The Sacramento Geckos were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 that competed in the

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from 1997 to 1999. The club was founded as the Albuquerque Geckos in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

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, in 1997 before being sold and moved to

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, for the 1999 season. The Geckos had great success in their debut, winning the

USL D-3 Pro League The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the United States soccer league system, third tier of soccer in the United ...

championship in 1997 before moving up to the Tier 2

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in 1998. The team suffered a miserable season where they won only five games. The move to California didn't produce success, as the Geckos failed to win a game or survive the season, with the USL stepping in to buy the team, renaming them Team Sacramento, before folding at the end of the 1999 campaign.

History

The Geckos emerged from a turbulent soccer history in

, following on the heels of a decade of semi-professional/professional club soccer in

from 1986-1996 with the Albuquerque Outlaws, Albuquerque Gunners, New Mexico Roadrunners, and New Mexico Chiles. With this rich soccer history, Albuquerque and owner Al Valentine made the commitment to pro soccer with the debut of the Geckos in the

in 1997. The team had instant success with a 15-3 (W-L) record, winning the league championship in its first year. Following this success, the team jumped up to tier 2 in the

American soccer pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...

, joining the

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 ...

in 1998. The club failed to produce similar results and, burdened with financial problems, was sold to a new ownership group in

. Doomed from the outset, the Sacramento Geckos struggled with the existing club debt and further poor results on the field, setting an all-time league record for losing all 28 games and being outscored 91-16 for the year, lasting only half a season before the

were forced to buy the team, renaming them Team Sacramento. The team folded following the 1999 season.

Year-by-year

References

{{Reflist G Defunct soccer clubs in California USL First Division teams 1999 establishments in California 1999 disestablishments in California Association football clubs disestablished in 1999 Soccer clubs in California Association football clubs established in 1997

History

Year-by-year

See also

References