The Asheville Splash were a

women's soccer Women's association football, more commonly known as women's football or women's soccer, is the team sport of association football played by women. It is played at the professional level in multiple countries, and about 200 national teams partic ...

franchise founded in 2001, and from 2003–2004 were members of the Atlantic Division of the

USL W-League USL W-League may refer to: * USL W League * USL W-League (1995–2015) The USL W-League was a North American amateur women's soccer developmental organization. The league was a semi-professional, open league, giving college players the oppor ...

History

The team changed its name from the Blue Ridge Rapids in 2002 due to a trademark dispute with 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 ...

. They played at Memorial Stadium in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. The team folded after the

2004 USL W-League season The 2004 W-League Season was the league's 10th. The Vancouver Whitecaps Women won the W-League title, defeating the New Jersey Wildcats 4-2 in Ottawa. Changes from 2003 season Name changes One team changed their name in the off-season: Expan ...

. The team's mascot was an

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

. In 2004, the club's programs promoted a future men's team, the Asheville Slide, which was never founded.

Staff

* Ownership: Bernie Arghiere, Gabriele Beckman, Calvin Bennett, Gregg Condon, George Escaravage, Todd Escaravage, John Hepler, Mark Jordan, Steve Woody * Managing partner, chief executive officer: Steve Woody * Chief operating officer: Desmond Armstrong * Media relations director: Bob Somerville

Former players

* Stacey Enos *

Lydia Vandenbergh Lydia Kathleen Jackson (; born January 2, 1984) is an American soccer coach and retired player who played as a midfielder. Coaching career Vandenbergh worked as a coach for Matthews Soccer Club in Charlotte, North Carolina from 2006 to 2007. In ...

* Rebekah Fergusson *

Abby Crumpton Abby Lynn Crumpton (born April 6, 1981) is an American soccer forward/ defender who last played for Boston Breakers of Women's Professional Soccer. She was inducted in 2022 into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University o ...

* Katie Roark *

Ricarda Nelson Ricarda is a German feminine given name and may refer to: * Ricarda Ciontos (born 1968), German actress * Ricarda Funk (born 1992), German slalom canoeist * Ricarda Haaser (born 1993), Austrian skier * Ricarda Huch (1864–1947), German intellectu ...

* Izler Browne

Year-by-year

Legacy

In 2018,

Asheville City SC Asheville City SC is an American amateur soccer team based in Asheville, North Carolina. Founded in 2016, the men's team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The women's team was founded in 2017 and played in ...

's newly formed women's soccer team hired Stacey Enos, who had captained the Splash from 2001–2003, as its inaugural head coach. On June 19, 2021, Asheville City's women's side held a commemorative match marking the 20th anniversary of the Splash's founding.

Icarus FC Icarus is a football kit and apparel brand based out of Philadelphia, United States. Icarus was created to provide clubs with original and creative jerseys that represent their identity. Since its inception in 2017, Icarus has partnered with ov ...

designed Asheville Splash throwback kits for the occasion.

References

Page on Western North Carolina athletics on newcomer.com
- mentions details about Asheville Splash

External links

web.archive.org copy of Official website
Women's soccer clubs in the United States Defunct soccer clubs in North Carolina Defunct USL W-League (1995–2015) teams Sports in Asheville, North Carolina 2001 establishments in North Carolina 2004 disestablishments in North Carolina Association football clubs established in 2001 Association football clubs established in 2004 Women's sports in North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-footyclub-stub