The Tacoma Stars are an American professional

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer is a form of five-a-side football, five-a-side or six-a-side version of minifootball. It is derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arenas. It differs from the FIFA, FIFA ...

team based in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, that competes in the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

(MASL). The franchise also operates in

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indoor team plays its home games at

ShoWare Center The accesso ShoWare Center is a multi-purpose arena in the Northwestern United States, located in Kent, Washington, a suburb south of Seattle. About the venue Construction began in September 2007, and the venue opened in January 2009. The princi ...

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

. First playing in 2024, the outdoor men's team and outdoor women's team, the Tacoma Galaxy, play home games at

Bellarmine Preparatory School Bellarmine Preparatory School is a private Catholic co-educational high school run by the USA West Province of the Society of Jesus in Tacoma, Washington. It is located in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Today, it serves just over 900 students fro ...

in Tacoma. The club also fields an indoor women's side under the Tacoma Galaxy name. The club fields two reserve teams both with the name Tacoma Stars Reserves, in the indoor WISL junior league, and the outdoor youth Cascadia Premier League.

History

The Stars were founded in 2003 as a member of the

Premier Arena Soccer League The Premier Arena Soccer League (PASL) was a professional men's and women's indoor soccer league; along with a number of amateur teams across North America. The PASL was previously known as the Federation of Sports Arenas (FSA). The PASL logo form ...

(PASL-Premier). The team is named after the

Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...

that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League from 1983 to 1992. The Stars won two PASL-Premier Championships (Summer 2004 & Winter 2009-2010). The Stars made the transition to professional status and joined the

Professional Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...

(PASL) for the 2010-11 season. In 2012–13 season, the head coach was Joe Waters as the team moved into the new Pacific Sports Center. The Stars went on hiatus on August 23, 2013. An amateur version of the club participated in the

as the Tacoma Galaxy in the 2013-14 season. On January 10, 2014, the Pacific Sports Center was placed into receivership, putting the future of the facility and the franchise in question. In June 2014, it was announced that the Tacoma Stars would return to play in the

Western Indoor Soccer League The Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) is an American semi-professional indoor soccer league. It was formed on June 20, 2014 by a group of arena operators and team owners in the Pacific Northwest. The WISL began its first season on November 15, 2 ...

(WISL) at the Tacoma Soccer Center. In January 2015, team owner Lane Smith acquired the assets of the failed Seattle Impact of the

and announced that the Stars would complete the Impact's 2014–15 season at the

, while completing their WISL obligations. The Stars joined the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

in 2020, and planned to field an outdoor team in the Northwest Conference through a partnership with Washington Premier FC. The outdoor team planned to play at Washington Premier FC Field in

Waller, Washington Waller is a rural census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 8,189 at the 2020 census. The population has seen significant growth in the last decade. Geography According to the United States C ...

, near Puyallup. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

NPSL halted play in the 2020 season, and the Northwest division did not play in 2021. Tacoma left NPSL in 2022 without having played a match. In 2023, the Tacoma Stars won the North American Sand Soccer U.S. Men's Open Division Championship in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

, with a 3-2 victory over Maryzillians in the final. The team, which went 6-0 in the tournament, included Nick Perera, Cory Keitz, and Fellipe Souza, along with former players Chris Toth, Alessandro Canale, and Mike Palmerin. Perera was named the Tournament MVP, and Toth received the Top Goalkeeper award. On January 4, 2024, the Tacoma Stars was announced as an expansion team for the outdoor

, joining the Northwest Division. The team will play their home matches at

in Tacoma. An affiliated women's team, named the Tacoma Galaxy, will play in the

USL W League The USL W League (USLW) is a Women's association football, women's soccer league in the United States. It began play in May 2022 and follows the USL W-League (1995–2015), USL W-League, a similar league that existed from 1995 to 2015. It is c ...

beginning in 2024.

Year-by-year

Completing last 7 games of 20-game season after taking over for the Seattle Impact. First full season competing in MASL. * The Stars had no home games due to the

Professional playoffs

* The Stars had no home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tournament victories

U.S. Men's Open - North American Sand Soccer Championship (NASSC) (2023).

Personnel

Active players

''As of 2024.''

Venues

# As Tacoma Galaxy # Starfire has both indoor and outdoor facilities. # ShoWare is primarily a hockey arena.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tacoma Stars (2003-) 2003 establishments in Washington (state) Association football clubs established in 2003 Major Arena Soccer League teams Sports in Tacoma, Washington Soccer clubs in Washington (state) Western Indoor Soccer League teams USL League Two teams