Cascade Surge

Last updated
Cascade Surge
Cascadesurge.jpg
Full nameCascade Surge
Nickname(s)The Surge
Founded1995
Dissolved2009
Ground McCulloch Stadium
Capacity2,500
Chairman Dave Irby
Head Coach Mike Alfers
League USL Premier Development League
2009 4th, Northwest
did not qualify for playoffs

Cascade Surge was an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, when the franchise folded and the team left the league.

Contents

The team played its home games at McCulloch Stadium on the campus of Willamette University, where they played since 2004. The team's colors were blue and white.

History

The team from Salem first joined the old USISL Pro League in 1995 as Oregon Surge one of 20 expansion franchises; placed in the Northwest Division, the team was competitive from the get-go, finishing second in the table behind Hawaii Tsunami with a 14–6 records (ties were settled on penalties). The playoffs also proved to be a successful venture: a 3–2 win over Everett BigFoot led the team to the divisional finals, where they again were defeated by Hawaii Tsunami, but the season indicated a positive future.

The Pro League was realigned in 1996, and the newly-titled Cascade Surge found life more difficult in their sophomore year, finishing a distant sixth in the table behind Everett BigFoot and the San Fernando Valley Golden Eagles with a 7–9 record. Things improved in 1997 as the Pro League renamed itself to the Premier Development Soccer League, and Cascade were more competitive, finishing third in the Northwest behind Spokane Shadow and Yakima Reds, but losing in the playoffs at the first attempt 1–0 to Yakima.

The team continued to experience inconsistency in 1998, as they finished their year fourth behind Spokane Shadow and out of the playoffs, and 1999 was the worst season yet, as Cascade finished rock bottom of the Northwest Division with just 2 wins all year, 17 points adrift of the team above them (Yakima Reds) and an astonishing 54 points behind divisional champions Willamette Valley Firebirds. Things did not get much better with the turn of the millennium, although Surge did avoid a second consecutive wooden spoon by finishing one place ahead of Willamette Valley with a 5–11–2 record.

Original Cascade Surge logo Oldsurgelogo.jpg
Original Cascade Surge logo

The 2001 season continued the run of poor performances as the Surge continued to be dominated by their Northwest Division counterparts. They finished outside the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, in fourth place behind divisional champions Calgary Storm, but they did manage to pick up seven wins on the season. The Surge improved further in 2002, returning to the playoffs after finishing third in the northwest behind Seattle Sounders Select. Against all odds, the Surge made it all the way to the Conference Championship game, but went down 3–2 to the Southern California Seahorses. Signs, however, were positive that Surge's form was finally turning around.

The Cascade's excellent form continued in 2003; somewhat surprisingly, the team was better on the road than they were at home, enjoying a five-game winning streak away from Legion Field in May and June. This included an impressive 2–0 win over the Calgary Storm Prospects. Despite enduring a 6–0 drubbing from the Spokane Shadow, Cascade won five of their last eight regular season games to finish second in the table behind Spokane. This was enough to earn them a playoff spot for the second year in a row. Although they lost their first playoff game 2–1 to eventual conference champions Orange County Blue Star, the Surge nevertheless enjoyed a significant turnaround in form.

2004 saw the Cascade finally capture their first divisional title, just overtaking the Spokane Shadow on goal difference. The Surge won 11 of their 16 regular season games, and posted some impressive results, including a 4–1 thrashing of the Yakima Reds in May, a 5–1 drubbing of Spokane Shadow in early July, and an impressive 5–0 demolition of Abbotsford Rangers on the final day of the regular season which gave them their title. Once again, however, the playoff run was to be frustratingly short, as they lost 2–1 to Fresno Fuego first time out. Glenn Duerr and Ukrainian striker Andriy Budnyy were the top scorers, with 12 goals between them, while Dana McGregor contributed an impressive six assists.

Cascade captured their second divisional title in 2005 with a 12–2–2 record, 8 points clear of their closest rivals, Spokane Shadow, and with the sixth best stats in the country. For the second year in a row were dominant, winning their first eight games in succession, and enjoying a number of comprehensive victories on the season: 4-0 over Nevada Wonders, 5–1 over Abbotsford Rangers and 5–2 over Spokane Shadow. Cascade's superb early season form also saw them quality for their first ever US Open Cup, although they lost first time out 4–2 on penalties to Salinas Valley Samba of the National Premier Soccer League. The team made their second trip to the conference final, but were again frustrated by opponents from southern California, losing 3–0 to Orange County Blue Star. Once again Andriy Budnyy was the top marksman with 11 goals amongst the best in the country, while Matthew Clark and Carlos Calderson were amongst the top assist contributors in the league.

Expansion came to the Northwest in 2006, but no-one could have predicted the astonishing turnaround in form Cascade suffered this year. Having been almost invincible in 2005, they managed just 3 wins all season - 1-0 over new boys Tacoma F.C., 2–0 over BYU Cougars, and 2–1 over Tacoma again. Cascade's defense was atrociously leaky, conceding 4 goals or more on seven different occasions, while up front only midfielder Kenneth Davis was providing any attacking potency - although it is perhaps indicative that, as the team's top scorer, he only registered three goals all season. Inevitably, Cascade finished the season adrift at the bottom of the Northwest, 19 points behind champions Abbotsford Rangers.

The poor form exhibited in 2006 continued in 2007 as the Surge finished the season 7th of seven, a full 30 points behind champions BYU Cougars, again with just three wins. The highlight of the year was a 3–1 win on the road over Spokane Spiders which featured a hat trick by Stefan Ostergren, but once again it was Surge's wilting defence which made them suffer: their worst result of the year came on the final day, when they went down 6–1 to Ogden Outlaws. All this was despite the heroic efforts of Ostergren, who almost single-handedly took on the responsibility for Cascade's scoring activity. His 12 goals made him the fifth highest goal scorer in the country, and made him the lone bright spark in a second dismal season in a row for Surge.

Surge were desperate to recapture the successes of old in 2008, and hoped that new head coach Larry Delamarter would help, but they got off to the worst possible start. Surge lost five of their opening nine games of the season, going down 4–0 at Tacoma Tide, 5–1 at BYU Cougars, and 5–0 at home to Abbotsford Mariners, scoring just four goals in response, and were effectively eliminated from playoff contention by the middle of June. They did not up their first win of the season, 2–1 over Tacoma, until June 21, and although they went on to enjoy subsequent victories - 2-0 over Yakima Reds and a comprehensive 5–1 thrashing of Spokane Spiders on the final day of the season - Cascade never looked to be in contention throughout the year, and continued to be a shadow their former selves. They eventually finished 8th in the Northwest, just one point ahead of last place Spokane; Stefan Ostergren was again the team's single potent striker, with 5 goals, while Chris Andre contributed three assists. Ostergren (University of Akron) went on to play for Brilla FC (PDL), before spending three seasons in Vienna, Austria.

The Surge's final season saw the Surge add on future pros: Te Te Bangura, Juan Chang and Ben Sippola, who helped propel them on a 7-game unbeaten streak in the middle of the season (5–0–2) and within striking range of the playoffs before a late season collapse left the team one spot short, but with a winning record in their final season of play.

On 13 October 2009, Surge President David Irby announced that the club was withdrawing from PDL competition and folding with immediate effect, stating that "changes in the economy made it harder to keep the team operating.". The team owned by Surge International, a 501 c nonprofit organization (www.surgesoccer.org) would continue designing and implementing soccer projects for ministries around the world, including having a base of operations in Vienna, Austria where former Surge players could go to continue their soccer careers, along with other qualified players.

Players

Final squad

vs Yakima Reds, July 18, 2009 [1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
0 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Aaron Franklin
1 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Steve Reese
2 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Christopher Smerke
3 FW Flag of Guatemala.svg  GUA Juan Chang
4 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Jacob Briscoe
6 FW Flag of Mexico.svg  MEX Jorge Marquez
7 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Luke Babson
8 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Grant Knight
9 DF Flag of Scotland.svg  SCO Tom Milroy
10 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Chris Andre
11 FW Flag of Sierra Leone.svg  SLE Teteh Bangura
No.Pos.NationPlayer
12 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Zachary Patterson
13 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Joseph Mueller
14 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Ben Sippola
15 MF Flag of Namibia.svg  NAM Likuis Hafeni
16 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Erik Kaufman
17 MF Flag of England.svg  ENG Aaron Patrick
21 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Jordan Harris
26 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Armando Rodriguez
27 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Benjamin Stoddard
28 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Nathan Murphy
32 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Mark Mendenhall

Year-by-year

YearDivisionLeagueRegular SeasonPlayoffsOpen Cup
19953USISL Pro League2nd, NorthwestDivisional FinalsDid not qualify
19963USISL Pro League6th, WesternDid not qualifyDid not qualify
19974USISL PDSL3rd, NorthwestDivision SemifinalsDid not qualify
19984USISL PDSL4th, NorthwestDivision SemifinalsDid not qualify
19994USL PDL6th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify
20004USL PDL5th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify
20014USL PDL4th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify
20024USL PDL3rd, NorthwestConference FinalsDid not qualify
20034USL PDL2nd, NorthwestConference SemifinalsDid not qualify
20044USL PDL1st, NorthwestConference SemifinalsDid not qualify
20054USL PDL1st, NorthwestConference FinalsQualifying Round
20064USL PDL6th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify
20074USL PDL7th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify
20084USL PDL7th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify
20094USL PDL4th, NorthwestDid not qualifyDid not qualify

Honors

Head coaches

Stadia

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.

Related Research Articles

USL League Two American development soccer league

USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is an amateur developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league features 83 teams for 2021, split into twelve regional divisions across four conferences. Unofficially, it is considered to be the fourth tier of competition, behind Major League Soccer, USL Championship, USL League One and NISA, and roughly equal with National Premier Soccer League. USL League Two is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Long Island Rough Riders Football club

The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

Orange County Blue Star Football club

Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference until 2012.

Seacoast United Phantoms Football club

The Seacoast United Phantoms are an American soccer team based in the coastal region of southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. The team is based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where it played from 2011 to 2017, in the stadium of Portsmouth High School. Founded in 1996, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team's colors are blue, white, gold and black.

Ottawa Fury (2005–2013) Former Canadian soccer team

Ottawa Fury Soccer Club was a Canadian soccer team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL) from 2005 to 2013. The organization joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) as Ottawa Fury FC beginning in the 2014 season. The team's home stadium was the Algonquin College soccer complex; its colours were white, red and blue.

Fresno FC U-23 Football club

Fresno Football Club U-23, formerly Fresno Fuego FC, was an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club drew an average home attendance of 3,951 in 2016, including league matches, divisional playoffs and exhibitions against professional clubs.

Spokane Shadow Football club

Spokane Shadow is an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team competes in the National Premier Soccer League as well as the Evergreen Premier League, one of United States Adult Soccer Association's elite amateur leagues. From 1996 to 2005, they played in the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The men's team folded when the franchise was terminated by the PDL after the 10-year-old artificial turf at their home ground, Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane, Washington was declared unsafe for play.

Fraser Valley Mariners Football club

Fraser Valley Mariners is a Canadian soccer team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.

Yakima Reds Football club

Yakima Reds was an American soccer team based in Yakima, Washington, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter.

Des Moines Menace Football club

Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

Southern California Seahorses Football club

Southern California Seahorses are an American soccer team based in La Mirada, California. Founded in 2001, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

Ogden Outlaws Football club

Ogden Outlaws is an American soccer team based in Ogden, Utah, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

Crossfire Redmond Football club

Crossfire Redmond, previously the Seattle Wolves and Washington Crossfire, is an American soccer organization based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and was formerly in the Premier Development League (PDL) through the 2016 season.

Sound FC (men) Football club

Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.

Spokane Spiders Football club

Spokane Spiders were an American soccer team based in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23, formerly known as Whitecaps FC Reserves, was a Canadian soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Although founded in 2005 as part of the development system for the Vancouver Whitecaps USL First Division franchise, beginning in 2011 they became part of the development system for Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.

The 2008 USL Premier Development League season was the 14th season of the PDL. The regular season started on April 26, 2008, and ended on July 20, 2008. The playoffs began on July 22, 2008, and ended with the PDL Championship Game on August 9, 2008.

Kitsap Pumas Football club

Kitsap SC Pumas was an American soccer team based in Bremerton, Washington, United States. The team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. From its foundation in 2009 to 2016, the club played in the Premier Development League (PDL), as a professional club. As part of the agreement upon leaving PDL after the 2016 season, the club was unable to use the "Kitsap Pumas" name during the 2017 season while playing in NPSL. The club was officially renamed Kitsap SC until September 1, 2017 when the Pumas name was restored. The club announced on July 20, 2018 that it would cease operations due to declining attendance.

Southern Oregon Starphire FC was an American soccer team based in Medford, Oregon, United States. The team played in Pacific Premier League (PPL), a regional amateur league based in Northern California, then later in the United Premier Soccer League.

Jake Gleeson New Zealand footballer

Jacob Christopher Gleeson is a former New Zealand professional footballer who last played as a goalkeeper for American club Portland Timbers.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2009-12-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)