The Tacoma Stars are an American soccer organization that fields men's teams in both the Major Arena Soccer League, an indoor soccer league, and USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indoor team plays at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington. First playing in 2024, the outdoor men's Stars team and outdoor women's team, the Tacoma Galaxy, play at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington.

Tacoma Stars
Founded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Stadiumaccesso ShoWare Center,
Kent, Washington
Bellarmine Preparatory School,
Tacoma, Washington
Capacity6,500
ChairmanLane Smith
CoachAdam Becker
LeagueMajor Arena Soccer League
USL League Two
2022–234th, Western Division
Playoffs: Play-in Round
Websitehttp://www.tacomastars.com

The club also fields an indoor women's side under the Tacoma Galaxy name.[1] The club fields two reserve teams both with the name Tacoma Stars Reserves, in the indoor WISL junior league,[2] and the outdoor youth Cascadia Premier League.[3]

History

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The Stars were founded in 2003 as a member of the Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL-Premier). The team is named after the Tacoma Stars that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League from 1983 to 1992. The Stars won two PASL-Premier Championships (Summer 2004 & Winter 2009-2010).[4]

The Stars made the transition to professional status and joined the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL) for the 2010-11 season. In 2012–13 season, the head coach was Joe Waters as the team moved into the new Pacific Sports Center.[5]

The Stars went on hiatus on August 23, 2013. An amateur version of the club participated in the Premier Arena Soccer League as the Tacoma Galaxy in the 2013-14 season.[6] On January 10, 2014, the Pacific Sports Center was placed into receivership, putting the future of the facility and the franchise in question.[7]

In June 2014, it was announced that the Tacoma Stars would return to play in the Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) at the Tacoma Soccer Center.

In January 2015, team owner Lane Smith acquired the assets of the failed Seattle Impact of the Major Arena Soccer League and announced that the Stars would complete the Impact's 2014–15 season at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington, while completing their WISL obligations.[8][9][10][11]

The Stars joined the National Premier Soccer League in 2020, and planned to field an outdoor team in the Northwest Conference through a partnership with Washington Premier FC. The outdoor team planned to play at Washington Premier FC Field in Waller, Washington, near Puyallup.[12] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic NPSL halted play in the 2020 season, and the Northwest division did not play in 2021. Tacoma left NPSL in 2022 without having played a match.[citation needed]

On January 4, 2024, the Tacoma Stars was announced as an expansion team for the outdoor USL League Two, joining the Northwest Division. The team will play their home matches at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma.[13] An affiliated women's team, named the Tacoma Galaxy, will play in the USL W League beginning in 2024.[14]

Men's pro indoor leaders (Regular and Post)
Appearances Raphael Cox - 112 Danny Waltman - 109 Chase Hanson - 104
Points Nick Perera - 177 Mike Ramos - 146 Raphael Cox - 86
Goals Nick Perera - 94 Mike Ramos - 91 Raphael Cox - 61
Assists Nick Perera - 84 Mike Ramos - 55 Raphael Cox - 34
Saves Danny Waltman - 2175 Piotr Silwa - 190 Chris Kintz - 175
Fouls Vince Mcluskey - 154 Nick Perera - 119 Mike Ramos - 99

Year-by-year

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League Champions Runners-up Division champions Playoff berth
Year League Record GF GA Finish Playoffs Avg. attendance U.S. Open Cup
2003 PASL
2004 PASL[15][16] 4–0–0 56 26 1st, Northwest Won Championship
2004–05 PASL[17][18][19] 6–2–0 64 34 2nd, Northwest Eliminated in National Round Robin 138[20]
2005–06 PASL[21][22] 3–4–0 32 36 4th, Northwest Suspended
2006–07 PASL[23][24] 10–1–0 101 40 1st, Northwest Lost National Elimination
2007–08 PASL[25][26] 5–5–2 187 149 4th, Northwest Lost Division Final
2008–09 PASL-Premier[27][28] 7–0–1 56 31 1st, Northwest Lost National Semifinal Lost semifinal
2009–10 PASL-Premier 6–1–1 50 25 1st, Northwest Won Championship Lost Round of 16
2010–11 PASL-Pro 10–6 110 104 2nd, Western Lost quarterfinal 331 Lost semifinal
2011–12 PASL 3–13 92 150 5th, Western Did not qualify 242 Lost quarterfinal
2012–13 PASL 8–7 116 136 3rd, Pacific Did not qualify 314 Lost quarterfinal
2013–14 PASL-Premier 6–0–2 55 33 1st, Northwest Eliminated in National Group Play
2014–15 WISL 8–0–0 67 25 1st, WISL Won Championship
2014–151 MASL 4–16 120 215 5th, Pacific Did not qualify 1,038
2015–162 MASL 13–7 116 109 3rd, Pacific Lost Division Semifinals 2,475
2016–17 MASL 10–10 114 120 3rd, Pacific Did not qualify 2,894
2017–18 MASL 11–11 134 134 2nd, Pacific Lost Division Finals 2,635
2018–19 MASL 12–12 162 143 2nd, Pacific Lost Division Finals 2,672
2019–20 MASL 8–12 112 124 5th, Western Did not qualify 2,519
2021 MASL 4–7 53 62 6th, MASL Lost quarterfinals NHG*
2021-22 MASL 6-18 135 192 4th, West Did Not Quality 1,200
2022-23 MASL 12-12 155 139 4th, West Lost Western Conference play-in 1,175

1 Completing last 7 games of 20-game season after taking over for the Seattle Impact.

2 First full season competing in MASL.

* The Stars had no home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professional playoffs

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Year Won Lost GF GA Avg. attendance
2011 0 1 6 9 NHG
2016 0 2 10 19 2,036
2018 1 2 10 17 2,386
2019 0 2 9 13 2,412
2021 0 2 10 12 NHG*
2023 0 1 6 9 TBA

* The Stars had no home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personnel

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Active players

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As of 2024.[29]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK   USA Luis Birrueta
2 DF   USA Chase Hanson
3 DF   USA Cory Keitz
4 FW   USA Logan Jones
5 MF   USA Kyle Rivers
7 DF   USA Alex Caceres
8 MF   DEN Philip Lund
9 FW   GUM Eddie Na
10 FW   USA Nick Perera
11 MF   USA Jamael Cox
13 DF   USA Tyler John
17 FW   USA Gilbert de la Luz
20 DF   USA Evan McNeley
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF   USA Willie Spurr
22 MF   USA Nani Mendoza
23 MF   USA Raphael Cox
25 MF   USA Mike Ramos
29 DF   PAN Roman Torres
31 GK   USA Chris Toth
33 MF   USA Adrian Correa
41 GK   USA Michael Herrera
55 DF   FRA Matt Braem
77 FW   USA Alex Megson
89 MF   USA Alessandro Canale
99 MF   USA Sebastian Navarro

Venues

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Venue City Type Team League Years
Tacoma Soccer Center Tacoma Indoor Tacoma Stars PASL-Premier, PASL 2004-2011, 2013-2014[1], 2014-2015
Tacoma Stars Reserves WISL
Tacoma Galaxy NWPLi
Starfire Sports Complex Tacoma Indoor[2] Tacoma Stars PASL 2011-2012
Pacific Sports Center Tacoma Indoor Tacoma Stars PASL 2012-2013
accesso ShoWare Center Kent Indoor[3] Tacoma Stars MASL 2015-
Bellarmine Preparatory School Tacoma Outdoor Tacoma Stars USL2 2024-
Tacoma Galaxy USL-W 2024-
Curtis Senior High School University Place Outdoor Tacoma Stars Reserves CPL
  1. ^ As Tacoma Galaxy
  2. ^ Starfire has both indoor and outdoor facilities.
  3. ^ ShoWare is primarily a hockey arena.

References

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  1. ^ "Tacoma Galaxy - Tacoma Stars". www.tacomastars.com.
  2. ^ "Stars Reserves - Tacoma Stars". www.tacomastars.com.
  3. ^ "Season Microsite". season-microsites.ui.sportsengine.com.
  4. ^ "Tacoma Stars are PASL-Premier Winter Champions". www.arenaleague.com. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
  5. ^ "New sports center set to open this Spring". Tacoma Weekly. December 22, 2011. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  6. ^ "Tacoma Galaxy to play in regional indoor league as Stars go on hiatus". GoalWA.net. August 23, 2013. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "Public records show Pacific Sports Center is in receivership, could be shuttered". GoalWA.net. January 21, 2014. Archived from the original on January 26, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Weinstein, Arthur (January 13, 2015). "New Seattle soccer team could take over for another, concluding bizarre saga". The Sporting News. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  9. ^ Baker, Geoff (January 14, 2015). "Tacoma Stars buy rights to return to the highest level of professional indoor soccer". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  10. ^ "Tacoma Stars return to professional ranks in MASL at ShoWare Center this Friday". Major Arena Soccer League. January 15, 2015. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  11. ^ Ruiz, Don (January 15, 2015). "Tacoma Stars replace Seattle Impact in top-tier MASL". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  12. ^ "The Tacoma Stars Join the NPSL for the 2020 Season" (Press release). National Premier Soccer League. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "Tacoma Stars joining USL League Two in 2024" (Press release). USL League Two. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  14. ^ Oshan, Jeremiah (February 2, 2024). "Tacoma Galaxy will join USL's W League". Sounder at Heart. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  15. ^ "Standings S2004". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on December 9, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  16. ^ "National Tournament Summer 2004 Scores". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  17. ^ "Standings W2005". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  18. ^ "Winter Nationals 05 Teams". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 28, 2005. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  19. ^ "Winter Nationals 05 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  20. ^ "Attendance Watch". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  21. ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2005/06 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  22. ^ "League Playoff Picture". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on May 1, 2006. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2006/07 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "Studio Wins First International Championship". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on November 30, 2007. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  25. ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2007/08 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  26. ^ "Division Champions Decided". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  27. ^ "Premier Arena Soccer League Winter 2008/09 Standings". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  28. ^ "PASL-Premier National Finals". arenaleague.com. Premier Arena Soccer League. Archived from the original on March 10, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  29. ^ "Stars - Stats - Major Arena Soccer League". MASL.
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