2012–13 Texas Strikers season

The 2012–13 Texas Strikers season was the first season of the Texas Strikers professional indoor soccer club.^[3] The Strikers, a Central Division team in the Professional Arena Soccer League, played their home games in Ford Arena in Beaumont, Texas.^[4] The team was led by owner James Germany and head coach Chris "Topper" Cogan. The Strikers are Beaumont's first professional soccer team.^[5]

Texas Strikers

2012–13 PASL season
Owner	James Germany
Head Coach	Chris "Topper" Cogan
Arena	Ford Arena Beaumont, Texas (capacity: 8,500)[1]
PASL	5th, Central
US Open Cup	DNP
Highest home attendance	1,078 (December 1, 2012) vs Dallas Sidekicks
Lowest home attendance	385 (January 11, 2013) vs Chicago Mustangs
Average home league attendance	598 (over 8 home games)[2]
← N/A 2013–14 →

Season summary

The Strikers in action versus the Dallas Sidekicks on February 23, 2013, at the Allen Event Center.

The team struggled early in the regular season but split its last six games, amassing a 3–13 record. The Strikers placed fifth in the five-team Central Division and failed to advance to the postseason. The franchise fared better at the box office, placing seventh in the 19-team league for average home attendance.^[2]

The Strikers did not participate in the 2012–13 United States Open Cup for Arena Soccer.

Off-field moves

The team's December 1, 2012, home opener against the Dallas Sidekicks was delayed by nearly two hours as the goals had not been properly installed by gametime.^[6] Blaming late shipping from the supplier for the delay, the team gave free popcorn and soft drinks to fans while they waited.^[7] The team later announced that anyone with a ticket stub from the delayed game could redeem it for free admission to the December 8 game against the Arizona Storm.^[7]

Roster moves

In early October 2012, the Strikers held two rounds of tryouts for prospective players at the Cris Quinn Soccer Complex in Beaumont.^[8] 63 prospects participated in the tryouts as the team worked to fill out a 20-man roster for the 2012–13 season.^[9][10]

On October 30, the team signed Thomas Shenton from Doncaster, England, Mikey Olabarrieta from Honduras, and Texas native Jeff LeBlanc.^[11]

The team roster for the regular season finale against the Dallas Sidekicks was partially filled out with players from Vitesse Dallas of the Premier Arena Soccer League.

Schedule

  Win   Tie   Loss

Regular season

Game	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location[12]	Attendance
					Final Score	Record
1	Saturday	November 17	7:30pm	at Rio Grande Valley Flash	L 1–13[13]	0–1	State Farm Arena	1,758[14]
2	Saturday	December 1	7:05pm	Dallas Sidekicks	L 3–10[15]	0–2	Ford Arena[16]	1,078[17]
3	Saturday	December 8	7:05pm	Arizona Storm	L 4–7	0–3	Ford Arena[18]	717[19]
4	Saturday	December 15	7:00pm	at Dallas Sidekicks	L 1–21	0–4	Allen Event Center	4,768[20]
5	Saturday	December 22	7:05pm	at Rockford Rampage	L 5–16	0–5	Victory Sports Complex	266[21]
6	Sunday	December 23	1:30pm	at Chicago Mustangs	L 1–20	0–6	Grand Sports Arena[22]	299[23]
7	Saturday	December 29	7:05pm	Dallas Sidekicks	L 4–16[24]	0–7	Ford Arena[1]	688[25]
8	Friday	January 4	7:05pm	Rio Grande Valley Flash	L 1–10[26][27]	0–8	Ford Arena[28]	496[29]
9	Friday	January 11	7:05pm	Chicago Mustangs	L 2–12	0–9	Ford Arena	385[30]
10	Saturday	January 19	8:00pm (9:00pm Central)	at Real Phoenix	L 6–10	0–10	Barney Family Sports Complex	69[31]
11	Sunday	January 20	4:00pm (5:00pm Central)	at Arizona Storm	W 9–8	1–10	Arizona Sports Complex	55[32]
12	Sunday	January 27	5:00pm	at Rio Grande Valley Flash	L 3–12[33][34]	1–11	State Farm Arena[35]	1,549[36]
13	Saturday	February 2	7:05pm	Real Phoenix ♥	W 13–8	2–11	Ford Arena	398[37]
14	Sunday	February 10	3:05pm	Rockford Rampage	W 9–8	3–11	Ford Arena	409[38]
15	Saturday	February 16	7:05pm	Rio Grande Valley Flash	L 10–11 (OT)[39][40]	3–12	Ford Arena	620[41]
16	Saturday	February 23	7:00pm	at Dallas Sidekicks	L 4–10[42][43]	3–13	Allen Event Center[44][45]	4,856[46]

♥ Replacement squad after Phoenix franchise revoked by league.

References

1. Moore, Sarah (December 30, 2012). "Texas Strikers bring pro soccer to Southeast Texas". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
2. "League Attendance". Professional Arena Soccer League. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
3. Krieger, Dan (October 2, 2012). "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". Our Sports Central. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
4. Nolan, Heather (September 26, 2012). "New soccer team officials optimistic". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
5. Mann, Tommy Jr. (September 26, 2012). "Professional soccer headed to Southeast Texas". The Orange Leader. Orange, TX: Community Newspaper Holdings. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
6. Elam, Ashly (December 3, 2012). "Strikers continue to improve". Beaumont, TX: KBMT-TV. Archived from the original (video) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 19, 2012.
7. Garfias, Augustin (December 3, 2012). "Strikers offer voucher for delayed arena soccer game". Corpus Christi, TX: KIII-TV. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
8. Garfias, Agustin (October 9, 2012). "Many want Strikers to succeed". Beaumont, TX: KBMT-TV. Archived from the original on July 25, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
9. Nolan, Heather (September 26, 2012). "Strikers tryouts next week". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
10. "Texas Strikers have a big turnout for tryouts". Beaumont, TX: KBMT-TV. October 5, 2012. Archived from the original on November 26, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
11. Dabe, Christopher (October 30, 2012). "New soccer club signs three players". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
12. "Texas Strikers Schedule". Our Sports Central. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
13. Monitor staff (November 17, 2012). "Flash win big in first home opener". The Monitor. McAllen, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
14. "Box Score: State Farm Arena - Sat, Nov 17, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. November 17, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
15. "Dallas Sidekicks remain undefeated at 4-0, two hat tricks scored in 10-3 win at Texas Strikers". Our Sports Central. December 1, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
16. Berry, David (November 30, 2012). "Strikers prepare for first home game Saturday". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
17. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sat, Dec 01, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. December 1, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
18. Rankin, Beth (December 8, 2012). "Texas Strikers vs. the Arizona Storm". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
19. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sat, Dec 08, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. December 8, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
20. "Box Score: Allen Event Center - Sat, Dec 15, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. December 15, 2012. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
21. "Box Score: Victory Sports Complex - Sat, Dec 22, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. December 22, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
22. "Chicago Mustangs to Host Texas Strikers Sunday". Our Sports Central. December 21, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
23. "Box Score: Grand Sports Arena - Sun, Dec 23, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. December 23, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
24. "Dallas Sidekicks Defeat Texas Strikers 16-4 on the Road, Remain Undefeated at 6-0". Our Sports Central. December 30, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
25. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sat, Dec 29, 2012". Professional Arena Soccer League. December 29, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
26. "Flores scores Hat-trick as Flash blast Strikers". Our Sports Central. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
27. "Flores scores 3 goals as Flash rout Strikers". The Monitor. McAllen, TX: AIM Media Texas. January 4, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
28. Rankin, Beth (January 4, 2013). "Hot Pick: Texas Strikers vs. Rio Grande Valley Flash". The Beaumont Enterprise. Beaumont, TX: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
29. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Fri, Jan 04, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
30. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Fri, Jan 11, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. January 11, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
31. "Box Score: Barney Indoor Sports - Sat, Jan 19, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. January 19, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
32. "Box Score: Arizona Sports Complex - Sun, Jan 20, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
33. "Flash Race Past Strikers". Our Sports Central. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
34. "Flash race past Strikers". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. January 27, 2013. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
35. "RGV Capsules: Gamboa among Flash additions". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. January 9, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
36. "Box Score: State Farm Arena - Sun, Jan 27, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
37. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sat, Feb 02, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. February 2, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
38. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sun, Feb 10, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. February 10, 2013. Retrieved February 12, 2013.
39. "RGV Capsules: Flores, Flash reach playoffs". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
40. "Flores inspires Flash to the playoffs". Our Sports Central. February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
41. "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sat, Feb 16, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. February 16, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2013.
42. Barron, J. David (February 23, 2013). "Sidekicks sucker-punch Strikers to get ready for playoffs". Allen American-Star. Allen, TX: Star Local News. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
43. Richardson, Brandon (February 26, 2013). "Sidekicks continue perfect record at home as focus shifts to playoffs". Allen American-Star. Allen, TX: Star Local News. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
44. "Dallas Sidekicks to Face Rio Grande Valley in Opening Round of Playoffs". Our Sports Central. February 18, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
45. "Dallas Sidekicks to Host Texas Strikers Saturday in Final Regular Season Match". Our Sports Central. February 21, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
46. "Box Score: Allen Event Center - Sat, Feb 23, 2013". Professional Arena Soccer League. February 23, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.

External links

• Texas Strikers official website