The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indoor team plays its home games at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. First playing in 2024, the outdoor men's team and outdoor women's team, the Tacoma Galaxy, play home games at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma.
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| Founded | 2003 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stadium | accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington Bellarmine Preparatory School, Tacoma, Washington | ||
| Capacity | 6,500 | ||
| Chairman | Lane Smith | ||
| Coach | Adam Becker | ||
| League | Major Arena Soccer League USL League Two | ||
| 2022–23 | 4th, Western Division Playoffs: Play-in Round | ||
| Website | http://www.tacomastars.com | ||
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The club also fields an indoor women's side under the Tacoma Galaxy name.[1] The club fields two reserve teams both with the name Tacoma Stars Reserves, in the indoor WISL junior league,[2] and the outdoor youth Cascadia Premier League.[3]
History
editThe Stars were founded in 2003 as a member of the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL-Premier). The team is named after the Tacoma Stars that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League from 1983 to 1992. The Stars won two PASL-Premier Championships (Summer 2004 & Winter 2009-2010).[4]
The Stars made the transition to professional status and joined the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) for the 2010-11 season. In 2012–13 season, the head coach was Joe Waters as the team moved into the new Pacific Sports Center.[5]
The Stars went on hiatus on August 23, 2013. An amateur version of the club participated in the Premier Arena Soccer League as the Tacoma Galaxy in the 2013-14 season.[6] On January 10, 2014, the Pacific Sports Center was placed into receivership, putting the future of the facility and the franchise in question.[7]
In June 2014, it was announced that the Tacoma Stars would return to play in the Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) at the Tacoma Soccer Center.
In January 2015, team owner Lane Smith acquired the assets of the failed Seattle Impact of the Major Arena Soccer League and announced that the Stars would complete the Impact's 2014–15 season at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington, while completing their WISL obligations.[8][9][10][11]
The Stars joined the National Premier Soccer League in 2020, and planned to field an outdoor team in the Northwest Conference through a partnership with Washington Premier FC. The outdoor team planned to play at Washington Premier FC Field in Waller, Washington, near Puyallup.[12] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic NPSL halted play in the 2020 season, and the Northwest division did not play in 2021. Tacoma left NPSL in 2022 without having played a match.[citation needed]
On January 4, 2024, the Tacoma Stars was announced as an expansion team for the outdoor USL League Two, joining the Northwest Division. The team will play their home matches at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma.[13] An affiliated women's team, named the Tacoma Galaxy, will play in the USL W League beginning in 2024.[14]
| Appearances | Raphael Cox - 112 | Danny Waltman - 109 | Chase Hanson - 104 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Nick Perera - 177 | Mike Ramos - 146 | Raphael Cox - 86 |
| Goals | Nick Perera - 94 | Mike Ramos - 91 | Raphael Cox - 61 |
| Assists | Nick Perera - 84 | Mike Ramos - 55 | Raphael Cox - 34 |
| Saves | Danny Waltman - 2175 | Piotr Silwa - 190 | Chris Kintz - 175 |
| Fouls | Vince Mcluskey - 154 | Nick Perera - 119 | Mike Ramos - 99 |
Year-by-year
edit| League Champions | Runners-up | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| Year | League | Record | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs | Avg. attendance | U.S. Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | PASL | |||||||
| 2004 | PASL[15][16] | 4–0–0 | 56 | 26 | 1st, Northwest | Won Championship | ||
| 2004–05 | PASL[17][18][19] | 6–2–0 | 64 | 34 | 2nd, Northwest | Eliminated in National Round Robin | 138[20] | |
| 2005–06 | PASL[21][22] | 3–4–0 | 32 | 36 | 4th, Northwest | Suspended | ||
| 2006–07 | PASL[23][24] | 10–1–0 | 101 | 40 | 1st, Northwest | Lost National Elimination | ||
| 2007–08 | PASL[25][26] | 5–5–2 | 187 | 149 | 4th, Northwest | Lost Division Final | ||
| 2008–09 | PASL-Premier[27][28] | 7–0–1 | 56 | 31 | 1st, Northwest | Lost National Semifinal | Lost semifinal | |
| 2009–10 | PASL-Premier | 6–1–1 | 50 | 25 | 1st, Northwest | Won Championship | Lost Round of 16 | |
| 2010–11 | PASL-Pro | 10–6 | 110 | 104 | 2nd, Western | Lost quarterfinal | 331 | Lost semifinal |
| 2011–12 | PASL | 3–13 | 92 | 150 | 5th, Western | Did not qualify | 242 | Lost quarterfinal |
| 2012–13 | PASL | 8–7 | 116 | 136 | 3rd, Pacific | Did not qualify | 314 | Lost quarterfinal |
| 2013–14 | PASL-Premier | 6–0–2 | 55 | 33 | 1st, Northwest | Eliminated in National Group Play | ||
| 2014–15 | WISL | 8–0–0 | 67 | 25 | 1st, WISL | Won Championship | ||
| 2014–151 | MASL | 4–16 | 120 | 215 | 5th, Pacific | Did not qualify | 1,038 | |
| 2015–162 | MASL | 13–7 | 116 | 109 | 3rd, Pacific | Lost Division Semifinals | 2,475 | |
| 2016–17 | MASL | 10–10 | 114 | 120 | 3rd, Pacific | Did not qualify | 2,894 | |
| 2017–18 | MASL | 11–11 | 134 | 134 | 2nd, Pacific | Lost Division Finals | 2,635 | |
| 2018–19 | MASL | 12–12 | 162 | 143 | 2nd, Pacific | Lost Division Finals | 2,672 | |
| 2019–20 | MASL | 8–12 | 112 | 124 | 5th, Western | Did not qualify | 2,519 | |
| 2021 | MASL | 4–7 | 53 | 62 | 6th, MASL | Lost quarterfinals | NHG* | |
| 2021-22 | MASL | 6-18 | 135 | 192 | 4th, West | Did Not Quality | 1,200 | |
| 2022-23 | MASL | 12-12 | 155 | 139 | 4th, West | Lost Western Conference play-in | 1,175 |
1 Completing last 7 games of 20-game season after taking over for the Seattle Impact.
2 First full season competing in MASL.
* The Stars had no home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professional playoffs
edit| Year | Won | Lost | GF | GA | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | NHG |
| 2016 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 19 | 2,036 |
| 2018 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 17 | 2,386 |
| 2019 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 2,412 |
| 2021 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 12 | NHG* |
| 2023 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 9 | TBA |
* The Stars had no home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personnel
editActive players
editAs of 2024.[29]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Venues
edit| Venue | City | Type | Team | League | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma Soccer Center | Tacoma | Indoor | Tacoma Stars | PASL-Premier, PASL | 2004-2011, 2013-2014[1], 2014-2015 |
| Tacoma Stars Reserves | WISL | ||||
| Tacoma Galaxy | NWPLi | ||||
| Starfire Sports Complex | Tacoma | Indoor[2] | Tacoma Stars | PASL | 2011-2012 |
| Pacific Sports Center | Tacoma | Indoor | Tacoma Stars | PASL | 2012-2013 |
| accesso ShoWare Center | Kent | Indoor[3] | Tacoma Stars | MASL | 2015- |
| Bellarmine Preparatory School | Tacoma | Outdoor | Tacoma Stars | USL2 | 2024- |
| Tacoma Galaxy | USL-W | 2024- | |||
| Curtis Senior High School | University Place | Outdoor | Tacoma Stars Reserves | CPL |
References
edit- ^ "Tacoma Galaxy - Tacoma Stars". www.tacomastars.com.
- ^ "Stars Reserves - Tacoma Stars". www.tacomastars.com.
- ^ "Season Microsite". season-microsites.ui.sportsengine.com.
- ^ "Tacoma Stars are PASL-Premier Winter Champions". www.arenaleague.com. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
- ^ "New sports center set to open this Spring". Tacoma Weekly. December 22, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
- ^ "Tacoma Galaxy to play in regional indoor league as Stars go on hiatus". GoalWA.net. August 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
- ^ "Public records show Pacific Sports Center is in receivership, could be shuttered". GoalWA.net. January 21, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
- ^ Weinstein, Arthur (January 13, 2015). "New Seattle soccer team could take over for another, concluding bizarre saga". The Sporting News. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ Baker, Geoff (January 14, 2015). "Tacoma Stars buy rights to return to the highest level of professional indoor soccer". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ "Tacoma Stars return to professional ranks in MASL at ShoWare Center this Friday". Major Arena Soccer League. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
- ^ Ruiz, Don (January 15, 2015). "Tacoma Stars replace Seattle Impact in top-tier MASL". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
- ^ "The Tacoma Stars Join the NPSL for the 2020 Season" (Press release). National Premier Soccer League. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- ^ "Tacoma Stars joining USL League Two in 2024" (Press release). USL League Two. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ Oshan, Jeremiah (February 2, 2024). "Tacoma Galaxy will join USL's W League". Sounder at Heart. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
- ^ "Standings S2004". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on December 9, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "National Tournament Summer 2004 Scores". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Standings W2005". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Winter Nationals 05 Teams". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 28, 2005. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Winter Nationals 05 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
- ^ "Attendance Watch". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2005/06 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "League Playoff Picture". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on May 1, 2006. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2006/07 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Studio Wins First International Championship". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2007/08 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Division Champions Decided". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2008/09 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "PASL-Premier National Finals". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
- ^ "Stars - Stats - Major Arena Soccer League". MASL.
