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Houston Leones is an American soccer team based in Richmond, Texas, United States. Founded in 2007, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference.
The team plays its home games at the soccer-specific Soccer World Center, where they have played since 2008. The team's colors are blue and white.
The Leones are an unofficial minor league affiliate of Mexican Premier League team Cruz Azul.
[edit] History
The Leones' first season in competition began on a hugely positive note, with a 3-0 opening day victory at home to the New Orleans Shell Shockers in front of 500 fans, and with a squad featuring several junior players from Mexican side Cruz Azul, who were spending time with their new Texan affiliate for match experience; unfortunately, this was something of a false dawn as the men from Richmond lost their next three games on the trot, conceding five goals with no reply. Two more victories in late May, 3-0 over Mississippi Brilla and 2-1 over El Paso Patriots looked to have righted the ship, but this proved to be the last hurrah, as they failed to win another game all season. As June turned into July, the Leones' on-field performances got progressively worse and worse: they lost four close games on the bounce and then, as some of players returned to the Cruz Azul junior team for the beginning of the 2008/09 Mexican Clausura, the second string defence absolutely fell apart. They concluded their freshman year with a 7-0 defeat to Laredo Heat, followed by a 6-1 defeat to DFW Tornados, followed by a 6-2 defeat to Mississippi Brilla, eventually finishing a distant 8th in the Mid South Division standings, a full 20 points behind champions Austin Aztex U23. Fernando Benítez was the Leones' top scorer, with four goals, while Eric Domínguez and George Sangira contributed 3 assists each.
[edit] Players
[edit] Current roster
as at June 19, 2009
[edit] Notable former players
[edit] Year-by-year
| Year |
Division |
League |
Regular Season |
Playoffs |
Open Cup |
| 2008 |
4 |
USL PDL |
8th, Mid South |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
| 2009 |
4 |
USL PDL |
7th, Mid South |
Did not qualify |
Did not qualify |
[edit] Head coaches
[edit] Stadia
The Soccer World Center is a 17-acre (69,000 m2) soccer-specific facility which comprises three fields (including a 4,500-seat stadium field that is expandable to 8,000-10,000), and was built by team owner Juan Carlos Hernández.
[edit] Average attendance
| Year |
Attendance |
Notes |
| 2008 |
294 |
|
| All Time |
294 |
|
[edit] External links
Juan Carlos Hernández
