San Antonio Scorpions
| San Antonio Scorpions | |||
| Full name | San Antonio Scorpions Football Club | ||
| place | San Antonio , Texas , USA | ||
| Founded | 2010 | ||
| Dissolved | 2015 | ||
| Club colors | |||
| Stadion | Toyota Field | ||
| Top league | North American Soccer League | ||
| successes | NASL Championship 2015 | ||
|
|||
The San Antonio Scorpions Football Club was an American football - Franchise of the North American Soccer League from San Antonio , Texas . The franchise was founded in 2010 and played in NASL from 2012 to 2015.
The franchise was different from its financial activities to most other sports clubs in the United States. Any profit went to Morgan's Wonderland amusement park. This is particularly aimed at people with disabilities and is located near the Toyota Park in San Antonio.
history
On October 4, 2010, NASL announced that an expansion team from San Antonio will join the league for the 2012 season. The group of owners of the new franchise is led by businessman Gordon Hartman.
The team name and logo were announced at a press conference on January 10, 2011.
First season
The first game in the NASL of the Scorpions took place on April 7, 2012. Against the Atlanta Silverbacks , the team reached a 0-0. Under coach Tim Hankinson, the team reached first place in the regular season at the end of the season. In the subsequent play-offs, however, the Minnesota Stars FC had to be beaten 2-1 on a return leg.
In the US Open Cup 2012, the Scorpions caused a minor sensation in the third round when they defeated the Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo 1-0. However, they were eliminated in the following round against the Charlotte Eagles after extra time.
Development since 2013
For the 2013 season, the NASL hosting system changed. There was one season in spring (spring season) and one season in autumn (fall season). The subsequent play-offs were played by the winners of the respective seasons. In the spring, the Scorpions took third place. However, you could only achieve 3 wins from 14 games in autumn, so the team was 8th and last place in the season. Even a dismissal of the previous coach Hankinson could not bring any improvement here. Former Canadian soccer player Alen Marcina became the new coach of the Scorpions on August 27, 2013.
In the US Open Cup 2013 you had to admit defeat to the USL PDL club FC Tucson in the second round .
In 2014, the former Colombian international Rafael Arlex Castillo moved to San Antonio. Castillo scored a total of 9 goals for the Scorpions in the spring and fall seasons, making him the team's most successful goalscorer. In the spring season, the Texans achieved third place, as in the previous year. The fall season ended with first place after 11 wins. The team qualified for the play-offs for the second time since 2012. After beating New York Cosmos on November 8, 2014, the FC was in the 2014 Soccer Bowl, the final of the NASL play-offs. Opponents on November 15, 2014 were the Fort Lauderdale Strikers . The Scorpions won 2-1, becoming Soccer Bowl winners for the first time.
Stadion
- Heroes Stadium (2012)
- Blossom Stadium (2012) 1 game in the US Open Cup
- Toyota Field (2013-)
In the first season, the team played their home games at Heroes Stadium. The field, which is otherwise used as a football stadium, is subordinate to the North East Independent School District and otherwise houses various high school teams from this district.
The home games have been played at Toyota Field since 2013. The stadium holds 8,296 spectators and was opened on April 13, 2013. It belongs to the Sports Outdoor and Recreation Organization which was founded as a non-profit by Gordon Hartman. The nearby STAR Soccer Complex, a sports area with 13 soccer fields, is also part of it. This is also where the team's training usually takes place.
Furthermore, it is possible to expand the Toyota Field to 18,500 spectators should the franchise gain entry into Major League Soccer.
organization
owner
The franchise is owned by the San Antonio-born businessman and philanthropist Gordon Hartman. He is the founder of the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation and advocates for people with disabilities. He also developed the amusement park Morgan's Wonderland for disabled and non-disabled people. Until 2005, Hartmann owned various companies in the real estate and house construction sector.
Sponsors
The main and jersey sponsor is Toyota .
Fan groups
The San Antonio Scorpions have two major fan groups. The largest are the Crocketteers, which were founded in March 2009. At the beginning it was about showing that there are many football enthusiasts in San Antonio and that a fan base for a future professional football team from the city has been created. With the founding of the Scorpions in 2010 and joining the NASL in 2012, the number of members rose from 80 to 1295.
The other group, the CFF (Casual Football Firm), was formed in 2011 after the Scorpions were founded.
youth
The San Antonio Scorpions are a member and location of the US Soccer Development Academy. This was founded in 2007 by the USSF and is spread over several locations in the United States.
At the Scorpions, the age groups U13 to U18 are looked after. There is a U14, a U16 and a U18 team. These play against other youth teams within their own league, which is supervised by US Soccer.
The individual teams are looked after by the assistant coach of the first teams.
Players and staff
Current squad
As of November 12, 2014
|
|
Coaching staff
Alen Marcina - trainer
- The former soccer player played actively from 2002 to 2009 and has been the team's coach since 2013. During his playing days he played for clubs in Canada, Greece, Germany, Denmark, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and the USA.
Nick Evans - assistant coach
- Evans began his football career at Shrewsbury Town at the age of 16 . He then played for teams from the Welsh Premier League . He ended his football career early and moved to college in San Antonio. There he continued to play football and graduated. He also received a university degree in sports science in Wales.
Oscar Munoz - assistant coach
- The former Colombian international played football in the Colombian League for 14 years. He has been a youth coach in Texas for over 17 years.
Juan Lamadrid - goalkeeping coach
- Lamadrid was an active soccer player in Mexico until 1996, most of the time in the second division. After retiring, he was a trainer at Los Angeles Valley College and later at CD Chivas USA San Bernardino Academy. He has been the Scorpions goalkeeping coach since 2012.
successes
statistics
Seasonal balance
| season | step | league | Regular season | Play-offs |
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup |
CONCACAF Champions League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2 | North American Soccer League | 1st place | Semifinals | 4th round | not qualified |
| 2013 | 2 | North American Soccer League | Spring: 3rd place Fall: 8th place |
not qualified | 2nd round | not qualified |
| 2014 | 2 | North American Soccer League | Spring: 3rd place Fall: 1st place |
Super Bowl winner | 4th round | not qualified |
| 2015 | 2 | North American Soccer League | Spring: 7th place Fall: 10th place |
not qualified | 3rd round | not qualified |
- ↑ The competition starts in autumn of the previous year.
Audience statistics
| season | Viewers (average) |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 9,176 |
| 2013 | 6,957 |
| 2014 | 6,778 |
| 2015 | 6,736 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Soccer For A Cause . Archived from the original on May 18, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- ^ W. Scott Bailey: Pro soccer team to be named Scorpions . January 10, 2011.
- ^ Match Center ( English ) NASL. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- ↑ Founder ( English ) www.morganswonderland.com. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
- ↑ US Soccer Development Academy - Member ( English ) sascorpions.com. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
- ↑ Roster ( English ) Retrieved November 12, 2014.
