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 the Oregon Surge. one of 20 expansion franchises; placed in the Northwest Division, the team was competitive from the start, finishing second in the table behind the Hawaii Tsunami with a 14–6 record (ties were settled on penalties). The playoffs also proved to be a successful venture: a 3–2 win over the Everett BigFoot led the team to the divisional finals, where they again were defeated by the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 (the 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 the Surge did avoid a second consecutive wooden spoon by finishing one place ahead of the Firebirds with a 5–11–2 record.
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 the 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 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 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 Reds in May, a 5–1 drubbing of the Shadow in early July, and an impressive 5–0 demolition of the 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 the 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, the 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 the Nevada Wonders, 5–1 over the Rangers and 5–2 over the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 the champion Rangers.
The poor form exhibited in 2006 continued in 2007 as the Surge finished the season 7th out of seven, a full 30 points behind the champion Cougars, again with just three wins. The highlight of the year was a 3–1 win on the road over the 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 the 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 the Surge.
The 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. The Surge lost five of their opening nine games of the season, going down 4–0 at the Tacoma Tide, 5–1 at the Cougars, and 5–0 at home to the 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 the Reds and a comprehensive 5–1 thrashing of the 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.com) 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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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