The Cincinnati Riverhawks were a professional

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 ...

team that debuted in the USISL Premier Development League in 1997 and joined the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

from 1998 to 2003. They played their games at

Galbreath Field Galbreath Field was an American football and soccer field in Kings Mills, Ohio, that was associated with the former College Football Hall of Fame. Named after John Galbreath, the 7,000–10,000 seat stadium (sources differ) was the home of the Moell ...

Kings Mills, Ohio Kings Mills is a census-designated place in the northeastern corner of Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio, Deerfield Township of Warren County, Ohio, Warren County, Ohio, United States, on the western shore of the Little Miami River. The pop ...

, and later at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds and at the Town and Country Sports Complex in Wilder, KY. The Riverhawks were disbanded following the 2003 season.

History

The Cincinnati Riverhawks were a professional soccer team from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, owned by the Cincinnati Soccer Club. The team initially played in the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

Mid-South Division in 1997. The team finished the 1997 season in first place in its division, winning ten and losing five matches. The team advanced to the second round of the playoffs, before losing to its division rival, the

Jackson Chargers The Jackson Chargers were an American soccer team based in Jackson, Mississippi that played in the PDL (formerly the ''USISL Premier League'') from 1995 to 1999. The team had very successful consecutive seasons in 1998 and 1999, becoming regul ...

. In 1998, the Riverhawks joined the

's Central Division. The squad finished in fifth place in its division, with eleven wins and seventeen losses. Before the start of the 1999 season, the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues (

) became the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(USL). The Riverhawks remained in the organization's A-League, Central Division, finishing last in its division, with a record of seven losses and twenty-one ties. The next season the Riverhawks again finished last in the Central Division, with a record of two wins, twenty-three losses, and three ties. The team continued its poor showing in the 2001 season, finishing last in its division, while winning just six and losing twenty matches. In the 2002 season, the Riverhawks finished in third place in its division, one place ahead of last place. The team won eight and lost twenty matches. The Riverhawks repeated its performance of remaining out of last place by a single spot during the 2003 season. Still, after repeated disappointing performances, the Cincinnati Riverhawks disbanded following the 2003 season.

Colors & Badge

The Riverhawks debuted with their original logo and primary colors (white, royal blue, gold) in the 1997 season but would later change their logo for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Image:CincinnatiRiverhawks.GIF, Original Riverhawks logo 1997-2000 Image:CincinnatiRiverhawks01.GIF, Riverhawks logo 2001

Year-by-year

Coaches

* Nick Ranieri (1997)

References

{{Ohio Sports R Defunct soccer clubs in Ohio USL First Division teams USISL teams Soccer clubs in Ohio 1997 establishments in Ohio 2003 disestablishments in Ohio Association football clubs established in 1997 Association football clubs disestablished in 2003

History

Colors & Badge

Year-by-year

Coaches

See also

References