Orange County Blue Star was an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team based in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

. Founded in 1997, the team played in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

(PDL), the fourth tier of the

American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference until 2012. The team played its home games at Eagle Stadium on the campus of

Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, where they played from 2007 to 2012. The team's colors are white and black.

History

Zodiac Professional era

Blue Star began life as Orange County Zodiac in the USISL

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

in 1997, finishing fifth in the Pacific Conference in their inaugural season, with Gustavo Leal leading the scoring charts. The team suffered three years of middling results, only advancing to the post season in 1999, where they lost to the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

in the Round of 16. The Zodiac played some of their games at

Santa Ana Stadium Santa Ana Stadium, also known as Eddie West Field or the Santa Ana Bowl, is a city-owned and operated 9,000-capacity American football and soccer stadium located in downtown Santa Ana. The field was named after Eddie West, a writer for the Orang ...

. They changed their name to Orange County Waves prior to the 2000 season, their final one in the A-League, but finished rock bottom of the Pacific Conference, and took the 2000–01 offseason to consider their options.

Drop to PDL; Blue Star is born

The club dropped down to the PDL in 2001 and changed their name again, and the newly christened Blue Star immediately enjoyed success. They finished their first year in the fourth tier as Champions of the Southwest division, but were defeated by eventual championship runners-up,

Calgary Storm Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

, in the Conference semi-finals. 2002 was frustrating, with Blue Star finishing a third in the division and missing out on the playoffs, but 2003 was better, for although they finished second to

Fresno Fuego Fresno Football Club U-23, formerly Fresno Fuego FC, was an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club drew an av ...

in the divisional table, they advanced all the way to the national playoff semi-finals, falling 3–1 to

Chicago Fire Reserves Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. The ...

at the penultimate hurdle. The 2003 regular season included some stunning results, including a pair of 5–1 victories over

and

San Diego Gauchos San Diego Gauchos were an American soccer team, founded in 2002. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2006, when the team was sold to new owners ...

, a 5–2 demolition of

Nevada Wonders Nevada Wonders were an American soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, until 2005, when the team left the league and ...

, and a breathtaking 5–4 win over

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West Co ...

which featured a hat trick by

Ryan Coiner Ryan Coiner (born September 7, 1979) is an American former professional soccer forward who played in Germany and Major League Soccer. College Coiner was born in Aliso Viejo, California. He played college soccer at the University of San Diego fr ...

. The year 2003 was a landmark season due to the participation of a certain German player named Jay Göppingen, who played eight games and scored five goals for Blue Star. Goppingen was actually the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

used by former

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

striker

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

who, following his relocation from Europe to California, decided he wanted to keep playing for a year or so, just for fun, and to impart his wisdom to Orange County's young soccer players. Klinsmann was born in the city of

Göppingen Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. The 2004 season saw Blue Star relocate from the stadium at

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** ''University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the t ...

to the

Home Depot Center Dignity Health Sports Park is a multi-use sports complex located on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California. The complex consists of the 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park soccer stadium, the Dignit ...

in Carson, but the change of surroundings didn't stop them from winning their second divisional title in style, finishing four points ahead of second-place

, and losing just 3 regular season games all season. Blue Star enjoyed a number of free-scoring victories, putting five past

in mid May, and topping rivals Southern California Seahorses 4–2 in June. The playoffs saw them take care of

Spokane Shadow Spokane Shadow is an American soccer team, founded in 1996. The team competes in the National Premier Soccer League as well as the Evergreen Premier League, one of United States Adult Soccer Association's elite amateur leagues. From 1996 to 2005, ...

in the opening game, but eventually lose the Western Conference title to

. Blue Star enjoyed probably the most successful year in their history in 2005, retaining their division title with comparative ease by finishing a clear 11 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Southern California Seahorses. Once again, Blue Star were the league's free-scoring entertainers, scoring more than four goals on six occasions, including a 6–2 road victory over

, and two 5–0 demolitions of

and

. The 2005 squad included a number of players who would later go on to grace

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

and the US Men's National Team, including

Sacha Kljestan Sacha Bryan Kljestan (; born September 9, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Youth and college Kljestan was raised in Huntington Beach, California, and played for th ...

Calen Carr Calen Carr (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. He played in Major League Soccer for the Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo as a forward and winger. He currently works for MLS as a web show host of The Movement ...

Robbie Rogers Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came o ...

Kamani Hill Kamani Helekunihi Hill (born December 28, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward or winger. Early years Hill was born in Berkeley, California to a Trinidadian father and an American mother of Ha ...

, and top scorer

Kei Kamara Kei Ansu Kamara (; born 1 September 1984) is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer who plays as a striker for CF Montréal of Major League Soccer. He is one of only eleven players to have scored 100 goals in MLS history, achieving the land ...

from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, who knocked in 12 goals in his 14 starts. Blue Star easily advanced to the post-season playoffs where, after beating

and Northwest champions Cascade Surge, they fell by the odd goal in three to the eventual national champions,

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two dur ...

. Blue Star's impressive early season form also took them to the

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 of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

for the first time since 1999, but they were beaten 3–1 in the first round by

El Paso Patriots El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southe ...

. Blue Star finished 2005 with the best regular season record in the country, winning 15 out of their 16 games, suffering just one loss, and finishing with a +39 goal difference. With their conference expanding to 9 teams, Blue Star did not find life in 2006 quite as easy, but they still finished second in the division behind Southern California Seahorses. Playing out of yet another new stadium –

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a public community college in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Art and Associate of Science degrees, cert ...

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

– Blue Star started the season strongly, winning four of their first five games, including an astonishing 4–3 victory over

San Fernando Valley Quakes San Fernando Valley Quakes was an American soccer team based in Calabasas, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, wh ...

which saw them score 4 goals in the final 8 minutes of the game. A strong season finish saw Blue Star win six of their last eight games, and their form continued into the playoffs, where they overcame

Abbotsford Rangers Fraser Valley Mariners is a Canadian soccer team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 2003, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division ...

and

to take the Western Conference title for the second year in a row, before losing to

Michigan Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American association football, soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mi ...

in the national semi finals. Anthony Hamilton and

Sal Zizzo Salvatore "Sal" Zizzo Jr. (born April 3, 1987) is an American retired professional soccer player who played as a winger or full-back. Career Youth and amateur Zizzo attended Patrick Henry High School, where he played soccer and baseball. As ...

were the season's top scorers with 8 and 4 goals respectively, while Sem Lopez contributed 3 assists. The 2007 season, however, marked the first season when things did not go Blue Star's way. Playing out of their third stadium in as many years –

in Irvine – for the first time in a long time the team finished with a losing record, picking up just 3 wins all season, and finishing a lowly 9th in the divisional table, a full 19 points adrift of league leaders

and

. The sole high point in a hugely disappointing season was the 3–0 victory over

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after which ...

in early July, and it is indicative of the unexpected slump in form the team suffered that the season's top scorer, Patrick Marion, notched just 5 of the team's 18 goals. Blue Star started 2008 brightly, hoping to put the misery of the dismal 2007 season behind them. Two wins in their first four games – 4–1 over old rivals Southern California Seahorses (in which all four Blue Star goals were scored by

Jeffrey Clark Jeffrey Bossert Clark (born April 17, 1967) is an American lawyer who was Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division from 2018 to 2021. In September 2020, he was also appointed acting head of the Civil Divis ...

) and 3–1 over

Lancaster Rattlers FC Santa Clarita (FCSC) is an American soccer team based in Santa Clarita, California, United States. FC Santa Clarita also known as the Santa Clarita Storm make just north of Los Angeles home, as they compete in the United Premier Soccer League ( ...

– initially kept spirits high, but things quickly turned sour. Blue Star didn't win another game until July, and during their mid-season drought suffered seven defeats in nine games, including a 6–1 hammering by

Los Angeles Legends LA Laguna FC was an American soccer team based in the Los Angeles area, United States. Founded in 2010, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL) (now USL League Two), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southw ...

, a 3–0 home defeat by

, and a humiliating 4–2 loss away to

in what was that franchise's second ever victory. As July came round, Blue Star were rooted at the foot of the Southwest standings, but three victories in their last three games, including an impressive 3–1 win over

, gave their year at least some small semblance of respectability. Nevertheless, Blue Star finished 8th of 10 in the division, twelve points behind divisional champions

was the team's top scorer, with seven goals, while Tomer Konowiecki notched up four assists. The 2009 season began superbly for Blue Star, with four wins in their first four games – including an impressive 4–0 over divisional new boys

Ogden Outlaws Ogden Outlaws is an American soccer team based in Ogden, Utah, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Con ...

that featured a hat trick from striker David Ponce – and four straight clean sheets for goalkeeper Kris Minton taking them to the first round of the

for the first time since 2005. However, having gone unbeaten in their first six regular season games through the end of May, Blue Star collapsed in mid-season, and endured an awful ten game winless streak through June and July that saw the teams fall to a number of comprehensive defeats, losing 5–1 to

, 3–0 to

, and conceding a late equalizer in the return game against Fresno to draw 2–2 when victory looked to be on the cards. Even their cup run ended quickly with a 5–2 loss at the hands of NPSL side

Sonoma County Sol Sonoma County Sol is an American soccer team based in Santa Rosa, California, United States. Founded in 2004, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyrami ...

. A final day 1–0 victory on the road in Utah against

restored a little bit of pride for the team which once dominated the division, but it was much too little too late, and they finished the year a distant eighth in the table. David Ponce scored five goals, but such was the squad's instability that head coach Spencer used 46 players during the course of the season, including ex-professional Mike Munoz and Ian Sarachan, son of former Chicago Fire MLS coach

Dave Sarachan Dave Sarachan (born June 7, 1954) is an American former soccer player and coach who is currently the head coach of the Puerto Rico national team. Sarachan spent two seasons as a player in the North American Soccer League and four in Major Indo ...

Players

Current roster

''As of August 10, 2012''.United Soccer Leagues (USL)
/ref>

Notable former players

''This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.'' *

Conor Chinn Conor Chinn (born August 29, 1987 in La Jolla, California) is a former American soccer player. Career College and amateur Chinn first gained notoriety in high school, when he was featured in nationally aired commercials for StarKick. Following ...

Cameron Dunn Cameron Dunn (born February 13, 1984 in Alta Loma, California) is an American soccer player who last played for Los Angeles Blues in the USL Professional Division. Career College and amateur Dunn attended Alta Loma High School where he was a th ...

* Eric Ebert *

Michael Enfield Michael Enfield (born July 19, 1983 in Ventura, California) is an American soccer player currently playing for SP Barcelona in La Gran Liga de Oxnard. He is a member of the United States national beach soccer team. Career College and Amateu ...

* Michael Erush * Brad Evans *

Michael Farfan Michael Farfán Stopani (born June 23, 1988) is an American former soccer player. Career Youth and College Played youth club soccer in Southern California where he captured numerous team titles, including the 2002 national championship. He als ...

* Irving Garcia *

Adolfo Gregorio Adolfo Sousa Gregorio (born October 1, 1982) is a former American soccer midfielder who formerly played for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer. Gregorio was part of the original 1999 class at the Bradenton Academy, whereas part of the Under-1 ...

* Leonard Griffin * Anthony Hamilton *

Jordan Harvey Jordan Harvey (born January 28, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who last played for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Career Youth and college Harvey started playing club soccer with Strikers FC. Upon high school ...

* Nick Hatzke *

Chandler Hoffman Jon Chandler Hoffman (born August 17, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who currently plays as a forward for Los Angeles Force in the National Independent Soccer Association. Career College and amateur After leading Oak Mountain ...

* Amir Kazemi * Dan Kennedy *

* Gordon Kljestan *

* Mike Littman * Tony Lochhead *

Drew McAthy Drew Alan McAthy (born September 10, 1982) is a retired American soccer player. Playing career Youth and college McAthy played high school soccer for Huntington Beach High School in Southern California. He set school records for career g ...

* Noah Merl *

Orlando Perez Orlando Perez (born July 12, 1977 in Pomona, California) is an American soccer defender, who played eight seasons in Major League Soccer. Perez never played college soccer, but he was drafted twice in MLS, both times by coach Octavio Zambran ...

* Charley Pettys * Christian Ramirez *

* David Sias * A. J. Soares * Matthew Andrade * Joe Sofia * Matt Taylor *

Nick Theslof Nick Theslof (born December 12, 1975) is an American soccer manager and coach, who was midfield coach and international scout to Jürgen Klinsmann at FC Bayern Munich. He is currently an assistant coach for LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer. He ...

* Tyson Wahl * Martin Vasquez *

Amani Walker Amani Walker (born 16 December 1989 in San Diego, California) is a Jamaican footballer. Career College and Amateur Walker attended Francis Parker High School, and played for the Surf FC club team, before going on to play four years of college ...

* Steve Patterson

Year-by-year

Honors

* USL PDL Western Conference Champions 2006 * USL PDL Regular Season Champions 2005 * USL PDL Western Conference Champions 2005 * USL PDL Southwest Division Champions 2005 * USL PDL Southwest Division Champions 2004 * USL PDL Western Conference Champions 2003 * USL PDL Southwest Division Champions 2001

Head coaches

* Erik Kirsch (2001) * Tom Poltl (2002–2004) *

(2005–2006) *

Jon Spencer Jon Spencer (born February 5, 1965) is an American singer, composer and guitarist. He has been involved in multiple musical acts, such as Pussy Galore, Boss Hog, Heavy Trash and The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. History Jon Spencer was bo ...

(2007–present)

Stadium

;

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the 13th-m ...

(2001–2002) * Stadium at

;

(2003, 2005) * Stadium at Sage Hill High School; Newport Coast, California, 2 games (2003) *

;

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

(2004) * Stadium at

;

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for " Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John ...

(2006) * Eagle Stadium at

;

(2007–present) * Stadium at Huntington Park High School;

Huntington Park, California Huntington Park is a city in the Gateway Cities district of southeastern Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 58,114, of whom 97% are Hispanic/Latino and about half were born outside t ...

, 1 game (2011)

Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html. * 2005: 109 * 2006: 95 * 2007: 314 * 2008: 79 * 2009: 114 * 2010: 93

References

External links

Official PDL site
{{Orange County Sports USL League Two teams Soccer clubs in Greater Los Angeles Association football clubs established in 1997 Soccer clubs in California Blue Star 1997 establishments in California