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San Diego Gauchos

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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.

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34-655: 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

68-504: A 1–0 road win over Lancaster Rattlers . To their credit, few of the Seahorses' losses were blowouts: 0–1 here, 1–2 there, but in each game their strikers never quite seemed to breach the opposition defenses, or show enough sharpness in front of goal. They enjoyed their revenge over Orange County Blue Star with a 1–0 win in June, making up for a 4–1 thrashing earlier in the season, and put an end to

102-416: A 3–0 trouncing of California Gold ; however, they did not manage to defeat – or even score a goal on – their rivals in their three games, losing 4–0, 3–0 and 3–0 to the eventual divisional champs. Nevertheless, the Seahorses were clearly the next best thing in the southwest, and enjoyed several impressive wins (including a trio of 3-0s over San Diego Gauchos , Nevada Wonders and Fresno Fuego ) in

136-417: A flourish with a resounding 4–0 thrashing of Bakersfield Brigade on the final day, and eventually finished 7th. Midfielder Conan Hawkins led the scoring stats, tallying 4 goals on the season, while Chris Leiva registered 6 assists. The downturn in form continued in 2008 for the Seahorses, who began the season with a 3–1 loss to San Fernando Valley Quakes , and then won just one of their next eight games,

170-526: 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

204-701: 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

238-587: The Lancaster Rattlers , and thereafter the men from La Mirada staggered to the finishing line, eventually finishing sixth in the division, eight points out of the playoffs, and missing the postseason for the third straight year. Ryan Shaw was the Seahorses' top scorer, with 6 goals. On February 13, 2024, the team changed its name to the Southern California Eagles to match with other Missionary Athletes International soccer teams. On March 1, 2018,

272-496: The San Jose Frogs ' playoff chances with an impressive 3–1 home victory in mid-July, but finished the year with a 5–2 hammering at the hands of Fresno Fuego , and a disappointing bottom-of-the-table clash with Lancaster Rattlers on the final day of the season which ended in a 1–1 tie and managed to keep them out of the basement spot. The Seahorses ended their season in 9th place; Chris Leiva , Diego Mejía and Cristian Rus were

306-527: 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

340-804: 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

374-581: 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

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408-637: The Seahorses again finished second in the Southwest Division, this time behind Chico Rooks , with an 11–7–0 record. Their first trip to the playoffs was also a successful one, when they beat Spokane Shadow and Cascade Surge to advance to the national final four, where they were defeated in the semi-finals by Boulder Rapids Reserve . The Seahorses missed the playoffs in 2003, finishing third behind divisional champions Fresno Fuego , and just missed out again in 2004, finishing third behind Orange County Blue Star , despite posting some impressive victories in

442-401: The Seahorses began to find that the story of their season would revolve around ties. The Seahorses drew eight of their sixteen regular-season games, and were made to rue their matches with Fresno Fuego and Ventura County Fusion in which they conceded a 90th-minute equalizing goals when they looked odds-on to win. Their last win of the season came at the beginning of July, a 2–1 away victory over

476-423: The Seahorses defence became incredibly leaky; the team suffered four defeats in their first five games – including a chaotic 4–3 loss to the San Fernando Valley Quakes  – and although things began to sure up towards the second half of the season, they found themselves unable to actually WIN any games. Five ties in their last ten games put an end to their playoff hopes early, although the team did finish with

510-521: 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

544-554: 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

578-411: 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

612-450: The joint top scorers with three goals each, while Scott Lucky led the assist stats with 2 to his name. The Seahorses entered their ninth season in the PDL looking to recapture the form of yesteryear, but it was not to be; despite welcoming ex-pros Josiah Snelgrove and Adam Frye back into the fold, and despite posting a 6–2 victory over Bakersfield Brigade in their second game of the season in which new signing Ryan Shaw netted twice,

646-524: The message of Christianity through the environment of soccer. They are a sister organization of the Charlotte Eagles in USL League Two. The Seahorses, which had previously been in existence as a youth soccer club since 1983, joined the PDL in 2001, and were successful immediately, finishing second to Orange County Blue Star in their debut season with a 13–6–1 record. 2002 continued the trend, when

680-527: 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. Southern California Seahorses Southern California Eagles are an American soccer team based in La Mirada, California . Founded in 2001 as the Southern California Seahorses ,

714-421: The regular season, including 4–1 defeat of Nevada Wonders and a 5–1 demolition of San Diego Gauchos . The developing rivalry between the Seahorses and Orange County Blue Star continued in 2005, when yet again the men from La Mirada finished a close second to their all-conquering Southland neighbors in the Southwest Division standings. The Seahorses began the season with a five-game winning streak that included

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748-496: 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

782-414: The season, closely followed by Romanian import Cristian Rus with 6. Keeper Eric Reed enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics in the PDL, with a goals-against average of 0.621 per game, and keeping 10 clean sheets in his 15 games. However, much like their crosstown rivals Blue Star, everything went wrong for the Seahorses in 2007. With Eric Reed having gone to new USL-1 franchise California Victory ,

816-407: The second half of the season. Their trip to the playoffs was a short one, however, as the Seahorses lost to Cascade Surge first time out. Striker Anthony Stovall registered an impressive 7 goals on the season, and Dylan Martinez led the team in assists. 2006 saw the Seahorses finally capture their first divisional title, besting Orange County Blue Star by seven points at season's end. The year

850-457: 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

884-568: 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

918-584: The team plays in USL League Two , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid . They also field a team in the Women's Premier Soccer League . The team plays its home games in the stadium on the campus of Whittier College . The team's colors are navy blue, white and orange. The Eagles are a division of Missionary Athletes International (MAI), an organization which undertakes sports ministry to share

952-473: 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

986-400: 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

1020-401: 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

1054-507: 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

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1088-579: 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

1122-484: Was one of solid consistency, and included a hugely impressive 9-game winning streak which stretched from early June to the end of July, and included two 4–0 victories (over Los Angeles Storm and California Gold ), and a hard-fought finale against the San Fernando Valley Quakes . However, for the second year in a row, the Seahorses' playoff excursion ended quickly with a 2–1 defeat to BYU Cougars . MLS-bound striker Josh Hansen scored an impressive 8 goals and 4 assists on

1156-676: 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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