Minnesota Strikers

Minnesota Strikers

Full name	Minnesota Strikers
Nickname(s)	Strikers
Founded	1984
Dissolved	1988
Stadium	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Met Center (Capacity: 62,000 15,000)
Coach	Alan Merrick
League	North American Soccer League MISL
Home colors Away colors

The Minnesota Strikers was an American professional soccer team located in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. The team played one season (1984) in the North American Soccer League and 4 seasons (1984–88) in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

The Minnesota Strikers' history begins on November 30, 1983, when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers announced they were relocating to Minnesota (three seasons after the Minnesota Kicks folded) for the 1984 NASL season. The team played that year in the North American Soccer League at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, but the league collapsed at the end of the season. The team survived, however, moving indoors and joining the Major Indoor Soccer League. The team played four seasons in the MISL, folding after the 1987-88 season. The team played at Met Center during the MISL years.

Year-by-year

Year	Division	League	Reg. Season	Playoffs	Open Cup
1984	1	NASL	3rd, Western	Did not qualify	Did not enter
1984/85	N/A	MISL	4th, Eastern	Semifinals	N/A
1985/86	N/A	MISL	2nd, Eastern	Final	N/A
1986/87	N/A	MISL	4th, Eastern	Division Semifinals	N/A
1987/88	N/A	MISL	1st, Eastern	Division Finals	N/A

1984/85 (MISL)

Ricardo Alonso , John Bain , Ben Collins , Bill Crook , Chris Dangerfield , Drago Dumbovic , Gary Etherington , Ken Fogarty , Jan Goossens , Ray Hudson , Mike Jeffries , Matt Kennedy , Tino Lettieri , Steve Litt , Dwight Lodeweges , John McGrane , Bruce Miller , Thomas Rongen , Craig Scarpelli , Gregg Thompson , Thompson Usiyan , Alan Willey

1985/86 (MISL)

Tony Bono , David Byrne , Dan Canter , Stan Cummins , Chris Dangerfield , Gary Etherington , Abraham Reissy , Ken Fogarty , Jan Goossens , Ray Hudson , Bill Irwin , Mike Jeffries , Matt Kennedy , Tasso Koutsoukos , Tino Lettieri , Dwight Lodeweges , Bruce Miller , Kazbek Tambi , Gregg Thompson , Thompson Usiyan , Alan Willey

1986/87 (MISL)

Tony Bono , David Byrne , Dan Canter , Stan Cummins , Marcelo da Silveira , Chris Dangerfield , Enzo DiPede , Helmut Dudek , Gary Etherington , Ken Fogarty , Ray Hudson , Mike Jeffries , Matt Kennedy , Steve Kinsey , Tasso Koutsoukos , Tino Lettieri , Dwight Lodeweges , John O'Hara , Gregg Thompson , Thompson Usiyan , Alan Willey ; Elizabeth Robbie, President; Chris Wright, General Manager, Tim Robbie, Executive Vice President; Alan Merrick, Head Coach; Bruce Miller, Assistant Coach.

Former Players (NASL 1984)

• Ken Fogarty [1]
• Ray Hudson 21 apps 2 goals [2]
• Godfrey Ingram
• Brian Kidd 13 apps 8 goals
• , Tino Lettieri
• Barry Wallace[3]
• Alan Willey

NASL coach

• David Chadwick 1984

Former Players (MISL)

• Stan Cummins (1985–88)
• Ken Fogarty (1984–88) [4]
• Ray Hudson (1984–88) [5]
• Steve Kinsey (1986–88)
• John Bain (1984–86)
• Dwight Lodeweges (1984–1988)

Coach (MISL)

• Alan Merrick (1984–88)

Strikers NASL Draft

1984

Round	Player	School
1	Greg Kennedy	Indiana
2	Ronil Dufrene	Florida International
3	David McDaniel	Duke

Strikers MISL Drafts

1985

Round	Player	School
1	Paul DiBernardo	Indiana University
2	Peter Sawkins	Yale University
3	Anthony Bono	Drexel University
4	Bruce Bellinger	Southern Illinois-Edwardsville

1986

Round	Player	School
2	Peter Smith	University of Tampa
3	Paul Schojan	Rochester Institute of Technology
4	Andy Pantason	University of Connecticut
4	Tony Scheuerman	Stillwater High School

1987

Round	Player	School
1	Brent Goulet	Warner Pacific University
3	George Geinovatch	University of Virginia
4	Troy Snyder	Penn State University

Yearly Average Attendance

• 1984 (NASL)- 14,262
• 1984-85 (MISL)- 4,809
• 1985-86 (MISL)- 6,503
• 1986-87 (MISL)- 6,977
• 1987-88 (MISL)- 5,930

Media

Radio

• 1984 (NASL) KRSI-950 AM
• 1984-85 (MISL) WWTC-1280 AM
• 1987-88 (MISL) KSNE-1280 AM

See also

• Washington Darts 1970-71
• Miami Gatos 1972
• Miami Toros 1973-76
• Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1977-83
• 1984 Minnesota Strikers season