Southern California Eagles

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Southern California Seahorses
)
Southern California Eagles
Full nameSouthern California Eagles
Nickname(s)SoCal Eagles
Founded1983; 41 years ago (1983)
StadiumAl Barbour Field
La Mirada, California
Capacity1,150
Head CoachTodd Elkins
LeagueUSL League Two
Women's Premier Soccer League
20234th, Southwest Division
Playoffs: Conference Semifinals
WebsiteClub website

Southern California Eagles are an American

American Soccer Pyramid. They also field a team in the Women's Premier Soccer League.[1]

The team plays its home games in the stadium on the campus of Whittier College. The team's colors are navy blue, white and orange.

The Eagles are a division of Missionary Athletes International (MAI), an organization which undertakes sports ministry to share the message of Christianity through the environment of soccer. They are a sister organization of the Charlotte Eagles in USL League Two.

History

The Seahorses, which had previously been in existence as a youth soccer club since 1983, joined the PDL in 2001, and were successful immediately, finishing second to

Boulder Rapids Reserve
.

The Seahorses missed the playoffs in 2003, finishing third behind divisional champions

Fresno Fuego, and just missed out again in 2004, finishing third behind Orange County Blue Star, despite posting some impressive victories in the regular season, including 4–1 defeat of Nevada Wonders and a 5–1 demolition of San Diego Gauchos
.

The developing rivalry between the Seahorses and

Fresno Fuego) in the second half of the season. Their trip to the playoffs was a short one, however, as the Seahorses lost to Cascade Surge first time out. Striker Anthony Stovall registered an impressive 7 goals on the season, and Dylan Martinez
led the team in assists.

2006 saw the Seahorses finally capture their first divisional title, besting

Eric Reed
enjoyed the best goalkeeping statistics in the PDL, with a goals-against average of 0.621 per game, and keeping 10 clean sheets in his 15 games.

However, much like their crosstown rivals Blue Star, everything went wrong for the Seahorses in 2007. With

USL-1 franchise California Victory, the Seahorses defence became incredibly leaky; the team suffered four defeats in their first five games – including a chaotic 4–3 loss to the San Fernando Valley Quakes – and although things began to sure up towards the second half of the season, they found themselves unable to actually WIN any games. Five ties in their last ten games put an end to their playoff hopes early, although the team did finish with a flourish with a resounding 4–0 thrashing of Bakersfield Brigade on the final day, and eventually finished 7th. Midfielder Conan Hawkins led the scoring stats, tallying 4 goals on the season, while Chris Leiva
registered 6 assists.

The downturn in form continued in 2008 for the Seahorses, who began the season with a 3–1 loss to

Lancaster Rattlers on the final day of the season which ended in a 1–1 tie and managed to keep them out of the basement spot. The Seahorses ended their season in 9th place; Chris Leiva, Diego Mejía and Cristian Rus were the joint top scorers with three goals each, while Scott Lucky
led the assist stats with 2 to his name.

The Seahorses entered their ninth season in the PDL looking to recapture the form of yesteryear, but it was not to be; despite welcoming ex-pros

Lancaster Rattlers
, and thereafter the men from La Mirada staggered to the finishing line, eventually finishing sixth in the division, eight points out of the playoffs, and missing the postseason for the third straight year. Ryan Shaw was the Seahorses' top scorer, with 6 goals.

On February 13, 2024, the team changed its name to the Southern California Eagles to match with other Missionary Athletes International soccer teams.[2]

Colors and badge

On March 1, 2018, the unveiled a new crest, as a part of a partnership with Charlotte Eagles.[3]

Southern California Seahorses logo
  • 2001–2017
    2001–2017
  • 2018–2023
    2018–2023

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.

Year-by-year

Year Division League Regular Season Playoffs Open Cup
Southern California Seahorses
2001 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2002 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest National Semifinals did not qualify
2003 4 USL PDL 3rd, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2004 4 USL PDL 3rd, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2005 4 USL PDL 2nd, Southwest Conference Semifinals did not qualify
2006 4 USL PDL 1st, Southwest Conference Semifinals did not qualify
2007 4 USL PDL 7th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2008 4 USL PDL 9th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2009 4 USL PDL 6th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2010 4 USL PDL 5th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2011 4 USL PDL 4th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2012 4 USL PDL 8th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2013 4 USL PDL 7th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2014 4 USL PDL 6th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2015 4 USL PDL 4th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2016 4 USL PDL 5th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2017 4 USL PDL 6th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2018 4 USL PDL 8th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2019 4 USL League Two 3rd, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
2020 4 USL League Two Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 4 USL League Two Did not play due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 4 USL League Two 3rd, Southwest Conference Semifinals did not qualify
2023 4 USL League Two 4th, Southwest did not qualify did not qualify
Southern California Eagles

Honors

  • USL PDL Southwest Division Champions 2006
  • USL PDL Western Conference Champions 2002

Head coaches

Stadia

Average attendance

  • 2005: 300
  • 2006: 279
  • 2007: 263
  • 2008: 328
  • 2009: 277
  • 2010: 233
  • 2011: 150
  • 2012: 223
  • 2013: 200
  • 2014: 198
  • 2015: 176

References

  1. ^ "Expansion: Southern California Eagles". WPSL. February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "SoCal Seahorses are now SoCal Eagles". Missionary Athletes International (MAI). February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  3. ^ Peters, Chris (March 1, 2018). "SO. CAL. SEAHORSES REVEAL NEW LOGO". Southern California Seahorses official site. Southern California Seahorses. Retrieved April 12, 2018.

External links

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