San Francisco Seals (soccer)

Football club infobox
clubname = San Francisco Seals


fullname = San Francisco Seals
nickname = The Seals
founded = 1992
ground = Negoesco Stadium
capacity = 3,000
chairman = flagicon|USA Tom Simpson
flagicon|USA Randy Roser
manager = flagicon|USA Paul Aigbogun
league = USL Premier Development League
season = 2008
position = 4th, Southwest Division

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American = true

San Francisco Seals is an American soccer team, originally founded in 1992. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference against teams from Azusa, Bakersfield, Calabasas, Fresno, Irvine, La Mirada, Lancaster, San Jose and Ventura.

The Seals play their home games at Negoesco Stadium on the campus of the University of San Francisco in San Francisco, California. The team's colors are black, red and white.

2008 Roster

Year-by-year

Honors

*USISL D3 Pro League Western Conference Champions 1997
*USISL Premier League Regular Season Champions 1995
*USISL Premier League Pacific Conference Champions 1995
*USISL Pacific Conference Champions 1994

Competition History

The San Francisco United Soccer Club (SFUSC) was first organized as a youth soccer club in 1985. Drawing on talented players from throughout the Bay Area, SFUSC soon became a "super club" and a dominant force in California state youth soccer. In 1990 SFUSC won the California Youth Soccer Associations (CYSA) state championship. It then continued on to take the Region IV title which put it into the National Cup final. However, the rise of the "super clubs" such as SFUSC and the La Jolla (San Diego) Nomads sparked a counter reaction from smaller California youth teams and in 1992 CYSA implemented rules to prevent these clubs from forming or competing. Faced with this opposition, the SFUSC decided to forsake the traditional path to amateur success, through the state competitions, and enter a team in the U.S. Interregional Soccer League (USISL), the forerunner of today's United Soccer Leagues.

In 1992, the SFSCU formed its team, known as the San Francisco All-Blacks based on its all black uniform, and entered it in the USISL. While the first year went poorly, the team continued to improve in the face of stiff national-level competition. In 1994, the All Blacks, now known as San Francisco United, took first place in the Pacific Conference. In 1996, the club changed the team's name to the San Francisco Bay Seals. In 1998, the Seals moved up to the A-League. In 2000, SFSCU sold the team to new ownership, which renamed the team the Bay Area Seals. However, the Seals lasted only to the end of the 2000 season before folding.

The Seals were division champions three times, in 1994, 1995 and 1997. In 1997, the Seals made an incredible and historic run to the semi finals of the US Open Cup. After winning the D3 US Open Cup, the Seals knocked out the Seattle Sounders, the previous year's Open Cup Champions. They then took out two Major League Soccer clubs. First came the Kansas City Wiz in the round of 16, and then the San Jose Clash in the quarter finals at the Clash's home field, Spartan Stadium. The Seals' Cinderella run through higher division clubs came to an end in the semi-finals when they lost 2-1 to D.C. United.

Then, in 2006, after a six-year gap, the original club owners resurrected the team, this time as a franchise in the PDL as the San Francisco Seals. Their first year back in competition was fairly decent - four wins in their first six games, including a comprehensive 3-1 over California Gold - left the team well in contention for the playoffs as the second half of the campaign began. However, a disappointing run of results in the latter half of 2007, including a winless streak of 5 games from mid-June to early July saw the team slip down the table, eventually finishing 6th. The end of the season was enlivened by a staggering 8-1 victory over California Gold that featured a brace by Luke Sassano. Jose Diaz and Peruvian striker John Colan were the team's top scorers, notching 13 goals between them, while Shani Simpson contributed 4 assists.

2007 was a similar seesaw season of disappointing inconsistency for the Seals, when victory following defeat following victory following defeat all year long - this despite the presence of former Manchester City defender Danny Warrender marshalling the back line. The Seals did enjoy a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Orange County Blue Star in July, but failed to overcome their Bay Area rivals San Jose Frogs in their two-game series, losing 2-0 in San Jose in June, and losing 2-0 at home in their season finale. The Seals eventually finished a comfortable mid-table 6th; Anton Peterlin and Keith Ratzberg were joint top scorers with 3 goals each, while Richard Halvorsen registered 3 assists.

Notable former players

* C.J. Brown
* Espen Baardsen
* Troy Dayak
* Joe Enochs
* Matt Fitzgerald
* Kevin Long
* Brandon McDonald
* Steve Purdy
* Luke Sassano
* Marquis White

Coaches

* Paul Aigbogun 2006-date

tadia

* Negoesco Stadium, San Francisco, California 2006-date
* Stadium at the College of Alameda, Alameda, California 2006 (1 game)
* Stadium on Treasure Island, San Francisco, California 2006 (1 game)
* Stadium at Livermore High School, Livermore, California 2006 (1 game)
* Stadium at San Marin High School, Novato, California 2007 (1 game)
* Stadium at Clayton Valley High School, Concord, California 2007 (1 game)
* Stadium at Chabot College, Hayward, California 2008 (1 game)

Average Attendance

*2008: 157
*2007: 180
*2006: 172

External links

* [http://www.oursfseals.com/ San Francisco Seals]