Cleveland Force
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The Cleveland Force is a name that has been used by two different indoor soccer teams.
Contents |
[edit] The Original Team
The original Cleveland Force were one of the six charter franchises in the original MISL. The team played from 1978–1988 at the Richfield Coliseum, the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and occasionally drew crowds in the 20,000's in the mid-80's. The team's name was inspired by the force exploited by the Jedi in the Star Wars movies. The team theatrics originally included Darth Vader and Star Wars Music until the team faced litigation and had to change the "mascot" to a silver guy in an outfit that looked an awful lot like Darth Vader. Despite its popularity, the team folded in July 1988 when the team's owner could not get concessions from the MISLPA.
[edit] Year-by-year
Year | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|
1978/79 | MISL | 6th | Did not qualify | N/A |
1979/80 | MISL | 5th, Central | Did not qualify | N/A |
1980/81 | MISL | 2nd, Central | 1st Round | N/A |
1981/82 | MISL | 6th, Eastern | Did not qualify | N/A |
1982/83 | MISL | 2nd, Eastern | Semifinals | N/A |
1983/84 | MISL | 3rd, Eastern | Semifinals | N/A |
1984/85 | MISL | 3rd, Eastern | Semifinals | N/A |
1985/86 | MISL | 1st, Eastern | Semifinals | N/A |
1986/87 | MISL | 1st, Eastern | Semifinals | N/A |
1987/88 | MISL | 2nd, Eastern | Final | N/A |
[edit] The Second Team
The second team to be called the Cleveland Force was founded in 1989 as the Cleveland Crunch, a replacement for the original Cleveland Force which had folded in the summer of 1988. When the original MISL ceased operation in 1992, the Crunch joined the NPSL. This league would eventually reorganize itself as the new Major Indoor Soccer League in 2001. The Crunch would take on the old Force name in 2002. After several years of losing money, the team was placed on inactive status in September 2005 when new owners could not be found.
[edit] Honors
Championships
- 1993-94 NPSL Champions
- 1995-96 NPSL Champions
- 1998-99 NPSL Champions
Division Titles
- 1990-91 Eastern Division
- 1994-95 American Division
- 1995-96 American Division
- 1996-97 Central Division
- 1998-99 Central Division
- 1999-00 Central Division
[edit] Year-by-year
[edit] Head Coaches
- Kai Haaskivi 1989-1990
- Trevor Dawkins 1990-1992
- Gary Hindley 1992-1995
- Bruce Miller 1995-2001
- George Fernadez 2001
- Mike Pilger 2001-2002
- Andy Schmetzer 2002-2004
- Omid Namazi 2004-2005
- Otto Orf 2004 (served as head coach during a Namazi suspension)
[edit] Arenas
- Richfield Coliseum 1989-1992
- CSU Convocation Center 1992-2005