann who, following his relocation from Europe to California, decided he wanted to keep playing for

350-733: A professional player in Europe and South America . Gerzeli had become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1966 while living in Canada , and moved to Utah shortly thereafter. His coaching helped BYU secure the Daynes Cup, the top soccer trophy in the state, in 1970. He also provided some international exposure by arranging for the team to take a 22-day tour of his native Italy in 1974. That same year BYU installed new coach Shavji “Jim” Dusara, who had served as head coach of

385-692: A year or so, just for fun, and to impart his wisdom to Orange County's young soccer players. Klinsmann was born in the city of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg . The 2004 season saw Blue Star relocate from the stadium at UC Irvine to the Home Depot Center in Carson , but the change of surroundings didn't stop them from winning their second divisional title in style, finishing four points ahead of second-place Fresno Fuego , and losing just 3 regular season games all season. Blue Star enjoyed

SECTION 10

#1732792953371

420-504: Is a national organization and sanctioning body for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 54 state organizations as well as regional, national and state leagues. There are numerous adult leagues that are affiliated with the USASA. These leagues are mostly independent of each other, and the division rankings cannot be reliably compared between state or local organizations. There are affiliated leagues and national leagues, in which

455-514: Is the only university sponsored soccer program to ever purchase a franchise and compete at a level considered higher than NCAA soccer in the pyramid of U.S. soccer development. Their first season in the PDL saw BYU in the Southwest division, competing against traditionally strong southern California sides such as Orange County Blue Star and Southern California Seahorses . Despite a 3–0 victory over Nevada Wonders in their first game, BYU's first season

490-528: The US Men's National Team , including Sacha Kljestan , Calen Carr , Robbie Rogers , Kamani Hill , and top scorer Kei Kamara from Sierra Leone , who knocked in 12 goals in his 14 starts. Blue Star easily advanced to the post-season playoffs where, after beating Fresno Fuego and Northwest champions Cascade Surge , they fell by the odd goal in three to the eventual national champions, Des Moines Menace . Blue Star's impressive early season form also took them to

525-482: The US Open Cup for the first time since 1999, but they were beaten 3–1 in the first round by El Paso Patriots . Blue Star finished 2005 with the best regular season record in the country, winning 15 out of their 16 games, suffering just one loss, and finishing with a +39 goal difference. With their conference expanding to 9 teams, Blue Star did not find life in 2006 quite as easy, but they still finished second in

560-586: The 2000 season, their final one in the A-League, but finished rock bottom of the Pacific Conference, and took the 2000–01 offseason to consider their options. The club dropped down to the PDL in 2001 and changed their name again, and the newly christened Blue Star immediately enjoyed success. They finished their first year in the fourth tier as Champions of the Southwest division, but were defeated by eventual championship runners-up, Calgary Storm , in

595-483: The Conference semi-finals. 2002 was frustrating, with Blue Star finishing a third in the division and missing out on the playoffs, but 2003 was better, for although they finished second to Fresno Fuego in the divisional table, they advanced all the way to the national playoff semi-finals, falling 3–1 to Chicago Fire Reserves at the penultimate hurdle. The 2003 regular season included some stunning results, including

630-460: The Cougars faced the 2014 National Champions Ohio State in the 2019 NIRSA National Championship . Ohio State and BYU whom are perennial power houses entered the match with a 18-1-0 record and a 16-1-0 record respectively. The Buckeyes took a 1–0 lead in the 8th minute, but the Cougars responded shortly after with a penalty kick in the 14th minute. The Cougars then made it 2–1 in the 24th minute of

665-604: The USISL A-League in 1997, finishing fifth in the Pacific Conference in their inaugural season, with Gustavo Leal leading the scoring charts. The team suffered three years of middling results, only advancing to the post season in 1999, where they lost to the Seattle Sounders in the Round of 16. The Zodiac played some of their games at Santa Ana Stadium . They changed their name to Orange County Waves prior to

700-509: The division behind Southern California Seahorses . Playing out of yet another new stadium – Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa – Blue Star started the season strongly, winning four of their first five games, including an astonishing 4–3 victory over San Fernando Valley Quakes which saw them score 4 goals in the final 8 minutes of the game. A strong season finish saw Blue Star win six of their last eight games, and their form continued into

735-484: The division, twelve points behind divisional champions San Fernando Valley Quakes . Jeffrey Clark was the team's top scorer, with seven goals, while Tomer Konowiecki notched up four assists. The 2009 season began superbly for Blue Star, with four wins in their first four games – including an impressive 4–0 over divisional new boys Ogden Outlaws that featured a hat trick from striker David Ponce – and four straight clean sheets for goalkeeper Kris Minton taking them to

SECTION 20

#1732792953371

770-654: The end of NCAA competition, BYU's men's soccer team found significant success at the club level. The Cougars won NCSA national titles in 1993 and 1995 prior to moving to NIRSA . There, they continued to dominate the Collegiate Club Soccer Championships, winning national titles in 1996, 1997 , 1998, 1999 , and 2001 , including an unprecedented run of 30 straight victories at the Club National Championships. In 2001, BYU participated in its first international tour as

805-399: The first round of the US Open Cup for the first time since 2005. However, having gone unbeaten in their first six regular season games through the end of May, Blue Star collapsed in mid-season, and endured an awful ten game winless streak through June and July that saw the teams fall to a number of comprehensive defeats, losing 5–1 to Fresno Fuego , 3–0 to Bakersfield Brigade , and conceding

840-414: The first time in a long time the team finished with a losing record, picking up just 3 wins all season, and finishing a lowly 9th in the divisional table, a full 19 points adrift of league leaders Fresno Fuego and San Fernando Valley Quakes . The sole high point in a hugely disappointing season was the 3–0 victory over Bakersfield Brigade in early July, and it is indicative of the unexpected slump in form

875-501: The league's expansion in the Pacific Northwest, and they finished fourth in the table, three points out of the playoffs. BYU's tough time in the Southwest continued in 2010, a season in which the Cougars won just four games. In 2017, it was announced that the team would leave the PDL after 15 seasons to return to club status, and the club finished the season with its sixth NIRSA National Championship. On November 23, 2019,

910-521: The match. In the 28th minute the Buckeyes were reduced to 10 men following a red card. The Cougars entered half-time with the 2–1 advantage. Although the Buckeyes were down a player, they kept the pressure on BYU for majority of the 2nd half. The Cougars defense made spectacular efforts to keep the game only 2–1, after weathering numerous set pieces from the Buckeyes. As the Buckeyes continued to push more numbers forward in search for an equalizer, BYU sealed

945-470: The national leagues operate leagues constructed out of localized conferences, while multi-state and regional leagues operated leagues that focus on competition with less emphasize on national appeal. USASA has over 250,000 adult members within its leagues and teams. The elite league membership program is for the promotion of the top USASA leagues across the country. These leagues are part of the USASA structure as national leagues, regional leagues or members of

980-517: The national soccer team of Tanzania during Olympic qualifying in 1968 and 1972. Dusara continued the trend of building BYU soccer with players from foreign countries, in addition to local talent from Utah and other parts of the United States . The team won the Daynes Cup for the second time in 1976. The BYU men's soccer team officially joined the NCAA in 1978. Then known as the “SoccerCats”,

1015-528: The playoffs, where they overcame Abbotsford Rangers and BYU Cougars to take the Western Conference title for the second year in a row, before losing to Michigan Bucks in the national semi finals. Anthony Hamilton and Sal Zizzo were the season's top scorers with 8 and 4 goals respectively, while Sem Lopez contributed 3 assists. The 2007 season, however, marked the first season when things did not go Blue Star's way. Playing out of their third stadium in as many years – Concordia University in Irvine – for

1050-501: The school – placed an ad in the student newspaper and gathered enough players together to start a team. They joined the Utah Soccer League the following year, and began playing teams from around the state of the Utah. The university officially sanctioned soccer as a club sport in 1963. The team received a major boost in 1969 with the arrival of former Italian soccer star Bruno Gerzeli , who had 14 seasons of experience as

1085-454: The team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team. Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html . Orange County FC List of USASA affiliated leagues The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA)

Orange County Blue Star - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-481: The team showed well in their first season, defeating rival Utah 3-0 and eventually finishing in second place in the WAC tournament. The program then proceeded to win the tournament in the following three consecutive seasons (1979 to 1981). Dusara guided the team as head coach until 1987, when he was controversially dismissed by BYU's athletic administration, and the men's soccer program was dropped from NCAA status. With

1155-586: The team suffered that the season's top scorer, Patrick Marion , notched just 5 of the team's 18 goals. Blue Star started 2008 brightly, hoping to put the misery of the dismal 2007 season behind them. Two wins in their first four games – 4–1 over old rivals Southern California Seahorses (in which all four Blue Star goals were scored by Jeffrey Clark ) and 3–1 over Lancaster Rattlers – initially kept spirits high, but things quickly turned sour. Blue Star didn't win another game until July, and during their mid-season drought suffered seven defeats in nine games, including

1190-545: The year a distant eighth in the table. David Ponce scored five goals, but such was the squad's instability that head coach Spencer used 46 players during the course of the season, including ex-professional Mike Munoz and Ian Sarachan, son of former Chicago Fire MLS coach Dave Sarachan . Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for

1225-471: Was a difficult one, and saw them pick up just one more victory all year, but BYU finished 4th the following two years. In 2006, BYU realigned to the Northwest division, and qualified for their first US Open Cup and their first playoffs. In 2007, the Cougars won their first divisional title, but the following year the team fell back to 4th place. BYU realigned to the PDL's Southwest Division in 2009 following

#370629