The Colorado Foxes were a professional men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club originally based in

Commerce City, Colorado Commerce City is a home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 62,418 at the 2020 United States census, a 35.95% increase since the 2010 United States census. Commerce City is the 18th mo ...

, that played in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

(APSL) and

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. Founded in 1990, the club moved to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1998 and became the San Diego Flash, and later San Diego F.C., before folding in 2001. The club won the 1992 Professional Cup, and back-to-back APSL titles in 1992 and 1993.

History

Commerce City (1990–1997)

The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 1992 they won the regular season as well as the Professional Cup, giving them a minor treble. The Foxes defeated English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

3–2 in a Four Nations Cup exhibition match on July 18, 1993, placing third in the tournament. They had previously lost to

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

of Germany. When Major League Soccer started and the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

became the region's premier team, the Foxes tried to stay afloat for two years. The club was bought by Yan Skwara and Sam Kaloustian in 1997, who relocated it to

, becoming the San Diego Flash.

San Diego (1998–2001)

The club averaged approximately 2,500 fans per game when playing its home games at Southwest College and San Diego Mesa College. The largest crowd for a Flash match was 6,500 at Mesa College for a

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

match against

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

in 2000. In 2001, the La Jolla Nomads took over operation of the team and renamed it San Diego FC.''Makeshift F.C. opens with rousing victory'' San Diego Union-Tribune, The (CA) – Friday, April 20, 2001 The Flash were fairly successful during their short stint in the league, winning the Pacific Division in 1998 and 1999, finishing second in 2000 and 2001, progressing to the quarter-finals of the A-League playoffs in 2001, and reaching the third round of the

on two separate occasions. Its head coaches during this period included Ralf Wilhelms, Costa Skouras, Papo Santos, and Colin Clarke. After the 2001 season the team folded due to management and financial problems. A phoenix club, also by the name of the San Diego Flash, was founded in 2011 and began play in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

Notable players

Players that played for the Foxes and then went on to play in MLS include

Marcelo Balboa Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. After r ...

Robin Fraser Robin Fraser (born December 17, 1966) is an American soccer coach and former player. He is the head coach of Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. He previously served as head coach of Colorado Rapids and Chivas USA and as an assistant for Real ...

, Brian Haynes, Chad Ashton, Tom Soehn, Ted Eck,

Scott Benedetti Scott "Benny" Benedetti (born November 13, 1966, in Portland, Oregon) is an American retired soccer player. He began his professional career with the semi-professional F.C. Portland in 1986 and ended it with the U.S. second division club Portland ...

, and Mark Dodd. * Joe Cannon * Jimmy Conrad * Mugurel Dumitru * Thiago Martins

Seasons

Honours

American Professional Soccer League :* Champions:

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

:* Runners-up:

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Professional Cup :* Champions:

References

External links

A-League archives
including match reports and standings from 2000 and 2001 seasons {{USL First Division 1990 establishments in Colorado 2001 disestablishments in California American Professional Soccer League teams Association football clubs established in 1990 Association football clubs disestablished in 2001 Defunct soccer clubs in California Foxes, Colorado Defunct United Soccer League teams Foxes, Colorado USL First Division teams