From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team, founded in 1994. The team is a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and plays in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference against teams from Albany, Brooklyn, Hyannis, New Rochelle, Ottawa, Providence and St. Albans.
Having played for many years at the Mitchel Athletic Complex in the city of Uniondale, New York, the Rough Riders will play their 2007 home games at Michael Tully Field in nearby New Hyde Park, New York. The team's colors are white and blue.
The Rough Riders played their first season in 1994, fielding a team in the USISL that featured future US national team player Chris Armas, who would lead the team in scoring with eight goals and four assists.
For their second season, the Rough Riders added several more players who would go on to excel in Major League Soccer, including national team goalkeeper Tony Meola, Jim Rooney, and Giovanni Savarese, who would be named the USISL regular season and playoff MVP. The Rough Riders finished that season with a 19-1 record, and went on to win the USISL Championship.
The Rough Riders lost several players to the nascent MLS in 1996, but went on to have a successful season nevertheless, finishing with an 11-7 record before losing to the Richmond Kickers in the playoffs.
With the merger of the USISL and the APSL in 1997, the Rough Riders decided to move up and began their first season in the A-League in that year. The Rough Riders played the next five years in the A-League, before moving down to the PSL for the 2002 season.
The Rough Riders struggled in 2004, finishing the season with an 8-11-1 record, and failing to make the playoffs. The season was, however, significant because it marked the return of two old-time Rough Riders, Rooney from the New England Revolution and Savarese from overseas. 2006 was arguably the worst season in the history of team, finishing the year at the bottom of the table with just three wins and fifteen goals to their credit. Following this disastrous campaign, the team chose to voluntarily relegate themselves to the USL Premier Development League for the 2007 season.
As of June 22, 2007
| Year |
Division |
League |
Reg. Season |
Playoffs |
Open Cup |
| 1994 |
3 |
USISL |
1st, Northeast |
Sizzling Nine |
Did not enter |
| 1995 |
3 |
USISL Pro League |
1st, Coastal |
Champion |
Did not qualify |
| 1996 |
3 |
USISL Select League |
1st, North Atlantic |
Semifinals |
Did not qualify |
| 1997 |
2 |
USISL A-League |
3rd, Northeast |
Division Finals |
Quarterfinals |
| 1998 |
2 |
USISL A-League |
4th, Northeast |
Conference Quarterfinals |
Did not qualify |
| 1999 |
2 |
USL A-League |
3rd, Northeast |
Conference Quarterfinals |
Did not qualify |
| 2000 |
2 |
USL A-League |
1st, Northeast |
Conference Quarterfinals |
Did not qualify |
| 2001 |
2 |
USL A-League |
6th, Northern |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
| 2002 |
3 |
USL D3-Pro League |
1st, Atlantic |
Champion |
Did not qualify |
| 2003 |
3 |
USL Pro Select League |
1st, Atlantic |
Regional Finals |
2nd Round |
| 2004 |
3 |
USL Pro Soccer League |
3rd, Atlantic |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
| 2005 |
3 |
USL Second Division |
6th |
Did not qualify |
2nd Round |
| 2006 |
3 |
USL Second Division |
9th |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
| 2007 |
"4" |
USL PDL |
4th, Northeast |
Did not qualify |
1st Round |
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Gary Ablett
Chris Armas
Saul Martinez
Giovanni Savarese
