The Virginia Beach Mariners 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 ...

club, who formerly played in the

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 b ...

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 ...

, the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due to lack of ownership. The Mariners played at the

Virginia Beach Sportsplex The Virginia Beach Sportsplex is a sports complex in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The name is most commonly attached to the main stadium within the complex, which opened in 1999. It has a permanent seating capacity of 6,000, on two decks of seating, ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, from 1999 up to their demise in 2007. The team was founded in 1994 as the ''Hampton Roads Hurricanes'', but they changed their name to Mariners after the first year. For the 2003 season, the team changed their name from Hampton Roads Mariners to the more widely recognizable Virginia Beach Mariners. The team went on a one- year hiatus in 1997, after which they joined the A-League. In 2006, the Mariners added a

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 ...

club, the Virginia Beach Submariners. Shortly after the termination of the Mariners, the Submariners were taken over by the

Hampton Roads Piranhas Hampton Roads Piranhas was an American women's soccer team, founded in 1995. The team was a member of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Atlantic Divisio ...

, a women's W-League soccer club, who renamed the team the

to reflect the change of ownership.

Year-by-year

Head coaches

Shawn McDonald Shawn Michael McDonald (born September 4, 1977) is a Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Chri ...

(1996 - Aug 2005) * Jay Hoffman (Aug 2005-2006)

External links

Virginia Pilot article announcing the team's March 2007 demise

* ttp://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=132138&ran=83411 Virginia Pilot - "No one knew the hope of the tanking Mariners was broke" {{USSoccer Association football clubs established in 1994 Soccer clubs in Virginia Sports in Virginia Beach, Virginia USL First Division teams A-League (1995–2004) teams 1994 establishments in Virginia 2007 disestablishments in Virginia Soccer clubs in Hampton Roads Association football clubs disestablished in 2007 Defunct soccer clubs in Virginia

Year-by-year

Head coaches

See also

External links