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
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, in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference.
The team plays its home games at
Bateman Park, where they have played since 2004. The team's colors are black, white, and red.
Until 2007 the team was known as the Abbotsford Rangers, but changed their name prior to the 2008 season to reflect the name of their parent organization.
History
The Abbotsford area has long had a history of competitive developmental teams, including
Abbotsford 86ers Select in 2000,
Abbotsford 86ers in 1999 and
Abbotsford Athletes in Action in 1998; Abbotsford Rangers joined the PDL as a 'provisional team' in 2003, playing at
Rotary Stadium
Jane & Gerry Swan Track at Rotary Stadium is a fully lighted, multi-purpose stadium located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It features a rubberized 400 metre running track ("Jane & Gerry Swan Track") with wide turns and full field event faciliti ...
, but struggled on the field, losing their first eight games, and not picking up a win until mid-June when they topped
Cascade Surge
Cascade Surge was an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, when the franchise folded an ...
3-2 off goals by
Jason Jorgensen,
Brad Peetoom and
Spencer Schmidt. The victory sparked an unexpected 4-game winning streak which included a season's best 3-1 victory over
Calgary Storm Select, but the resurgence was too little too late for the team, and the season ended with them in fourth place, and
Jason Jorgensen as the top scorer.
2004 saw the Rangers move into a new home at
Bateman Park, and hire a new player-manager in the shape of former
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championship, having been relegated from the 2020–21 Scotti ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
defender
Colin Miller, who had been in the Canadian squad for the
1986 FIFA World Cup. Despite Miller's presence, Abbotsford's results did not improve greatly; they did not pick up their first win until the fourth game (2-1 over
Yakima Reds
Yakima Reds was an American soccer team based in Yakima, Washington, United States. Founded in 1995, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of the We ...
), and only managed three more victories all season. Things hit an all-time low on the final day of the season with their 5-0 demolition at the hands of Cascade Surge, and they again finished way off the pace, 19 points behind champions Cascade.
2005 saw Abbotsford slip even further behind their competition, finishing their season a full 29 points behind defending champions Cascade Surge in the Northwest division, with just 3 wins and 21 goals all year. Abbotsford suffered greatly on the road, losing 5-1 and 4-1 to Cascade, and didn't pick up a single point until their 2-1 victory away to Yakima Reds in mid-June. All of Abbotsford's wins were against Yakima, triumphing two more times, including a 1-0 final day victory on a goal by the consistent
Jason Jorgensen. Nevertheless, Abbotsford's poor form was worrying for all involved.
Then, quite inexplicably, everything changed in 2006. Miller's men were hot from the get-go, with an opening day tie with newcomers
Tacoma F.C., and then back-to-back victories over Yakima Reds and the other Northwest newcomers,
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 ...
. June saw the team embark on an unprecedented 6-game unbeaten streak, the highlight of which was a 4-0 road thumping of Cascade Surge. As the season wound down, Abbotsford was one of three teams vying for the playoffs, knowing that two victories in their final two games would take them into uncharted territory. A 4-0 triumph over Cascade - which included a hat trick from
Sean Crocker
Sean Crocker (born August 31, 1996) is an American professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Crocker was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. His father, Gary, was a test cricketer, who played for Zimbabwe from 1992 ...
- was followed by a comprehensive 3-0 win over Tacoma, and the Rangers had their first Northwest title and were off to the playoffs. However, their postseason was a short one, as they lost 3-2 to
Orange County Blue Star
Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Wester ...
first time out, despite being 2-0 up at halftime.
Colin Miller left Abbotsford in the 2006 close season to become
Billy Davies' assistant at
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, and he was replaced by former
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
international
Shaun Lowther for the 2007 campaign. Initially, the managerial change seemed to affect Abbotsford's excellent form, the team picking up just one win and four ties in their first ten game. However, following their come-from-behind 3-2 win against Yakima Reds at the end of June, something clicked into place for Abbotsford: from that point on they began to utterly demolish their opponents, thrashing Cascade Surge 4-0, topping Yakima Reds 3-0, beating Tacoma Tide 4-1, and finishing the year with an absolutely astonishing 11-0 win over Spokane Spiders which included a double hat-trick SIX goals from striker
James Severn. However, this late rally was not enough for them to make the playoffs, and they eventually finished a close third in the table behind
BYU Cougars and Tacoma Tide.
Abbotsford began the 2008 season as the first-ever opponents of the new
Vancouver Whitecaps Residency
Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...
franchise; they lost the opening matchup 3-1, but won their next fixture against
BYU Cougars, setting in motion the story of most of the rest of the season. 2008 was the year of 'boom or bust' for Abbotsford, where almost every game was either a resounding victory or a humiliating defeat: they beat Cascade Surge 5-0 in a game that featured a hat trick from
Adrian Kekec, beat
Spokane Spiders
Spokane Spiders were an American soccer team based in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Northwest Division of ...
4-0 at home, and put another four past Cascade at the beginning of July. At the other end of the scale, they were hammered 4-1 by
Vancouver Whitecaps Residency
Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...
in the second of their three matchups, were on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing from eventual divisional champs Tacoma Tide, and lost 4-1 to Yakima Reds in the middle of the five-game winless streak that concluded their season. While Abbotsford's games were never anything less than entertaining, their erratic form proved costly, as they finished the season in 6th place.
Spencer Schmidt was the top scorer for the season, with 7 goals, while
Justin Cordick scored five goals and contributed 4 assists.
2009 was a return to the disappointing form of previous years for the Mariners, despite starting the season optimism following the hiring of local soccer personality
Alan Errington as head coach. After a loss and a draw, they opened 2 game series at home against the new
Victoria Highlanders
Victoria Highlanders FC is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The club was founded in 2008 and currently play in the League1 British Columbia.
The team had played in the American USL League Two from 2009 to 20 ...
franchise, and drew their home opener 2-2. Following their 2-1 return win over Victoria and 4-0 thrashing of the Spokane Spiders (in which Cameron Wilson scored twice) in late May, were in contention at the early stage of the season. However, June was a disaster for Abbotsford, as the team suffered several tough losses, being outplayed 3-1 by the
Kitsap Pumas
Kitsap SC Pumas was an American soccer team based in Bremerton, Washington, United States. The team played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. From its foundation in 2009 to 2016, the clu ...
, and being slaughtered 6-1 on the road at the Yakima Reds. The Mariners ultimately won just four games all season, their final two victories coming via an unexpectedly comprehensive 6-0 revenge victory over Yakima that featured a pair of braces from
Gibson Bardsley and substitute
Brendan Podolsky, and an astonishing topsy-turvy 5-3 win over Tacoma Tide which saw the team weather a strong fightback after being 4-1 ahead at one stage. The 5-0 final day loss to
Portland Timbers U23's
Capital FC is an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Although founded in 2008 as part of the development system for the Portland Timbers USSF D2 organization, beginning in 2011 they were part of the development system ...
summed up the season, and left them in 8th place in the Northwest, 15 points behind divisional champs Kitsap. Cameron Wilson was the Mariners' top scorer, with 8 goals, while Spencer Schmidt contributed 4 assists.
Players
Current roster
''.''
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.''
*
Tyler Baldock
Tyler Baldock (born September 21, 1984) is a Canadian former soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.
College career
Baldock attended Carson–Newman University, where he played for the men's soccer team from 2003 to 2006. With the Eagles, h ...
*
Adam Lang
*
Diaz Kambere
Diaz Kambere is a former soccer player. He currently plays for Africa United FC in the Multicultural Soccer League of British Columbia. He serves as the senior girls coach at Delview Secondary Born in Uganda, he represented Canada at internati ...
*
Stefan Leslie
Stefan Leslie (born October 23, 1987) is a Canadians, Canadian soccer player currently playing for Surrey United Firefighters, Surrey United in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League.
Career
Youth and College
Leslie was born in Richmond, British Col ...
*
Nigel Marples
*
Colin Miller
Year-by-year
Honors
* USL PDL Northwest Division Champions: 2006
Head coaches
*
Colin Miller (2004–2006)
*
Shaun Lowther (2007–2008)
*
Alan Errington (2009)
Stadia
*
Rotary Stadium
Jane & Gerry Swan Track at Rotary Stadium is a fully lighted, multi-purpose stadium located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It features a rubberized 400 metre running track ("Jane & Gerry Swan Track") with wide turns and full field event faciliti ...
;
Abbotsford, British Columbia (2003)
*
Bateman Park;
Abbotsford, British Columbia (2004–present)
*
Townsend Park Stadium;
Chilliwack
Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdo ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
(2009) 5 games
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: 218
* 2006: 196
* 2007: 180
* 2008: 160
* 2009: 133
* 2010: 144
* 2011: 116
* 2012: 76
References
External links
Official Site
{{British Columbia Sports
Association football clubs established in 2003
Soccer clubs in British Columbia
Sport in Abbotsford, British Columbia
USL League Two teams
United Soccer League teams based in Canada
2003 establishments in British Columbia