Fort Lauderdale/South Florida Sun was a professional U.S. soccer team which played two seasons in the United Soccer League .
24-1240: For other similarly named teams, see Fort Lauderdale Strikers (disambiguation) . [REDACTED] This article does not cite any sources . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . Find sources: "Florida Strikers" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( November 2013 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Football club Florida Strikers Full name Fort Lauderdale Kicks (1994) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1995) Florida Strikers (1996–1997) Nickname(s) Kicks , Strikers Founded 1994 1995 (rebranded following previous Strikers ) 1996 Dissolved 1997 (later succeeded by Fort Lauderdale Strikers ) League USISL (1994–1997) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Home colours [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Away colours The Florida Strikers were
48-543: A 15–9 record, scoring fifty-three goals and giving up only thirty-four. The Sun finished at the top of the Southern Division and just a few standings points behind the Oklahoma City Stampede for the top seed in the playoffs. They would achieve this on-field success despite primary owner Ronnie Sharp's arrest less than a month into the season for alleged participation in a large drug smuggling operation. In
72-673: A few weeks the NASL had cancelled its upcoming season and five USL teams (including the Sun's division rivals in Charlotte and Jacksonville) had officially folded, while another had withdrawn to become an independent club. The renamed South Florida Sun were joined by only the Dallas Americans , Tulsa Tornado's (who had moved from Oklahoma City and re-branded), and an expansion team in El Paso/Juarez for
96-473: A performance bond to guarantee their return for 1985. The first division NASL was also in deep trouble, with only a few of its remaining nine teams willing to commit to another outdoor season. A last-ditch idea to merge the USL and NASL to salvage some form of professional outdoor soccer that summer was discussed, but USL commissioner William Burfeind announced that this merger would not go through on March 5th. Within
120-806: A soccer team based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida . In 1994, they began play in the United States Interregional Soccer League as the Fort Lauderdale Kicks . The next year, with the folding of the American Professional Soccer League Strikers, the Kicks took the name Fort Lauderdale Strikers for themselves. This only lasted one year as the team changed names again, becoming the Florida Strikers before
144-424: A three-year contract in mid-June. On June 22nd, with no new teams having joined the league, the Sun began regular season play at home against Dallas. The 3-1 victory would turn out to be the final USL game and the only game in which Neeskens would suit up for South Florida (despite the "three-year contract," he would never receive a paycheck). Before the Sun's next scheduled match on the 26th, creditors foreclosed on
168-580: Is different from Wikidata Fort Lauderdale Strikers (disambiguation) (Redirected from Fort Lauderdale Strikers (disambiguation) ) Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) , member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) , member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Professional Soccer League from 1990 to 1994 Florida Strikers , member of USISL from 1994 to 1997, known as Fort Lauderdale Strikers for
192-586: The North American Soccer League , motivated in part by the lack of a suitable arena in the Fort Lauderdale area for the league's winter indoor season, announced that they would be moving to Minnesota. The outdoor version of the Strikers had attracted a relatively robust fan base in the late 1970s and early 80s, and former Miami Toros player Ronnie Sharp headed up a group that believed that the city
216-458: The USL's 1985 season . To buy time to attract a few more members, the USL decided to re-arrange the schedule by splitting the season into two parts. In the first part of the season, the four teams would compete for the "USL Cup" in a round-robin style tournament capped off by a championship between the top two teams. A "regular season" was to begin in late June. USL Cup play got underway on May 19th, but
240-402: The 1995 season Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) , member of USL First Division from 2006 to 2009 and North American Soccer League from 2011 to 2016. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Fort Lauderdale Strikers . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
264-684: The 1996 season. The team folded in 1997. Year-by-year [ edit ] Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs Open Cup 1994 3 USISL 6th, Southeast Did not qualify Did not enter 1995 3 USISL Pro League 4th, Southeast Divisional Semifinals Did not qualify 1996 4 USISL PDSL 3rd, Southern Division Semifinals Did not qualify 1997 3 USISL D-3 Pro League 4th, South Atlantic Division Semifinals Did not qualify See also [ edit ] Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977-1983) Fort Lauderdale Sun Division 2 team of
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#1732851524568288-399: The NASL club. Teófilo Cubillas , Jim Tietjens , Ernst-Jean Baptiste, and player-coach Keith Weller all signed with the Sun (though Cubillas would only commit to playing home games), and they were joined by former English international Dave Watson and Scottish international Asa Hartford , giving the Sun one of the most talented rosters in the league. This paid dividends, as they played to
312-559: The USL Cup, so when the Sun defeated Tulsa 1-0 at Lockhart Stadium on June 15th, they were declared cup winners due to having clinched the best record. As a harbinger of things to come, the acting commissioner was not there nor was an actual trophy presented to them, causing Sun player-coach, Keith Weller , to quip, "There ain't no cup." The Sun did their best to proceed as though it was business as usual, even managing to sign former New York Cosmos and Dutch national team star Johan Neeskens to
336-577: The catalyst for a seismic change in the second tier of pro soccer, as the owners of the ASL's Jacksonville Tea Men and Dallas Americans would see it as confirmation that the ASL was too hampered by unwieldy league rules and not financially disciplined enough to have much of a future. They broke away to form a more stable, financially sound league that they would call the United Soccer League . The USL accepted Sharp and Co.'s application for membership, and
360-467: The first USL championship. Later in the month, an investors group comprised primarily of local doctors who had sat together at Strikers games purchased the team from the troubled Ronnie Sharp. Though the USL tried to help teams operate within their means through strict salary caps and schedules that heavily featured regional play to reduce travel expenses, virtually all of its teams were losing money during their first season. Several teams failed to post
384-597: The gate receipts from the match. Team owners soon came to grips with the fact that the organization simply did not have the means to carry on. They officially announced the suspension of operations a few days later, and the players began to disperse back into everyday life. On June 27, 1984 the Sun made their only appearance in the Florida Derby , falling to the Tampa Bay Rowdies , 5–1, in an inter-league friendly. Two more derby matches were planned for in 1985, but
408-407: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fort_Lauderdale_Strikers&oldid=892551579 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Fort Lauderdale Sun In November of 1983, The Fort Lauderdale Strikers of
432-569: The league and locked officials out of their offices. The USL voted to suspend play on June 25th. Following the league’s collapse, the Sun were the only USL club that did not immediately fold. The ownership group, who had just taken over the previous September, scrambled to find a new way forward. They began to tentatively plan exhibition matches against a Haitian Select team, the Minnesota Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies , among others, hoping to earn enough in ticket sales to cover back pay that
456-462: The league's future looked bleak. Commissioner William Burfeind resigned just as the games were starting. The teams in Tulsa and Dallas were both having trouble making payroll, and unpaid players in Tulsa refused to participate in one exhibition and one USL Cup game. South Florida finished at the top of the table in round robin play with a 4-2 record. The league abandoned plans for the championship round of
480-543: The playoff semifinals, the Sun crushed the Buffalo Storm by scores of 3-0 and 5-1. The championship round against the Houston Dynamos would be much more closely contested. Houston won the first game at home in a shootout. The Sun won Game 2 by a score of 3-0, setting up a decisive Game 3 on September 1st. This game also ended tied after regulation and overtime, but the Sun would win the shootout round this time to clinch
504-460: The rest of the teams in the ASL either also defected to the new league or folded over the next few months. The new Fort Lauderdale club chose the name Sun, and they joined the Tea Men and Charlotte Gold in the Southern Division of the nine team USL. When the Sun built its team for the 1984 season , they were able to secure the services of several former Strikers who had chosen not to go north with
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#1732851524568528-2205: The short-lived USL (1984–85) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988-1994) Miami Fusion Now defunct MLS team (1997–2001) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) (formerly Miami FC) former Division 2 team which competed in the NASL v t e Fort Lauderdale Strikers Formerly Miami FC Founded 2006 Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Stadiums Tropical Park Stadium (2006–2008) Lockhart Stadium (2009–2016) Central Broward Regional Park (2016) Rivalries Florida Derby Coastal Cup Affiliated clubs Adelaide United FC Desportivo Brasil Estoril Previous Clubs Washington Darts (1967–1971) Miami Gatos (1972) & Miami Toros (1973–1976) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) Minnesota Strikers (1984–1988) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) Florida Strikers (1994–1997) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) Other topics Related articles Seasons USL First Division 2006 2007 2008 2009 USSF D2 Pro League 2010 NASL 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florida_Strikers&oldid=1016464096 " Categories : Florida Strikers 1994 establishments in Florida 1997 disestablishments in Florida Soccer clubs in Florida Defunct soccer clubs in Florida Association football clubs established in 1994 Association football clubs disestablished in 1997 Hidden categories: Articles lacking sources from November 2013 All articles lacking sources Articles with short description Short description
552-507: Was owed to players and staff. The only one of these matches that would actually be played, though, was a July 4th match against the Topez-Haitian All-Stars in which the soccer game preceded the town's Independence Day fireworks. The Sun rallied to win what was to be their final game, 4–3, before a crowd of 3,529. After the game, the Sun players, who had not received their full paychecks since May 31st, voted on how to equitably share
576-515: Was still a good market for the game. They applied to field an expansion team in the de facto second division American Soccer League in 1984. Despite the league being down to only four active teams, their application was rejected at the league meetings in January of 1984 because ASL by-laws allowed the owner of a "dormant" franchise in Miami to retain territorial control over the area. This rejection would be
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