Rockford Rampage
{{Short description|American indoor soccer team}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Rockford Rampage
| image = Rampage logo.png
| fullname = Rampage Futbol LLC
| shortname =
| founded = 2005
| dissolved = 2013
| ground = Victory Sports Complex
| capacity = 1,500
| owntitle = President
| owner =
| mgrtitle = Head Coach
| manager =
| league = Professional Arena Soccer League
| season =
| position =
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| pattern_sh1= _black_thinstripe_color
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| shorts1 = 99CC00
| socks1 = 000
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| pattern_sh2= _blanksides2
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}}
The Rockford Rampage was an American indoor soccer team based in Rockford, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2005 as the Rockford Thunder, the team originally played in the American Indoor Soccer League until 2008 then moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League from 2008 to 2010. They were revived to play in the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2012–13 season but folded after the season ended.
The team played its home games at Victory Sports Complex. The team colors were black and green. Their head coach was Jeff Kraft, assisted by Armando Sanchez.
History
The Rampage were originally owned by Pro Soccer International, a group managed by Michael O'Flaherty and Oscar Albuquerque, a former member of the former National Professional Soccer League's Illinois Thunder and the 1980 Canadian Olympic qualifying team.
On October 7 and 8, 2006, try-outs were held for the then Rockford Thunder at the ISC. 24 players arrived from various soccer backgrounds. Some had played locally with the Rockford Raptors, but other players had played in various leagues including: Segunda división mexicana, Tercera División de México, Primera División Uruguaya, 2 Liga Polska, USL First Division, and Premier Development League (PDL).
On March 10, 2007, after defeating the Cincinnati Excite 5-4 with a late goal by Ante Cop, the Thunder secured a position in the AISL finals to face the Massachusetts Twisters.
On March 31, 2007, the Thunder traveled to West Springfield, Massachusetts for the AISL Championship. The Twisters claimed the championship winning 11-5.
On August 7, 2007, the AISL announced that the Thunder had changed their name to the Rampage. This is most likely due to the Texas Thunder of the National Pro Fastpitch moving to Rockford.
The Rampage finished the 2007/08 AISL regular season with a 12-1 record. They defeated the Massachusetts Twisters 18-5 in the AISL championship game at home on March 15, 2008.{{cite news |first=Mike |last=DeDoncker |work=Rockford Register Star |location=Rockford, IL |title=Rockford runs away with title |url=http://www.rrstar.com/sports/x1870706067 |date=March 16, 2008 |accessdate=January 18, 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130216182141/http://www.rrstar.com/sports/x1870706067 |archivedate=February 16, 2013 }}
On September 9, 2008, the Rampage announced they were joining the new National Indoor Soccer League for its inaugural season in 2008-09. They finished with a 10-8 regular season record, qualified for the playoffs, defeated Monterrey in the playoff semifinals, but lost to Baltimore 13-10 in the NISL championship game.
On July 7, 2009, it was announced that the Rockford Rampage acquired the Chicago Magic youth soccer club and its nationally recognized Development Academy and structured them as a non-profit organization.{{cite web |title=Rampage Futbol LLC Acquires Chicago Magic |publisher=National Indoor Soccer League |date=June 6, 2009 |url=http://www.nislnet.com/news/index.html?article_id=114 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814194559/http://www.nislnet.com/news/index.html?article_id=114 |archive-date=August 14, 2009}}
On August 21, 2012, the Rampage joined the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2012-2013 season. The team folded after that season.
Year-by-year
| class="wikitable"
!Year !League !Logo !Reg. season !Playoffs !Avg. attendance† |
| 2005–06
|AISL |40px |4th AISL, 0-2 (0 Points) |Did not qualify |Not recorded |
| 2006–07
|AISL |40px |2nd AISL, 8-4 (23 Points) |Lost championship, 0-1 |Not recorded |
| 2007–08
|AISL |20px |bgcolor="#B3B7FF"|1st AISL, 12-1 (31 Points) |bgcolor="#FFEBAD"|Won Championship, 1-0 |545 |
| 2008–09
|NISL |20px |2nd NISL, 10-8 |Lost championship, 2-2 |1,242 |
| 2009–10
|MISL III |20px |5th MISL, 7-13 |Did not qualify |1,112 |
| 2012–13
| PASL |20px |4th PASL Central, 7-9 |Did not qualify |244 |
| align="center" rowSpan="1" colSpan="3"|Total
|44-37 |3-3 |894† |
|---|
† Two seasons not recorded.
Head coaches
| class="wikitable"
!Name !Years |
| Jeff Kraft
|2005–2012 |
Arenas
- Victory Sports Complex 2007–2008; 2012–2013
- Rockford MetroCentre 2005–2007; 2008–2010
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Leber |publisher=WTVO-TV |title=Rampage Return |url=http://mystateline.com/fulltext-sports?nxd_id=366152 |date=November 20, 2012 |accessdate=November 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130129124549/http://mystateline.com/fulltext-sports?nxd_id=366152 |archivedate=January 29, 2013 }}
{{cite web |publisher=Professional Arena Soccer League |title=Rockford Rampage Added to PASL Lineup |url=http://proarenasoccerleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/proarenasoccerleague/news/news_53862 |date=August 21, 2012 |accessdate=August 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322182218/http://proarenasoccerleague.pointstreaksites.com/view/proarenasoccerleague/news/news_53862 |archivedate=March 22, 2014 }}
}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.rockfordrampage.com}} {{dead link|date=May 2022}}
{{Former Professional Arena Soccer League teams}}
Category:2005 establishments in Illinois
Category:American Indoor Soccer League teams
Category:Association football clubs established in 2005
Category:Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States
Category:Defunct Major Arena Soccer League teams
Category:Soccer clubs in Illinois
Category:Indoor soccer clubs in the United States
Category:Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) teams