Sonoma County Sol

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Sonoma County Sol
Sonomacountysol.png
Full nameSonoma County Sol Soccer Club
Nickname(s)Sol
Founded2004;21 years ago (2004)
StadiumPetaluma Community Sports Fields
Petaluma, California
Head CoachIrving Ventura
League The League for Clubs

Sonoma County Sol is an American soccer team based in Santa Rosa, California, United States. Founded in 2004, the team plays in The League for Clubs, a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the West Region, NorCal Conference.

Contents

The team plays its home games at Casa Grande High School. It previously played at Cougar Stadium on the campus of Rancho Cotate High School in nearby Rohnert Park, California.

The team had a sister organization, also called Sonoma County Sol, which played in the Women's Premier Soccer League.

History

After the 2004 season, the MPSL disbanded but a new men's league, the National Premier Soccer League, replaced the previous league and expanded on the territory of the MPSL by adding a Midwestern Division. The Sol was one of the founding clubs of the NPSL, specifically in the Western Division. Like the NPSL and its member clubs, the Sol falls under the auspices of the United States Amateur Soccer Association (USASA) and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).

In 2005, the Sol finished second in the Western Division in the regular season standings, 3 points behind the Sacramento Knights, attaining the number 2 seed in the NPSL West playoffs. In the Western Division playoffs, the Sol beat the number 3 seed Chico Rooks at home in the semi-finals and then traveled to Sacramento to face the Knights in the NPSL West Championship Game. The Sol triumphed over the Knights in a hard fought match at the soccer stadium at Sacramento State University, garnering the NPSL West Championship. The Sol then hosted Midwest Champion Detroit Arsenal for the inaugural NPSL National Championship game in Santa Rosa, California.

Also in 2005, the Sol qualified as one of three NPSL West representatives for the Region IV U.S. Open Cup (U.S. Open Cup Website qualifying tournament, where the Sol won its group and then went on to beat the Salinas Valley Samba for the tournament championship and a spot in the USASA National Open Cup. The Sol would later meet the Samba in Santa Rosa in the first round of the U.S. Open Cup itself. At the USASA National Open Cup in the August heat of Frisco, Texas, in the semi-finals the Sol faced the AAC Eagles of Chicago who prevailed 2–1. With this result, the Sol's 2005 campaign came to an end.

In 2006 however, the Sol bounced back and prevailed in the USASA Open Cup. It started with a road trip to Seattle for the Region VI championships. The Sol beat out the Chico Rooks (NPSL) in group play to advance to the finals, where they defeated the Suaharos (sp?) 2–1 in the finals. Beto Sanchez, the back up goalkeeper, was subbed on as a forward due to injuries in the 80th minute, and netted the game winner in the 85th minute on a diving header. The Sol then traveled to Frisco, TX for the national finals where they defeated the heavily favored (and overrated) home side Dallas Roma FC 3–2 in double over time. They then went on to defeat the Lightning (Chicago) 1–0 in the finals to claim the USASA National open cup championship.

In 2013, following a first-place finish in the Golden Gate Conference during the regular season, the Sol would advance through the playoffs to the NPSL Championship Final, visiting RVA Football Club, but losing 2–0. [1]

In 2024, Sonoma County Sol announced they would join The League for Clubs for the 2025 season. [2]

Coaching staff

Coaches
Head Coach- Irving Ventura
Assistant Coach- Antonio Picazo
Assistant Coach- Jose

Year-by-year

YearLevelLeagueDivisionReg. SeasonPlayoffsOpen Cup
2004 4 MPSL 6thDid not qualifyDid not qualify
2005 4 NPSL West2ndFinal 1st round
2006 4NPSLNorthwest3rdDid not qualify 2nd round
2007 4NPSLNorthwest1stSemi-finalDid not qualify
2008 4NPSLNorthwest1stSemi-finalDid not qualify
2009 4NPSLWestern1stChampions 2nd round
2010 4NPSLNorthwest5thDid not qualify 1st round
2011 4NPSLWest Division - Flight Northwest3rdDid not qualifyDid not qualify
2012 4NPSLWest Division – Northern Conference2ndConference FinalDid not qualify
2013 4NPSLWest Division – Northern Conference1stFinal Qualification–NPSL Final
2014 4NPSLWest Division – Golden Gate Conference2ndRegional Final Qualification–NPSL Final
2015 4NPSLWest Division – Golden Gate Conference1stRegional Semi-final 2nd round
2016 4NPSLWest Division – Golden Gate Conference1stFinalDid not qualify
2017 4NPSLWest Region – Golden Gate Conference2ndRegional First round 1st round
2018 4NPSLWest Region – Golden Gate Conference3rdRegional First roundDid not qualify
2019 4NPSLWest Region – Golden Gate Conference8thDid not qualifyDid not qualify
2020 4NPSLSeason cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 4NPSLDid not participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 4NPSLWest Region – Golden Gate Conference8thRegional First roundDid not qualify
2023 4NPSLWest Region – Golden Gate Conference6thQuarterfinalsDid not qualify
20244 UPSL NorCal North1stRound of 32Did not participate
2025 4 TLC West Region – NorCal Conference13thDid not qualifyDid not participate

Honors

Domestic

Head coaches

Home Field

References

  1. "RVA FC WINS IT ALL". NationalPremierSoccerLeague.com. August 5, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  2. "Sonoma County Sol, Rush Silicon Valley and Bay Valley Suns join The League". The League for Clubs. August 24, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2025.