The 2014–15 Turlock Express season was the fourth season of the Turlock Express professional indoor soccer club. The Express, a Pacific Division team in the Major Arena Soccer League, played their home games at Turlock Indoor Soccer in Turlock, California.
The team was led by general manager Matt Warner and head coach Art Pulido. The Surge finished the regular season with a 9–11 record, good enough for 4th place in the MASL's Pacific Division but not enough to qualify for post-season play.
Season summary The team opened the 2014–15 season with a road loss to the Las Vegas Legends then won their next three games before dropping the three after that. The Sacramento Surge accounted for two of those three wins. The team regained its footing, winning 3 out of the next 4, but 4 consecutive losses in January put the team below .500 on the season and ended their playoff hopes. The team's 9–11 record includes a surprising 9 road losses. Turlock's only road win came early in the season at Sacramento.
History The Express was founded as an expansion team for the Professional Arena Soccer League's 2011–12 season. Based in the league's smallest market, the team went 10–9 its first season and 9–7 the second, reaching the playoffs both times. The Express started the 2013–14 season strong with a pair of wins but then lost their next 7 consecutive games. The team improved in the second half of the season, Turlock finishing the season with a 5–11 record and averaging 521 fans per home game, but did not qualify for the playoffs.
Off-field moves 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, the other Pacific teams for 2014–15 are California-based Ontario Fury, Sacramento Surge, and San Diego Sockers plus the Las Vegas Legends and the expansion Seattle Impact. The Impact's assets were purchased mid-season and the team replaced on the schedule by the Tacoma Stars.
Roster moves Defender and assistant coach Enrique "Queeks" Tovar was released by the team on January 29.
Schedule
Regular season Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance Score Record 1 Sunday October 26 3:00pm at Las Vegas Legends L 6–7 (SO) 0–1 Orleans Arena 1,125 2 Saturday November 1 7:05pm Sacramento Surge W 11–8 1–1 Turlock Indoor Soccer 460 3 Friday November 14 7:35pm Seattle Impact W 11–5 2–1 Turlock Indoor Soccer 569 4 Saturday November 22 7:05pm at Sacramento Surge W 12–3 3–1 McClellan Park 447 5 Friday November 28 7:30pm at Seattle Impact L 3–8 3–2 ShoWare Center 204 6 Saturday December 6 7:05pm at San Diego Sockers L 4–5 3–3 Valley View Casino Center 2,570 7 Sunday December 7 3:05pm at Ontario Fury L 6–9 3–4 Citizens Business Bank Arena 1,952 8 Friday December 12 7:35pm Las Vegas Legends W 6–5 4–4 Turlock Indoor Soccer 532 9 Friday December 19 7:35pm Sacramento Surge W 10–5 5–4 Turlock Indoor Soccer 493 10 Saturday December 20 7:05pm at Sacramento Surge L 5–13 5–5 McClellan Park 375 11 Saturday December 27 7:05pm Ontario Fury W 9–8 (OT) 6–5 Turlock Indoor Soccer 498 12 Tuesday December 30 7:00pm at Las Vegas Legends L 5–7 6–6 Orleans Arena 1,997 13 Friday January 9 7:35pm Seattle Impact W 16–5 7–6 Turlock Indoor Soccer 492 14 Sunday January 11 5:05pm Las Vegas Legends W 8–7 (OT) 8–6 Turlock Indoor Soccer 517 15 Saturday January 17 7:05pm at Ontario Fury L 6–10 8–7 Citizens Business Bank Arena 1,911 16 Friday January 23 7:35pm San Diego Sockers L 3–10 8–8 Turlock Indoor Soccer 570 17 Friday January 30 7:35pm Ontario Fury L 5–8 8–9 Turlock Indoor Soccer 509 18 Sunday February 8 7:05pm at Tacoma Stars L 2–12 8–10 ShoWare Center 1,123 19 Friday February 13 7:35pm Sacramento Surge W 9–5 9–10 Turlock Indoor Soccer 385 20 Saturday February 14 7:05pm at Sacramento Surge L 8–9 (OT) 9–11 McClellan Park 413 Seattle Impact shut down mid-season; franchise purchased by Tacoma Stars
Awards and honors Turlock defender Enrique Tovar was selected for the 2014-15 MASL All-League Third Team.
References
External links Turlock Express official website Turlock Express at Turlock City News Turlock Express at Turlock Journal