Salinas Valley Samba was an American

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 based in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Salt pan (geology), Salt Flats") is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County, California, Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Founded in 2004, the team played in the Western Division of the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

(NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of 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 ...

. The team spent the majority of its history playing on the campus of Salinas High School, though they moved to Watsonville High School in nearby Santa Cruz County, for their final season in 2009. The team's colors were silver, black and white.

History

The Samba joined the

Men's Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. It is the successor o ...

in 2004, one of five expansion teams for the league's second season. They joined along with the

Albuquerque Asylum Albuquerque Asylum was an American association football, soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 2004, the team was a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth t ...

, the

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 League for Clubs, a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the West Region ...

, the Sacramento Knights, and the Idaho Wolves. During their first season of play, the Samba finished the league in 5th place, five points behind the Utah Salt Ratz, who ultimately finished the season as league champions. The 2005 season saw the development of location-specific conferences as more teams were added to the league. This placed Salinas Valley in the Western Conference, with a majority of California teams (with the exception of the

Las Vegas Strikers Las Vegas Strikers were an American soccer team, founded in 2003. The team were a member of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, and play in the Southwest Conference. The Strikers play their ...

and the Albuquerque Asylum) The expansion of the league in 2006 brought further development of the conferences, as the Western Conference split into "Northwestern" and "Southwestern", and a Midwestern conference was added. The Salinas Valley Samba are currently in the Northwestern Conference. The Samba finished the 2005 season in 4th place. Also in 2005 the Samba advanced to the second round of the

Lamar Hunt U.S. 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. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

before being defeated by the Seattle Sounders. In 2006, they finished the year in 6th place.

Players

Last roster

''as at June 7, 2009''

Notable former players

* David Estrada * Yuri Morales * Nate Northup * Adam Smarte

Year-by-year

Head coaches

* Artie Cairel (2004–2008) * Mark Cisneros (2009)

Stadia

* "The Pit" at Salinas High School; Salinas, California (2004–2008) * Stadium at Watsonville High School; Watsonville, California (2009)

External links

Salinas Valley Samba
* ttp://www.usopencup.com/1995/2005/121872.html USOpenCup.com standings for 2005br>Sounders dance past Samba
Soccer clubs in California National Premier Soccer League teams Sports in Salinas, California Association football clubs established in 2004 2004 establishments in California Sports in Monterey County, California {{California-footyclub-stub