San Diego Gauchos were an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

team, founded in 2002. The team was a member of the

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

(PDL), the fourth tier of the

American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of prom ...

, until 2006, when the team was sold to new owners, and the franchise was disbanded. The Gauchos played their home games at

Torero Stadium Torero Stadium is a 6,000-seat multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of the University of San Diego in San Diego, California. Opened in 1961, it serves as the home of the school's football and soccer ...

on the grounds of the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Schoo ...

in the city of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

. The team's colors were blue, white and yellow.

Year-by-year

Competition history

USL D-3 Pro League/Pro Select League

San Diego joined the USL D-3 Pro League as an expansion franchise in 2002 and enjoyed a very successful first year in competition, finishing the regular season with a 10–7–3 record, second in the Western Conference behind

Utah Blitzz Utah Blitzz was an American professional soccer team in based in Salt Lake City, Utah that played in the USL Pro Select League (later known as the USL Second Division). The club was founded in 2000 but folded following the 2004 season to make way ...

, and into the post season at the first attempt. The Gauchos also made a brief foray into the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

, beating

USASA The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...

amateur side

Mexico SC Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

2–0 in the first round before losing heavily to

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

mainstays

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its hom ...

6–1 in the second round. The Gauchos defeated the

Arizona Sahuaros Sporting Arizona FC is an American association football, soccer team based in Arizona. Founded in 1989, Sporting Arizona FC is Arizona's professional development club. The foundation of Sporting's development model is to bring international talen ...

3–0 in the first round of the playoffs, before falling 1–0 to Utah in the quarter finals. Nevertheless, it was a very promising first season; future MLS star

Herculez Gomez Herculez Gomez (born April 6, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. He currently works as a commentator in both English and Spanish for ESPN. Early life Gomez, the oldest of five children, was born in ...

was the Gauchos' top scorer, with 17 goals, while goalkeeper Daniel Sirota posted an impressive 1.36 GAA average. Despite having finished 2002 on a high, 2003 was a difficult season for the Gauchos, who slumped to a 3–13–1 record, and finished dead last in the Western Conference. Their only wins came over

California Gold California Gold was an American soccer team which began playing under the Gold moniker in 2002. The club was founded in 1997 as the Stanislaus County Cruisers. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (PDL) ...

, 3–2 on the opening day of the season;

Nevada Wonders Nevada Wonders were an American soccer team, founded in 2003. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues (USL) Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, until 2005, when the team left the league and ...

, a sluggish 1–0 home victory in June; and over Gold again, a 2–0 win in mid-July off goals from

Kristofer Larsen Kristofer is a masculine first name. It is a variant of the name Christopher. People Kristofer Notable people with the name Kristofer include: *Kristofer Åström, Swedish singer-songwriter * Kristofer Berglund (born 1988), Swedish professi ...

and

Akbar Zareh-Mendez Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeede ...

. The majority of the rest of the season was a struggle; they lost often to non-conference opponents, and even found makeup games against lower-division teams trying. They lost 3–0 to

Fresno Fuego Fresno Football Club U-23, formerly Fresno Fuego FC, was an American soccer team based in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 2003, the team played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club drew an ave ...

at home in mid May, were hammered 4–0 by

, received five of the best from

Western Mass Pioneers Western Mass Pioneers is an American soccer team based in Ludlow, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Lusitano Stadium, ...

on the road in June, and received a 5–1 shellacking from an

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 Weste ...

team that boasted

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

and future MLS star

Robbie Rogers Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came o ...

in their starting eleven. The Gauchos rallied considerably in 2004, finishing the year in second place, with a much-improved 9–9–2 record, and into the post-season for the second time. They won their opening game of the season, 2–1 over

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

, and recorded an astonishing 3–2 victory over

in June, coming back from 2 goals down to take the win on a

hat trick, despite both teams having been reduced to nine men by full-time! In the same vein, they also won a heart-stopping 3–2 classic against the

Southern California Seahorses Southern California Seahorses are an American soccer team based in La Mirada, California. Founded in 2001, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the camp ...

, with Herculez scoring in injury time. The Gauchos still occasionally found themselves on the receiving end of a large scoreline: they lost 5–2 to

in their second regular season game, were battered 6–2 by

at home in May, and surprisingly lost 5–1 to the Seahorses in the return fixture of their cross-league makeup series. The Gauchos also made their second trip to the

this year, but unexpectedly lost to PDL side

Boulder Rapids Reserve Colorado Rapids U–23 were an American soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado, United States. Originally founded in 2000 as part of the development system for the Colorado Rapids, the team played in the Premier Develo ...

in the second round 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 tie in regulation time.

was by far the Gauchos best player, scoring 14 goals for the season. Despite the better on-field performances, during the 2004 off-season the team's management made the decision to self-relegate themselves to 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 syste ...

for 2005.

USL Premier Development League

The Gauchos had a torrid time in the PDL in 2005. They won just one game all season – a 3–0 victory over

in July – and then had the ignominy of having points deducted by the league for fielding an ineligible player, meaning they finished the season dead last in the West with just 2 points, 12 points behind the next-worst team,

. Some of the Gaucho's defeats were blowouts: they lost 4–0 to

in May, lost 6–2 at home to the all-conquering

in June, and dropped 3 on the road at the

. They were also involved in two consecutive 3–3 ties with

and

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after whi ...

, the latter of which saw the Gauchos concede a demoralizing 87th-minute equalizer. Dustin Hammond was the Gauchos top scorer for the season, with 5 goals, while Oscar Espinoza contributed 2 assists 2006 saw a general improvement in the Gauchos' play. They began the year disappointingly, with three straight heavy defeats, conceding five goals to

on the opening day, and conceding another four when Fresno came down for the return fixture two weeks later. However, they enjoyed a brief run of form in late May and early July, rattling off two wins and a tie, including a satisfying 3–1 win over

that included an Isaias Bardales hat trick. Gold were the Gauchos' whipping boys in 06, with the San Diego team winning 2–0 and 6–0 in their other encounters, the latter of which featured a

Dustin Guerrero Dustin may refer to: Places in the United States * Dustin, Nebraska * Dustin Township, Holt County, Nebraska * Dustin, Oklahoma Other uses * Dustin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Dustin ...

hat trick and a brace from Dagoberto Nogales-Gallegos. Unfortunately for the Gauchos, the run down the home stretch saw them suffer five straight defeats, including an astonishing 7–4 loss at home to the

San Fernando Valley Quakes San Fernando Valley Quakes was an American association football, soccer team based in Calabasas, California, Calabasas, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of th ...

. The Gauchos finished the year 8th in the Southwest Division, 20 points behind divisional champions

was the Gauchos' top scorer, with 5 goals. Following the conclusion of the 2007 season the Gauchos were sold to new owners, who decided to dispense with the men's soccer team, and concentrate their efforts on their

USL W-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

franchise, the San Diego Gauchos Women, which was to be re-branded as the

San Diego Sunwaves San Diego Sunwaves were an American women's soccer team, founded in 2005, which played in the USL W-League for three years, until 2007, when they left the league and the franchise was terminated. Prior to the 2007 season the team was known as the ...

Coaches

* Bob Maruca 2002–06

Stadia

* Stadium at

Southwest Senior High School Southwest Senior High (SOH), in San Diego, California, United States, is a high school established in 1975. It was built on the site of a small railroad yard owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad along the original San Diego-Tijuana line. It exis ...

2003 * Stadium at Southwestern College,

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh largest city in Southern California, the List of largest California cities by population, fifteenth largest city ...

2004–05 *

Balboa Stadium Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–California ...

2004 (1 game) * Stadium at Sweetwater High School,

National City, California National City is a city located in the South Bay (San Diego County), South Bay region of the San Diego metropolitan area, in southwestern San Diego County, California, San Diego County, California. The population was 58,582 at the 2010 United ...

2005 * Stadium at

Torrey Pines High School Torrey Pines High School is a high school in the North County Coastal area of San Diego, California. The school is named after the Torrey pine tree that grows in the area. Torrey Pines High School is a member of the San Dieguito Union High Schoo ...

2005 (1 game) *

2006 * Stadium at

Otay Ranch High School Otay Ranch High School is a high school located in Chula Vista, California. Otay Ranch High School primarily serves the Chula Vista developments of Otay Ranch and Rancho Del Rey. History Otay Ranch High School (ORHS) was built in 2003 as a part ...

2006 (2 games) * Stadium at Mar Vista Middle School,

2006 (1 game)

Average attendance

* 2006: 465 * 2005: 315

External links

{{California sports G Soccer clubs in California USL Second Division teams Defunct Premier Development League teams 2002 establishments in California 2006 disestablishments in California Association football clubs established in 2002 Association football clubs disestablished in 2006