Minnesota Strikers

Minnesota Strikers
Full name Minnesota Strikers
Nickname(s) Strikers
Founded 1984
(Previously Fort Lauderdale Strikers)
Dissolved 1988
(rebranded to Fort Lauderdale Strikers)
Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
Met Center
Ground Capacity 62,000
15,000
Coach David Chadwick 1984 NASL
Alan Merrick1984–88 MISL
League North American Soccer League
Major Indoor Soccer League

The Minnesota Strikers were an American professional soccer team located in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. The team played one season (1984) in the North American Soccer League and 4 seasons (1984 to 1988) in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

The Minnesota Strikers' history begins on November 30, 1983, when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers announced they were relocating to Minnesota (three seasons after the Minnesota Kicks folded) for the 1984 NASL season. The team played that year in the North American Soccer League at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, but the league collapsed at the end of the season. The team survived, however, moving indoors and joining the Major Indoor Soccer League. The team played four seasons in the MISL, folding after the 1987–88 season. The team played at Met Center during the MISL years.

Year-by-year

Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs Open Cup Avg. Attend.
1984 1 NASL 3rd, Western Did not qualify Did not enter 14,262
1984–85 N/A MISL 4th, Eastern Semifinals N/A 4,809
1985–86 N/A MISL 2nd, Eastern Runners-up N/A 6,503
1986–87 N/A MISL 4th, Eastern Division Semifinals N/A 6,977
1987–88 N/A MISL 1st, Eastern Division Finals N/A 5,930

International Friendlies

Date Visitor Score Host Venue Location Attendance
May 23, 1984 AFC Ajax Netherlands 4–2 Minnesota Strikers United States Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota 6,079
June 13, 1984 Glasgow Rangers Scotland 2–5 Minnesota Strikers United States Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota 6,866

Honors

Championships

Division Titles

U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame

MISL All-Star Game participants

Newcomer of the Year

League Leading Goal Scorer

League Leading Goaltender

All-League First Team Selections

All-League Second Team Selections

All-League Honorable Mentions

1984–85 (MISL)

Ricardo Alonso Argentina, John Bain Scotland, Ben Collins United States, Bill Crook United States, Chris Dangerfield England, Drago Dumbovic Croatia, Gary Etherington EnglandUnited States, Ken Fogarty England, Jan Goossens Netherlands, Ray Hudson England, Mike Jeffries United States, Matt Kennedy United States, Tino Lettieri Canada, Steve Litt England, Dwight Lodeweges CanadaNetherlands, John McGrane Canada, Bruce Miller Canada, Thomas Rongen Netherlands, Craig Scarpelli United States, Gregg Thompson United States, Thompson Usiyan Nigeria, Alan Willey England

1985–86 (MISL)

Tony Bono United States, David Byrne England, Dan Canter United States, Stan Cummins England, Chris Dangerfield England, Gary Etherington United States Ken Fogarty England, Jan Goossens Netherlands, Ray Hudson England, Bill Irwin Northern Ireland, Mike Jeffries United States, Matt Kennedy United States, Tasso Koutsoukos Canada, Tino Lettieri Canada, Dwight Lodeweges CanadaNetherlands, Bruce Miller Canada, Kazbek Tambi United States, Gregg Thompson United States, Thompson Usiyan Nigeria, Alan Willey England

1986–87 (MISL)

Tony Bono United States, David Byrne England, Dan Canter United States, Stan Cummins England,Chris Dangerfield England, Enzo DiPede Canada, Helmut Dudek West Germany, Gary Etherington United States, Ken Fogarty England, Ray Hudson England, Mike Jeffries United States, Matt Kennedy United States, Steve Kinsey England, Tasso Koutsoukos Canada, Tino Lettieri Canada, Dwight Lodeweges CanadaNetherlands, John O'Hara United States, Gregg Thompson United States, Thompson Usiyan Nigeria, Alan Willey England; Elizabeth Robbie, President; Chris Wright, General Manager, Tim Robbie, Executive Vice President; Alan Merrick, Head Coach; Bruce Miller, Assistant Coach.

NASL coach

Coach (MISL)

Strikers NASL Draft

1984

Round Player School
1 Greg Kennedy Indiana
2 Ronil Dufrene Florida International
3 David McDaniel Duke

Strikers MISL Drafts

1985

Round Player School
1 Paul DiBernardo Indiana University
2 Peter Sawkins Yale University
3 Anthony Bono Drexel University
4 Bruce Bellinger Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

1986

Round Player School
2 Peter Smith University of Tampa
3 Paul Schojan Rochester Institute of Technology
4 Andy Pantason University of Connecticut
4 Tony Scheuerman Stillwater High School

1987

Round Player School
1 Brent Goulet Warner Pacific University
3 George Geinovatch University of Virginia
4 Troy Snyder Penn State University

Media

Radio

Television

See also

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