 | |||
| Full name | Bakersfield Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Legion | ||
| Founded | 2005 | ||
| Dissolved | 2009 | ||
| Ground | Bakersfield Christian High School Bakersfield, California | ||
| Capacity | 4,422 | ||
| Owner |  Jeff Thorn | ||
| Head Coach | Jay Gore | ||
| League | USL Premier Development League | ||
| 2009 | 10th, Southwest did not qualify for playoffs | ||
Bakersfield Brigade was an Americansoccer team based inBakersfield, California,United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in theUSL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of theAmerican Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which the franchise folded and the team left the league.
The team played its home games in the stadium on the campus ofBakersfield Christian High School. The team's colors were black and white.
The team also fielded a team in the USL’sSuper-20 League, a league for players 17 to 20 years of age run under theUnited Soccer Leagues umbrella.
Former US national team star andFox Soccer Channel broadcasterEric Wynalda is a past member of the Brigade squad.
The Brigade made their debut in PDL competition in 2005 under head coachJay Gore, but lost their first competitive game 1–0 to the visitingCalifornia Gold. During their first season, Brigade were generally better on the road than they were at home, registering victories overSan Diego,Nevada andSouthern California Seahorses. Brigade missed out on qualifying for the post-season, finishing 5th in the division and ranked 32nd nationally, despite a comprehensive last-day victory overCalifornia Gold. Their season top scorer wasCSU Bakersfield strikerLyle Martin, who notched up 5 goals.
2006 was a similar story. A strong season start saw the Brigade register victories overSan Diego andSouthern California Seahorses, but inconsistency at home in the mid-season again ended the team's playoff hopes fairly early, following five defeats in six games at their home atBakersfield Christian High School. Brigade finished the season in 7th place;Lyle Martin again led the team's offense, registering 9 goals and 2 assists.
2007 saw a change in leadership and a change in goalkeeper –Jay Gore was replaced by 8-year MLS veteranFrancisco Gomez as head coach, USMNT legendEric Wynalda came on board as an advisor, and shot-stopperKyle Reynish was drafted byReal Salt Lake; early season, the Brigade's new team seemed to be working, with season-opening victories overFresno Fuego andOrange County Blue Star bringing them a first everUS Open Cup qualification. Sadly, Brigade's cup dreams ended with a first round 2–0 defeat toUSL-1 sidePortland Timbers. Similarly, a late-season collapse ended Brigade's playoff hopes quickly – the team suffered six defeats in seven games, including a 5–0 demolition away toLos Angeles Storm, despite Wynalda taking to the field himself for 24 minutes in the Storm return fixture. Brigade finished the season in 8th place; top scorerSantiago Aguilera Navarro scored an impressive 8 goals and 5 assists.
The 2008 pre-season was one of unprecedented anticipation, after it was announced thatEric Wynalda had signed to play the entire season for the Brigade; however, yet again, the on-field performances were disappointing for the men from Kern County. Five ties and just one win – 1–0 overSouthern California Seahorses – in their first six games left the Brigade with a lot of ground to make up in the second half of the season. Back to back wins overOrange County Blue Star andVentura County Fusion in mid-June kept their slim playoff chances alive, but four defeats in their last six games, including a 3–1 loss to strugglingOrange County Blue Star, left Brigade seventh in the table, out of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, and eleven points behind eventual divisional champions, theSan Fernando Valley Quakes.Quincy Amarikwa was top scorer, with four goals on the season;Eric Wynalda ultimately featured in just three games, clocking 159 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for Bakersfield in 2009. Following a generally positive opening day 2–2 tie withVentura County Fusion, the Brigade promptly lost their next six games on the bounce, allowing six goals against theSouthern California Seahorses, four goals against eventual divisional champsHollywood United Hitmen, and conceded a last minute goal in a 2–1 loss in the return fixture against Ventura. A 3–0 victory at home toOrange County Blue Star at the beginning of June was followed by a 2–0 win over their local rivalsFresno Fuego, and it looked as though a brief resurgence may have been on the cards, but Bakersfield failed to win another game all season, and were out of playoff contention before the end of the month. The pair losses to perennial whipping boysLancaster Rattlers were hard to take for the men from Kern County; the 6–0 drubbing at the hands of their closest rivals,Ogden Outlaws, on the final day of the season was the final straw, and consigned Bakersfield to the basement for the first time in the team's PDL history.Adam Arteaga scored three of Bakersfield's 13 goals, but it's a backhanded compliment to be the top scorer of a team who found any kind silver lining difficult to find.
| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4 | USL PDL | 5th, Southwest | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2006 | 4 | USL PDL | 7th, Southwest | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2007 | 4 | USL PDL | 8th, Southwest | Did not qualify | 1st Round |
| 2008 | 4 | USL PDL | 7th, Southwest | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | 4 | USL PDL | 10th, Southwest | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
Jay Gore (2005–2006; 2009)Francisco Gomez (2007–2008)
Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive athttps://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.
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