The 2014–15 Oxford City FC of Texas season was the third season for the Beaumont, Texas-based professional indoor soccer franchise. Founded as the Texas Strikers in 2012, new ownership rebranded the team as Oxford City FC of Texas in July 2014.
The team was led by Oxford City Football Club, Inc. CEO Thomas Anthony Guerriero and head coach Mariano Bollella. Texas was a Southern Division team in the Major Arena Soccer League and played their home games at Ford Arena in Beaumont, Texas. They finished the regular season with a 12–8 record then fell to the Dallas Sidekicks in the first round of the MASL playoffs.
Season summary Oxford City FC of Texas struggled to start the 2014–15 season, dropping their first two games, but rebounded with three consecutive wins. Although another loss briefly returned the team to .500, wins in their next two games gave the team more wins (5) by that point in the season than they earned in their two full seasons as the Texas Strikers (4). The team ended 2014 with a 7–4 record but with the new year (and the mid-season folding of Hidalgo La Fiera) came the addition of several former Hidalgo players and the replacement of head coach Chris "Topper" Cogan by former Hidalgo head coach Mariano Bollella. The team began 2015 with a three-game winning streak, including a road win against the Dallas Sidekicks, before losing 5 of their remaining 6 games, including home and road losses to Dallas. Their 12–8 record was good enough for third place in the Southern Division and qualified the Beaumont-based team for the playoffs. They faced rival Dallas at the Allen Event Center and lost 5–6, ending their playoff run.
History
The 2012–13 season was the first for the expansion Texas Strikers, Beaumont's first professional soccer team. The team struggled early on but split its final six regular season matches, finishing with a 3–13 record. The Strikers stumbled from the start of the 2013–14 season, dropping 15 consecutive matches. Only a home win over the Tulsa Revolution in their final match allowed them to earn a 1–15 record. The team did not qualify for post-season play.
In May 2014, the Professional Arena Soccer League added six teams from the failed third incarnation of the Major Indoor Soccer League and reorganized as the Major Arena Soccer League. With the league expansion and reorganization, Texas moved from the Central division to the new Southern division. The other Southern teams for 2014–15 are Texas-based Brownsville Barracudas, Dallas Sidekicks, and Hidalgo La Fiera plus Mexico-based Monterrey Flash and Saltillo Rancho Seco.
Off-field moves In September 2014, the team announced that pre-game and post-game entertainment would be provided by a series of tribute bands. The announced acts include Back in Black, Rock and Roll Over, Light and Shade, and Van Hagar.
On December 15, team owner Oxford City Football Club, Inc. announced that it had "successfully come to terms to sell" Oxford City FC of Texas to an unspecified "Latin American group", pending league approval. CEO Thomas Anthony Guerriero said that their "complete focus as an organization needs to be" on Oxford City F.C. which plays in Conference North, a division of Football Conference at Step 2 of the National League System and the sixth overall tier of the English football league system. The new owners were to have licensed the rights to use the "Oxford City FC of Texas" name through the end of the current MASL season. The sale was not completed before the end of the season and the announcement removed from the team's website.
Schedule
Pre-season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1 Sunday October 26 5:05pm at Baton Rouge IFC W 5–1 1–0 Premier Soccer Indoor Complex 1 Sunday November 2 3:05pm Houston La Juve W 15–4 2–0 Ford Arena
Regular season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1 Saturday November 8 7:05pm Hidalgo La Fiera L 7–13 0–1 Ford Arena 1,388 2 Friday November 14 7:05pm at Tulsa Revolution L 5–8 0–2 Cox Business Center 562 3 Sunday November 16 3:05pm at Wichita B-52s W 10–9 (SO) 1–2 Hartman Arena 885 4 Saturday November 22 7:05pm Saltillo Rancho Seco W 9–7 2–2 Ford Arena 1,243 5 Saturday November 29 6:00pm at Brownsville Barracudas W 5–4 3–2 Barracudas Sports Complex 450 6 Sunday November 30 3:00pm at Hidalgo La Fiera L 7–9 3–3 State Farm Arena 426 7 Saturday December 6 7:05pm Brownsville Barracudas W 7–4 4–3 Ford Arena 1,079 8 Saturday December 13 7:05pm Tulsa Revolution W 17–4 5–3 Ford Arena 1,078 9 Saturday December 20 7:05pm at Wichita B-52s W 8–7 6–3 Hartman Arena 1,340 10 Saturday December 27 7:05pm Dallas Sidekicks L 4–15 6–4 Ford Arena 1,203 11 Sunday December 28 3:05pm Saltillo Rancho Seco W 16–8 7–4 Ford Arena 986 12 Saturday January 3 7:05pm at Dallas Sidekicks W 5–4 8–4 Allen Event Center 3,811 13 Saturday January 10 2:30pm Brownsville Barracudas W 8–4 9–4 Ford Arena 0 14 Saturday January 10 7:05pm Brownsville Barracudas W 10–3 10–4 Ford Arena 740 15 Sunday January 18 3:00pm at Dallas Sidekicks L 4–5 10–5 Allen Event Center 2,344 16 Saturday January 31 7:05pm Monterrey Flash L 2–5 10–6 Ford Arena 921 17 Saturday February 7 7:05pm Dallas Sidekicks L 2–7 10–7 Ford Arena 840 18 Friday February 13 8:35pm at Saltillo Rancho Seco W 13–7 11–7 Deportivo Rancho-Seco Saltillo ? 19 Sunday February 15 5:05pm at Monterrey Flash L 3–5 11–8 Arena Monterrey 2,622 20 Saturday February 21 6:00pm at Brownsville Barracudas W 9–6 12–8 Barracudas Sports Complex 240 Originally scheduled for Saturday, November 15. Rescheduled due to mid-season withdrawal of Hidalgo La Fiera, maintaining 20-game schedule. Replaces Hidalgo game originally scheduled for that date.
Post-season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record Division Semi-Final Sunday March 1 2:00pm at Dallas Sidekicks L 5–6 0–1 Allen Event Center 3,421
Awards and honors Texas forward Lucas Totti was selected for the 2014-15 MASL All-League Third Team. Totti was also named to the league's all-rookie team for 2014–15. Texas goalkeeper Kyle Renfro earned honorable mention for the all-rookie team.
On March 13, the MASL announced the finalists for its major year-end awards. These nominees included Texas forward Lucas Totti for both Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.
References
External links Oxford City FC of Texas official website Oxford City FC of Texas at KBMT-TV