The Rockford Rampage was an American

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

team based in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, United States. Founded in 2005 as the Rockford Thunder, the team originally played in the

American Indoor Soccer League The American Indoor Soccer League was a semi-professional indoor soccer league founded in 2002 and folded in 2008. History Founded in 2002, the AISL's headquarters were in West Springfield, Massachusetts, but the media relations office was ...

until 2008 then moved to the Major Indoor Soccer League from 2008 to 2010. They were revived to play in the

Professional Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

for the 2012–13 season but folded after the season ended. The team played its home games at

Victory Sports Complex Victory is a Indoor Pickleball Complex, in Loves Park, Illinois, just outside the city of Rockford, Illinois, Rockford. Opening in 2023, Victory has 15 Indoor Pickleball Courts as well as ping pong tables, darts, foosball, bags, and pool table ...

. The team colors were black and green. Their head coach was Jeff Kraft, assisted by Armando Sanchez.

History

The Rampage were originally owned by Pro Soccer International, a group managed by Michael O'Flaherty and Oscar Albuquerque, a former member of the former National Professional Soccer League's Illinois Thunder and the 1980 Canadian Olympic qualifying team. On October 7 and 8, 2006, try-outs were held for the then Rockford Thunder at the ISC. 24 players arrived from various soccer backgrounds. Some had played locally with the Rockford Raptors, but other players had played in various leagues including: Segunda división mexicana,

Tercera División de México Liga TDP is a professional association football league in Mexico and the fourth level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Tercera División de México (1967–2017). It has 223 participating clubs, divided into 17 regional gro ...

Primera División Uruguaya Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air Primera Air Scandinavia Aktieselskab, A/S, was a Denmark, Danish airline owned by Primera Travel Group. It provided scheduled and charter passenger services from Northern Europe to mo ...

, 2 Liga Polska,

USL First Division 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 ...

, and Premier Development League (PDL). On March 10, 2007, after defeating the

Cincinnati Excite The Cincinnati Excite were a semi-professional indoor soccer club which played in the American Indoor Soccer League. History The Excite are owned by David Galus, and took the American Indoor Soccer League season championship in the 2005/2006 s ...

5-4 with a late goal by Ante Cop, the Thunder secured a position in the AISL finals to face the

Massachusetts Twisters The Massachusetts Twisters were an American indoor soccer team that was based in West Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 2001, the team played in the Arena Soccer League and every American Indoor Soccer League season and played ...

. On March 31, 2007, the Thunder traveled to

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West ...

for the AISL Championship. The Twisters claimed the championship winning 11-5. On August 7, 2007, the AISL announced that the Thunder had changed their name to the Rampage. This is most likely due to the

Texas Thunder Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wit ...

of the

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

moving to Rockford. The Rampage finished the 2007/08 AISL regular season with a 12-1 record. They defeated the

18-5 in the AISL championship game at home on March 15, 2008. On September 9, 2008, the Rampage announced they were joining the new

National Indoor Soccer League The National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) was an indoor soccer league plagued with internal controversy that began play in 2021 and was based in the Southeast United States. The league fielded men's and women's divisions. On March 24, 2021, the ...

for its inaugural season in 2008-09. They finished with a 10-8 regular season record, qualified for the playoffs, defeated Monterrey in the playoff semifinals, but lost to Baltimore 13-10 in the NISL championship game. On July 7, 2009, it was announced that the Rockford Rampage acquired the Chicago Magic youth soccer club and its nationally recognized Development Academy and structured them as a non-profit organization. On August 21, 2012, the Rampage joined the

for the 2012-2013 season. The team folded after that season.

Year-by-year

^†Two seasons not recorded.

Head coaches

Arenas

2007–2008; 2012–2013 *

Rockford MetroCentre The BMO Center (formerly known as BMO Harris Bank Center and Rockford MetroCentre) is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Rockford, Illinois, United States. It is currently home to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs hockey team. The arena formerl ...

2005–2007; 2008–2010

References

External links

* {{Former Professional Arena Soccer League teams 2005 establishments in Illinois American Indoor Soccer League teams Association football clubs established in 2005 Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Defunct Major Arena Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in Illinois Indoor soccer clubs in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) teams

Rampage Rampage may refer to: People * Rampage (rapper) (born 1974) * Quinton Jackson (born 1978; nicknamed "Rampage"), American mixed martial artist and actor * Randy Rampage (1960-2018), Canadian musician Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional chara ...

2013 disestablishments in Illinois Association football clubs disestablished in 2013