The San Diego Gauchos were an American soccer team based in San Diego, California , that competed in the United Soccer League 's Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid . The team played its home games at Torero Stadium . In 2006, the team was sold to new owners, and the franchise was disbanded.
38-677: San Diego joined the USL D-3 Pro League as an expansion franchise in 2002 and enjoyed a very successful first year in competition, finishing the regular season with a 10–7–3 record, second in the Western Conference behind Utah Blitzz , and into the post season at the first attempt. The Gauchos also made a brief foray into the US Open Cup , beating USASA amateur side Mexico SC 2–0 in the first round before losing heavily to A-League mainstays Minnesota Thunder 6–1 in
76-541: 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
114-414: 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
152-531: A general improvement in the Gauchos' play. They began the year disappointingly, with three straight heavy defeats, conceding five goals to Fresno Fuego on the opening day, and conceding another four when Fresno came down for the return fixture two weeks later. However, they enjoyed a brief run of form in late May and early July, rattling off two wins and a tie, including a satisfying 3–1 win over California Gold that included an Isaias Bardales hat trick. Gold were
190-451: 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
228-484: 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
266-653: 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
304-720: A torrid time in the PDL in 2005. They won just one game all season – a 3–0 victory over Nevada Wonders in July ;– and then had the ignominy of having points deducted by the league for fielding an ineligible player, meaning they finished the season dead last in the West with just 2 points, 12 points behind the next-worst team, California Gold . Some of the Gaucho's defeats were blowouts: they lost 4–0 to BYU Cougars in May, lost 6–2 at home to
342-692: 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
380-528: 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
418-423: 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
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#1732798163348456-539: The US Open Cup this year, but unexpectedly lost to PDL side Boulder Rapids Reserve in the second round 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 tie in regulation time. Herculez Gomez was by far the Gauchos best player, scoring 14 goals for the season. Despite the better on-field performances, during the 2004 off-season the team's management made the decision to self-relegate themselves to the USL Premier Development League for 2005. The Gauchos had
494-633: 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 the USISL A-League in 1997, finishing fifth in
532-843: The third division of professional soccer in the United States, playing in the USL Pro Select League (also known as the USL D3 Pro League and later as the USL Second Division ). The team would play its home games out of Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah , but had plans to build its own soccer specific stadium . The club began its first season with Chris Agnello as head coach and Stacy McNicol as Director of Operations, both of whom would later become co-owners. After
570-550: 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
608-483: 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
646-602: The Gauchos' whipping boys in 06, with the San Diego team winning 2–0 and 6–0 in their other encounters, the latter of which featured a Dustin Guerrero hat trick and a brace from Dagoberto Nogales-Gallegos . Unfortunately for the Gauchos, the run down the home stretch saw them suffer five straight defeats, including an astonishing 7–4 loss at home to the San Fernando Valley Quakes . The Gauchos finished
684-527: 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 the 2000 season, their final one in
722-525: The Western Conference from 2001-2004 and ending the club's final season with a second League championship in 2004. On July 12, 2004, the country's first division pro league, Major League Soccer , announced that an expansion franchise had been awarded to Salt Lake City, with the new team to begin play in 2005. Following the championship victory in the 2004 season, the Blitzz ownership decided it would be best to step aside and not compete for attention or fans with
760-571: The all-conquering Orange County Blue Star in June, and dropped 3 on the road at the Southern California Seahorses . They were also involved in two consecutive 3–3 ties with California Gold and Bakersfield Brigade , the latter of which saw the Gauchos concede a demoralizing 87th-minute equalizer. Dustin Hammond was the Gauchos top scorer for the season, with 5 goals, while Oscar Espinoza contributed 2 assists 2006 saw
798-411: The club was very successful, winning two league titles in total while finishing first or second in the Western Conference every season. The club played its home games at Rice-Eccles Stadium on the campus of the University of Utah . The Utah Blitzz Football Club was founded in 2000 by ANA Sports Management a division of ANA Development a Commercial Real Estate and Property Development Company, joining
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#1732798163348836-509: 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
874-484: 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
912-399: 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
950-414: 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
988-516: The new MLS club. However, due to the success of the Blitzz, many staff and players would find a role in the Real Salt Lake (RSL) organization, including Agnello, who would go on to serve as a first team assistant coach for RSL. Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an amateur American soccer team based in Irvine, California . Founded in 1997, the team played in
1026-528: 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
1064-553: The same vein, they also won a heart-stopping 3–2 classic against the Southern California Seahorses , with Herculez scoring in injury time. The Gauchos still occasionally found themselves on the receiving end of a large scoreline: they lost 5–2 to Fresno Fuego in their second regular season game, were battered 6–2 by Utah Blitzz at home in May, and surprisingly lost 5–1 to the Seahorses in the return fixture of their cross-league makeup series. The Gauchos also made their second trip to
1102-465: The second round. The Gauchos defeated the Arizona Sahuaros 3–0 in the first round of the playoffs, before falling 1–0 to Utah in the quarter finals. Nevertheless, it was a very promising first season; future MLS star Herculez Gomez was the Gauchos' top scorer, with 17 goals, while goalkeeper Daniel Sirota posted an impressive 1.36 GAA average. Despite having finished 2002 on a high, 2003
1140-535: The success of the franchise in the first season with the "soccer" fans in Utah, plans were made to bring in some new and more experience players. Due to scheduling conflicts with the University of Utah's Rice Eccles Stadium and the Utes Football Team, the Blitzz were forced to look for a new home pitch. Utah new to professional soccer did not have the facilities to provide a stadium for the team. A deal
1178-586: 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
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1216-483: The year 8th in the Southwest Division, 20 points behind divisional champions Southern California Seahorses . Dustin Guerrero was the Gauchos' top scorer, with 5 goals. Following the conclusion of the 2007 season the Gauchos were sold to new owners, who decided to dispense with the men's soccer team, and concentrate their efforts on their USL W-League franchise, the San Diego Gauchos Women , which
1254-545: 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
1292-400: The year in second place, with a much-improved 9–9–2 record, and into the post-season for the second time. They won their opening game of the season, 2–1 over BYU Cougars , and recorded an astonishing 3–2 victory over Orange County Blue Star in June, coming back from 2 goals down to take the win on a Herculez Gomez hat trick, despite both teams having been reduced to nine men by full-time! In
1330-401: Was a difficult season for the Gauchos, who slumped to a 3–13–1 record, and finished dead last in the Western Conference. Their only wins came over California Gold , 3–2 on the opening day of the season; Nevada Wonders , a sluggish 1–0 home victory in June; and over Gold again, a 2–0 win in mid-July off goals from Kristofer Larsen and Akbar Zareh-Mendez . The majority of the rest of the season
1368-507: Was a struggle; they lost often to non-conference opponents, and even found makeup games against lower-division teams trying. They lost 3–0 to Fresno Fuego at home in mid May, were hammered 4–0 by Utah Blitzz , received five of the best from Western Mass Pioneers on the road in June, and received a 5–1 shellacking from an Orange County Blue Star team that boasted Jürgen Klinsmann and future MLS star Robbie Rogers in their starting eleven. The Gauchos rallied considerably in 2004, finishing
1406-588: Was made with Brigham Young University for the use of their soccer field and home games for the 2001 season were moved to that facility. Prior to the 2004 season, majority ownership was sold to the Ken Garff family, with Bob Garff as chairman Ken Garff Automotive Group based in Utah and his son, Jon Garff , overseeing ownership of the team. Agnello would lead the Blitzz to a USL Pro Select League title in only its second season, with consecutive first-place finishes in
1444-709: Was to be re-branded as the San Diego Sunwaves . Utah Blitzz Utah Blitzz was an American professional soccer team in based in Salt Lake City, Utah that played in the USL Pro Select League (later known as the USL Second Division). The club was founded in 2000 but folded following the 2004 season to make way for the Major League Soccer franchise, Real Salt Lake , to begin play in 2005. During its short existence
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