Rochester Thunder

Rochester Thunder
Full name Rochester Thunder
Nickname(s) The Thunder
Founded 2008
Dissolved 2010
Stadium RCTC Stadium
Rochester, Minnesota
Capacity ????
Owner United States Todd Penz
Head Coach England Neil Cassidy
League USL Premier Development League
2010 2nd, Heartland Division
Playoffs: Conference Semifinals
Original Rochester Thunder logo

Rochester Thunder was an American soccer team based in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2008, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter.

The team was originally part of the official development system of the Minnesota Thunder former USL First Division franchise. They played their home games at RCTC Stadium on the campus of Rochester Community and Technical College. The team's colors were blue, white and silver.

History

The Thunder joined the PDL in 2009,[1] and played their first ever game on May 9, 2009, away at Des Moines Menace. The Thunder lost game 2-1, with the first goal in franchise history being scored by Brian Pederson.[2]

The team was initially suspended from the USL PDL after their parent team, the Minnesota Thunder left the USL for the new North American Soccer League.[3] However, the team was re-admitted to the PDL in 2010, and continued to compete.

Following the conclusion of the 2010 season the Thunder folded their operations. In a statement released on November 15, 2010 Thunder owner Dan Penz said "Due to unfortunate circumstances, the Rochester Thunder will no longer be able to continue. With the economy the way it is and only a handful of sponsors we could not make it work financially. This is a hard decision, but one that needed to be made".[4]

Players

Final roster

This list is a historical record of the final group of players on the last Thunder roster for their final game in August 2010. Source:

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
0 United States GK Jordan Kadlec[5]
1 Colombia GK Sebastian Narvaez
2 Ghana FW Samuel Asante[6]
3 United States MF Jake Kessler
4 United States DF Justin Hoskins
5 United States DF Ben Sippola[7]
6 Japan DF Naoki Mihara
7 United States MF Vlado Blagoyevich[8]
8 England FW Mark Heath-Preston[9]
9 Guatemala FW Juan Chang[10]
10 United States FW Christian Fernandes
11 Norway MF Per Engebreth Faerden[11]
12 United States MF Chris Andre[12]
13 United States MF Travis Dehne
No. Position Player
14 United States MF Alex Evert[13]
15 United States MF Tyler Moriarty[14]
16 United States MF Ryan Sappington[15]
17 United States DF Jordan Burt[16]
18 England DF Francis Otira[17]
19 Colombia MF Miguel Bonilla[18]
20 Norway MF Finn Jor[19]
21 United States DF Bakari Williams[20]
22 United States MF T. J. Haag
25 United States DF Hezekiah Weiss[21]
26 United States MF Luis Mojica[22]
00 United States GK Paul Grandstrand[23]

Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
2009 4 USL PDL 5th, Heartland Did not qualify Did not qualify
2010 4 USL PDL 2nd, Heartland Conference Semifinals Did not qualify

Head coaches

Stadia

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

References

  1. ↑ Press announcement
  2. ↑ http://www.uslsoccer.com/stats/2009/1026860.html
  3. ↑ http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2009/11/27/usls-tim-holt-makes-statements-concerning-the-minnesota-thunder/
  4. ↑ Rochester Thunder Fold PDL Team after Two Short But Good Years
  5. ↑ http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/kadlec_jordan00.html
  6. ↑ http://www.lindseyathletics.com/roster/14/2/2524.php
  7. ↑ http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/sippola_ben00.html
  8. ↑ http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2009/01/06/rochester-thunder-pdl-combine-rosters
  9. ↑ http://bubruins.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=320
  10. ↑ http://www.orugoldeneagles.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17000&ATCLID=1137411
  11. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/faerden_perengebreth00.html
  12. ↑ http://www.msubillings.edu/athletics/09-10_Bios/Mens_Soccer/Chris_Andre.htm
  13. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/evert_alex00.html
  14. ↑ http://www.msubillings.edu/athletics/09-10_Bios/Mens_Soccer/Tyler_Moriarty.html
  15. ↑ http://www.bucknellbison.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/sappington_ryan00.html
  16. ↑ http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-soccer/2009-10/bios/burt_jordan00.html
  17. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/otira_francis00.html
  18. ↑ http://www.duhawks.com/roster/7/7/138.php
  19. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/jor_finn00.html
  20. ↑ http://www.jmusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=14400&ATCLID=1483131
  21. ↑ http://www.lindseyathletics.com/roster/14/2/2533.php
  22. ↑ http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/mojica_luis00.html
  23. ↑ http://www.brownbears.com/sports/m-soccer/2009-10/bios/grandstrand_paul00.html

External links