The Massachusetts Twisters were an American

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor socc ...

team that was based in

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 Si ...

, United States. Founded in 2001, the team played in the Arena Soccer League and every

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 in C ...

season and played one season in the

National Indoor Soccer League The National Indoor Soccer League (NISL) is an indoor soccer league that began play in 2021 and is based in the Southeast United States. The league fields men's and women's divisions. On March 24, 2021, the league announced its partnership with N ...

. The team played its home games at the

Eastern States Coliseum The Eastern States Coliseum, better known as the Big E Coliseum, is a 5,900-seat multi-purpose arena in West Springfield, Massachusetts. History Built as the Eastern States Coliseum in 1916, adding to the facilities for the annual Eastern States ...

. The team colors were black and red. Their head coach and owner was Paul LaPointe.

History

The Massachusetts Twisters were a part of the Arena Soccer League and one of the charter members of the

and were owned Paul LaPointe, the original commissioner of the AISL. The Twister's home field in

The Big E Coliseum The Eastern States Coliseum, better known as the Big E Coliseum, is a 5,900-seat multi-purpose arena in West Springfield, Massachusetts. History Built as the Eastern States Coliseum in 1916, adding to the facilities for the annual Eastern States ...

. The Massachusetts Twisters franchise was also directly affiliated with the Junior Twisters, who played in the Massachusetts Advanced Players League. On March 31, 2007, having won the regular season in the AISL with 25 points, the Twisters hosted the AISL Championship against the

Rockford Thunder Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United St ...

, who had earned 23 points on the season. The Twisters prevailed 11-5 over the Thunder and claimed the league championship. In 2007-08, the Twisters finished second in the AISL regular season standings with a 7-7 record. This led to a championship game rematch with the Rockford team, now known as the Rampage, which finished with a 12-1 regular season record. A few days before the championship game, the Twisters' coach resigned and several players quit the team, apparently because Twisters management had a dispute with the head coach, refused to pay for air travel for the team and required the players to drive to Rockford, Illinois instead. This led to a farcical championship game in which the Rampage destroyed the Twisters by an 18-5 score. The Twisters originally announced that they would go on hiatus for the 2008-09 season. However, they later announced that they will play in the new National Indoor Soccer League, replacing the Orlando Sharks. In their first NISL game on November 15, 2008, the Twisters lost 34-11 to the Philadelphia KiXX. On December 27, 2008 the Rockford Rampage defeated the Twisters 43-0, marking the largest scoring differential in professional indoor soccer history. The Twisters finished the season 1-17, with a point differential of -337, and the longest losing streak, 14 games. the Twisters also posted the lowest attended game in the National Indoor Soccer League, with 378 fans. After the 2008-2009 season the Twisters left the National Indoor Soccer League and folded.

Year-by-year

^No playoffs were held, the league championship was decided based on regular season standings.

Head coaches

Arenas

*Eastern States Coliseum Soccer clubs in Massachusetts West Springfield, Massachusetts Indoor soccer clubs in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) teams American Indoor Soccer League teams Defunct indoor soccer clubs in the United States Association football clubs established in 2003 2003 establishments in Massachusetts 2009 disestablishments in Massachusetts Association football clubs disestablished in 2009 {{Massachusetts-footyclub-stub