The Rockford Rampage was 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 s ...

team based in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, 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 in ...

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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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

Victory Sports Complex Victory Sports Complex is a multi-purpose arena, in Loves Park, Illinois, just outside the city of Rockford. Opening in 2007, the VSC became home to the Rockford Victory in 2008, when the team announced that it would be playing in the Ultimate ...

. 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 Oscar Albuquerque (born September 4, 1954) is a Canadian former soccer midfielder. He spent most of his professional career playing indoor soccer with U.S. teams. He is currently the president of Pro Soccer International, an ownership group whic ...

, a former member of the former National Professional Soccer League's

Illinois Thunder The Illinois Thunder were an indoor soccer club (based in Rockford, Illinois) that competed in the National Professional Soccer League. After the 1991/92 season, the team became the Denver Thunder Denver () is a consolidated city and cou ...

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 The Liga TDP is Mexico's fourth tier in the Mexican League System. The Liga TDP is divided into 17 groups. For the 2009/2010 season, the format of the tournament has been reorganized to a home and away format, which all teams will play in their ...

, Primera División Uruguaya, 2 Liga Polska,

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

, 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 se ...

5-4 with a late goal by Ante Cop, the Thunder secured a position in the AISL finals to face the Massachusetts Twisters. On March 31, 2007, the Thunder traveled to

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was ...

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 (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

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 Massachusetts Twisters 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) 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 ...

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.http://www.nislnet.com/news/index.html?article_id=114 On August 21, 2012, the Rampage joined the

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

Players

''As of January 13, 2013''

Staff

* Saul Robles - ''President/Majority Owner'' *

- ''Minority Owner'' * Jeff Kraft - ''Head Coach'' * Armando Sanchez - ''Assistant Coach''

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. It is currently home to the AHL's Rockford IceHogs hockey team. The arena formerly served as th ...

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 Professional Arena Soccer League teams Soccer clubs in Illinois Indoor soccer clubs in the United States Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) teams Rampage 2013 disestablishments in Illinois Association football clubs disestablished in 2013