El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference.
The team played its home games at the soccer-specific Patriot Stadium, where they played since 2005 until 2012, when they played their last season (2013) home schedule at the SAC. The team's colors were red, navy blue and white.
Prior to their stadium being completed in 2005, the Patriots played at the Sun Bowl on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso, and at Dudley Field, the former home of the El Paso Diablos baseball team. They were one of the more long-serving franchises in American soccer, having previously played in the first division A-League until 2003.
History Founded in 1989 as the El Paso Sixshooters and owned and coached by Dan Guard, the team competed in the Southwest Indoor Soccer League. The season was a disaster from the start, as they allowed 179 goals in 12 games (including a 27-3 blowout against the Austin Sockadillos) while scoring only 44.Sockadillos silence Sixshooters by scoring amazing 27 goals Austin American-Statesman – Sunday, December 3, 1989 (Fittingly, the infamous footballer/con artist Carlos Kaiser was listed on the El Paso roster, but never got in a game.) In January 1990, the 0-12 Sixshooters (who drew about 300 fans total to two home contests at the El Paso County Coliseum) ceased operations and forfeited their remaining games, finishing with an official record of 0-24.Renegades, Albuquerque Vie – El Paso Team Folds Tulsa World – Saturday, January 20, 1990
The team resumed operations in the fall of 1990 as the El Paso Spurs. Before the 1991 season, the Spurs were sold to a group which included primary investor Enrique Cervantes as well as Jaime Monardes. The new ownership group renamed the team the Patriots to capitalize on the Patriot missile's recent success in the Gulf War and hired Brazilian Marinho Chagas as head coach.El Paso soccer team fights to make name Fort Worth Star-Telegram – Wednesday, June 12, 1991Renegades' Sunbelt Outdoor Slate Set Tulsa World – Sunday, April 7, 1991 In 2003, the team played in the Sun Bowl.
Prior to the 2010 PDL season the Patriots signed a formal agreement with Mexican Premier Division team Guadalajara, and were officially rebranded as the Chivas El Paso Patriots. In addition to cross-promotion, sponsorship and player development, the agreement will also see the U-20, Division 1A and Division II Chivas teams playing regular games in El Paso.Chivas de Guadalajara and El Paso Patriots Sign Agreement In 2012, the club rebranded to their original name El Paso Patriots.
Players
Notable former players This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
Carlos Kaiser (footballer) Ben Everson Carlos Farias Julio Daniel Frías Freddy Juarez Cesar Sosa Salvador Mercado Dimitar Popov Steve Sengelmann Dimitar Vasev
Year-by-year YearDivisionLeagueRegular seasonPlayoffsOpen Cup1989/90N/ASISL Indoor4th, Cactusdid not qualifyN/A1990/91N/ASISL Indoor8th, Southwestdid not qualifyN/A1991N/ASISL2nd, SouthwestSemifinalsdid not enter1992N/AUSISL1st, Southwestdid not qualifydid not enter1993N/AUSISL6th, AtlanticSizzling Sixdid not enter19943USISL2nd, SouthwestDivisional Semifinalsdid not enter19953USISL Pro League1st, South CentralDivisional FinalsFinal19963USISL Select League3rd, Pacific1st Round2nd Round19972USISL A-League6th, Pacificdid not qualifydid not qualify19982USISL A-League6th, Centraldid not qualify3rd Round19992USL A-League5th, PacificConference Quarterfinalsdid not qualify20002USL A-League4th, PacificConference Quarterfinalsdid not qualify20012USL A-League7th, Westerndid not qualify3rd Round20022USL A-League2nd, Pacific1st Rounddid not qualify20032USL A-League3rd, Centraldid not qualify3rd Round20044USL PDL1st, Mid SouthConference Semifinalsdid not qualify20054USL PDL1st, Mid SouthNational Final2nd Round20064USL PDL3rd, Mid Southdid not qualifydid not qualify20074USL PDL2nd, Mid SouthConference Semifinals2nd Round20084USL PDL3rd, Mid Southdid not qualifydid not qualify20094USL PDL4th, Mid Southdid not qualify2nd Round20104USL PDL5th, Mid Southdid not qualifydid not qualify20114USL PDL2nd, Mid SouthConference Semifinals1st Round20124USL PDL3rd, Mid Southdid not qualify2nd Round20134USL PDL6th, Mid Southdid not qualifydid not qualify
Honors USL PDL Southern Conference Champions 2005 USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2005 USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2004 USISL Pro League South Central Division Champions 1995 US Open Cup Runners-Up 1995 USISL Southwest Division Champions 1992
Head coaches Dan Guard (1989–1990) Marinho Chagas (1991–1992) Oscar Lira (1993–1994-1995) Francisco Paco Chavez (1996–1999) Greg Petersen (2000) Alfredo Solares (2001 – interim) Carlos Bracamontes (beginning July 2, 2001) Tita (2002) Miguel Murillo (2002, 2008) Fernando Gutierrez (2003) Jesus Enriquez (2002–2003-2004–2005–2006) Salvador Mercado (2007) Javier McDonald (2008 interim)
Stadium Sun Bowl Stadium; El Paso, Texas (2003) Dudley Field; El Paso, Texas (2004) Gary Del Palacios Field (Patriot Stadium); El Paso, Texas (2005–2012) SISD Student Activities Complex; El Paso, Texas (2013)
In May 2005, the Patriots opened their own stadium at their training facility near Cielo Vista Mall.
Average attendance Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.
2004: 986 (5th in PDL) 2005: 1,546 (2nd in PDL) 2006: 867 (7th in PDL) 2007: 789 (8th in PDL) 2008: 1,269 (5th in PDL) 2009: 607 or 640 (17th in PDL) 2010: 1,069 or 1,094 (9th in PDL) 2011: 1,067 (8th in PDL) 2012: 444 (23rd in PDL)
References
External links
Official Site Official PDL site