NSC Minnesota Stars

NSC Minnesota Stars
Minnesota Stars
Logo
Full name NSC Minnesota Stars
Nickname(s) Stars
Founded 2010
Stadium National Sports Center
Blaine, Minnesota
(Capacity: 12,000)
Owner United States NASL
Head Coach United States Manny Lagos
League North American Soccer League
2011 (NASL) Regular Season: 6th,
Playoffs: NASL Champions
Website Club home page
Home colors
Away colors
Current season

The NSC Minnesota Stars is an American professional soccer team based in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2010, the team plays in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Minnesota Stars are the reigning 2011 NASL champions.

The Stars play their home games at the National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota, roughly 18 miles north of Minneapolis. The team's colors are dark blue and yellow. Their current head coach is Manny Lagos.

Contents

History

The National Sports Center began considering fielding a Division 2 men's professional soccer team in December 2009. The current team, the Minnesota Thunder, were tenants of the National Sports Center and were struggling through financial difficulties.[1] In January 2010, the National Sports Center announced they would field a new team to replace the Minnesota Thunder. The Thunder at the time were not officially folded but were facing financial ruin.[2] Following a team-naming contest, the NSC announced the official team name would be NSC Minnesota, with the team nickname being Stars on February 5, 2010.[3]

The team played its first official game on April 11, 2010, a 2–0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps.[4][5] The first goal in franchise history was scored by Daniel Wasson in their next game, a 1-0 victory over the Carolina RailHawks.[6] The Stars enjoyed some impressive victories in their debut season, including a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace Baltimore, a 3-0 win over AC St. Louis, and a 3-1 win over FC Tampa Bay, eventually finishing fourth in their conference. Unfortunately for the Stars, they went out of the playoffs at the quarter final stage, 4-0 on aggregate to the Carolina RailHawks,[7] after defender Andres Arango was issued a red card after just 38 minutes. Simone Bracalello and Brian Cvilikas were the Stars' top scorers in 2010, with 5 goals each.

Colors and badge

The Stars' official colors are blue and gold, following the tradition established the Minnesota Thunder of Minnesota soccer teams wearing predominantly blue as their home color. The club logo is a shield in two-tone blue and gold, with a stylized star overlaid by the NSC Minnesota wordmark.

Stadium

National Sports Center

The Stars play their home games in the 12,000-seater stadium at the National Sports Center, a 600-acre (2.4 km²) multi-sport complex located in Blaine, Minnesota, which in addition to the soccer stadium features over 50 full-sized soccer fields, a golf course, a velodrome, a meeting and convention facility, and an eight-sheet ice rink, the Schwan Super Rink, which is the largest ice facility of its type in the world.

The Minnesota Thunder also played at the NSC prior to the 2010 season.

Club culture

Rivalries

The Railway Cup was an inter-division match played between the NSC Minnesota Stars and AC St. Louis. The cup was named after the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) which was an American Class I railroad that operated lines radiating south to Saint Louis, Missouri from Minneapolis, Minnesota between 1870 to 1960. The rivalry was disbanded after the 2010 season when AC St. Louis folded.

During the course of the 2011 NASL season a rivalry was formed between the Stars and FC Edmonton known as The Flyover Cup. Created by each team's supporters, it's focused on raising money for charity. The Eddies took home the Cup in 2011, posting a 2-0-2 record against the Stars.

Broadcasting

As with all the teams in the NASL, the Stars host webcasts of all their home matches. The commentary is typically Chris Lidholm on play by play and Buzz Lagos on color commentary. The webcasts are free and streamed live via the official NSC Minnesota Stars page.

Players and staff

Current roster

As of September 19, 2011[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 United States GK Joe Warren
2 United States DF Justin Davis
3 Brazil DF Cristiano
4 United States MF Neil Hlavaty
6 United States DF Kevin Friedland
7 Belarus MF Andrei Gotsmanov
8 United States MF Daniel Wasson
9 United States FW Tino Nuñez
10 Liberia MF Sandy Gbandi
11 United States DF Chris Clements
13 Japan MF Kentaro Takada
14 United States DF Brian Kallman
15 United States DF John Gilkerson
16 United States DF Kyle Altman (captain)
17 Brazil MF Geison
No. Position Player
18 United States MF Jeff Cosgriff
19 Italy FW Simone Bracalello
20 United States FW Brian Cvilikas
21 United States FW Devin Del Do
22 Jamaica FW Amani Walker
23 England MF Ryan Woods
24 United States DF Jack Stewart (on loan to FC Dallas)
25 United States FW Anthony Hamilton
26 United States FW Ely Allen
28 England FW Luke Mulholland
30 United States GK Matt Van Oekel
32 Argentina MF Lucas Rodríguez
77 United States MF Andy Lorei
91 Canada DF Gino Mauro
97 New Zealand MF Michael Cobb

Staff

  • United States Djorn Buchholz - CEO
  • United States Manny Lagos - Head Coach/Director of Soccer Operations
  • England Carl Craig - First Assistant Coach
  • United States Kevin Friedland - Player/Assistant Coach

Notable former players

  • See also All-time NSC Minnesota Stars roster

Head coaches

Record

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup Avg. Attendance
2010 2 USSF D-2 Pro League 4th, USL (7th) Quarterfinals 2nd Round 1,374
2011 2 NASL 6th Champions Denied entry

References

  1. ^ From news services (November 11, 2009) "NSC plans don't include Thunder" Saint Paul Pioneer Press
  2. ^ Leighton, Tim (January 8, 2010) "Soccer - New team will replace Thunder" Saint Paul Pioneer Press
  3. ^ Quarstad, Brian. "NSC Minnesota is Name of New Pro Soccer Team - Logo Unveiled | IMS Soccer News". Insidemnsoccer.com. http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/02/05/nsc-minnesota-is-name-of-new-pro-soccer-team-logo-unveiled/. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  4. ^ "USSF Division-2 Pro League". Ussf.demosphere.com. 2010-04-11. http://ussf.demosphere.com/stats/2010/1634145.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  5. ^ LA VAQUE, DAVID (April 25, 2010) "Stars launch franchise with a win - The team, the successor to the Thunder, scored its first goal on a penalty kick and made it hold up." Star Tribune
  6. ^ "USSF Division-2 Pro League". Ussf.demosphere.com. 2010-04-16. http://ussf.demosphere.com/scripts/runisa.dll?M2:gp::73193+Elements/Display+E+47107+Stats/+1634148. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  7. ^ "USSF Division-2 Pro League". Ussf.demosphere.com. 2010-10-09. http://ussf.demosphere.com/stats/2010/2072057.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  8. ^ "2011 Roster | NSC Minnesota Stars". Nscminnesota.com. http://nscminnesota.com/team/2011-roster/. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 
  9. ^ "National Sports Center News/Information". Nscsports.org. 2010-02-10. http://www.nscsports.org/news-info/media_info/releases/manny_coach.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-30. 

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • NSC Minnesota Stars — Voller Name NSC Minnesota Stars Gegründet 2010 Vereinsf …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Stars — Infobox club sportif Minnesota Stars Pas de logo ? Importez le logo de ce club. Généralités Nom complet NSC Minnesota Stars …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Minnesota Thunder — Full name Minnesota Thunder Nickname(s) Thunder Founded 1990 …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Wild — 2011–12 Minnesota Wild season Conference Western …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Twin Stars — Full name Minnesota Twin Stars Nickname(s) Twin Stars Founded 2005 S …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Lynx — 2011 Minnesota Lynx season Conference …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Twins — 2012 Minnesota Twins season Established 1894 Based in Minnesota since 1961 …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Whitecaps — City Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Minnesota League Western Women s Hockey League Founded 2004 (2004) …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota RollerGirls — Metro area Minneapolis Saint Paul Country United States Founded …   Wikipedia

  • Minnesota Kings — Full name Minnesota Kings Football Club Nickname(s) Kings Founded 2009 St …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”