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 was one of the six charter franchises in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The team played from 1978 to 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 nickname was inspired by the The Force, a mystical power used by the Jedi Knights in the then recently released Star Wars movie. The team theatrics originally included Darth Vader and Star Wars Music until the team faced litigation and had to change the "mascot". Despite its popularity and success, the team folded in July of 1988 when the team's owner could not get concessions from the MISL Players Association (MISLPA).

[edit] Growing Pains

The Force started off the '78-'79 season by splitting their first two games which turned out to be the high point of the season, record-wise. The team would end the season losing 13 of their last 14 games to finish in 6th place in the league, one game behind the Pittsburgh Spirit. Only Brian Budd and Roy Sinclair managed to break double digits in goals, netting 24 and 10 respectively.

The MISL expanded to 10 teams and a 32 game schedule in '79-'80 which resulted in the Force being placed in the Central Division along with Houston, who finished the previous year with the best record, and expansion teams in Detroit, Wichita, and St. Louis. The roster was almost entirely new with only four players from the previous season returning. The result was pretty much the same as the previous year with the Force finishing tied for last place in the division with St. Louis.

[edit] Year-by-year

Year League Reg. Season Playoffs Attendance Average
1978/79 MISL 6th, 5-19 Did not qualify 3,116
1979/80 MISL 5th, Central, 12-20 Did not qualify 3,080
1980/81 MISL 2nd, Central, 21-19 1st Round 4,884
1981/82 MISL 6th, Eastern, 15-29 Did not qualify 5,001
1982/83 MISL 2nd, Eastern, 29-19 Semifinals 6,609
1983/84 MISL 3rd, Eastern, 31-17 Semifinals 13,692
1984/85 MISL 3rd, Eastern, 27-21 Semifinals 12,929
1985/86 MISL 1st, Eastern, 27-21 Semifinals 12,793
1986/87 MISL 1st, Eastern, 34-18 Semifinals 14,111
1987/88 MISL 2nd, Eastern, 30-26 Final 11,279

[edit] Honors

Coach of the Year

  • 1978-1979 Timo Liekoski

Pass Master

Defender of the Year

Rookie of the Year

First Team All-MISL

Former Players

[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 Fernandez 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

Year League Logo Reg. Season Playoffs Avg. Attendance
1989-90 MISL 4th East, 20-32 Failed to qualify 5,543
1990-91 MSL 1st East, 29-23 Lost Championship 4,640
1991-92 MSL 3rd MISL, 20-20 Lost Semifinal 7,056
1992-93 NPSL 2nd American, 25-15 Lost Championship 6,483
1993-94 NPSL 2nd American, 23-17 Won Championship 6,677
1994-95 NPSL 1st American, 30-10 Lost Semifinal 7,579
1995-96 NPSL 1st American, 31-9 Won Championship 7,647
1996-97 NPSL 1st Central, 29-11 Lost Championship 8,044
1997-98 NPSL 2nd Central, 21-19 Lost Conference Semifinal 8,265
1998-99 NPSL 1st Central, 26-14 Won Championship 8,034
1999-00 NPSL 1st Central, 27-17 Lost Championship 6,290
2000-01 NPSL 5th American, 18-22 Failed to qualify 6,317
2001-02 MISL II 5th MISL, 16-28 Failed to qualify 4,688
2002-03 MISL II 2nd East, 19-17 Lost Conference Semifinal 5,381
2003-04 MISL II 3rd East, 15-21 Lost Quarterfinal 4,955
2004-05 MISL II 2nd MISL, 23-16 Lost Championship 3,639