DFW Tornados (also known as Dallas–Fort Worth Tornados) was an American soccer team based in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1986, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010 season and left the league thereafter.
The team played its home games at Pizza Hut Park (the home of Major League Soccer's FC Dallas) in nearby Frisco, Texas. The team's colors were black, blue and white.
History
In 1986, the club, known as Garland Genesis, based in Garland, Texas, became a founding member of the Southwest Indoor Soccer League. The team topped the standings during the 1986–1987 season before defeating the Lubbock Lazers in the championship game. The team moved to Addison, Texas in 1987 and changed their name to the Addison Arrows. They remained in Addison for two years. In 1989, the league added a summer outdoor season and Addison promptly went to the championship game, this time losing to the Colorado Comets. In 1989, owner Ken Mulhall sold the team. At the time, he also coached the Arrows. The new owner fired Mulhall as coach and named Billy Pettigrew as head coach. The team continued its excellent play during the 1989–1990 indoor season, defeating the Phoenix Hearts to take their second indoor championship. Following the completion of the indoor season, the team moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth are and was renamed North Texas United. In November 1990, they merged with the Waco Kickers and became the Fort Worth Kickers.Sockadillos have new look as indoor season kicks off Austin American-Statesman – Saturday, November 10, 1990 After team owner Pat Parker was unable to gain financial backing for the team, it moved to Dallas and became the Dallas Kickers for the 1991/92 indoor season. The team was renamed the Dallas Americans before the 1992 outdoor season. They were renamed the Dallas/Fort Worth Toros in 1993, and remained as such until 1996, when they were renamed the Dallas Toros for the 1997 outdoor season. They became the Texas Toros in 1998, and the Texas Rattlers for the 2000 season. Upon their move to the Premier Development League for 2001 they changed their name, and were bought by the Texas Spurs, which they maintained until 2003, when the Spurs club sold the team to the owner of Arena Athletics in Euless, Texas. They finally took their current name, the DFW Tornados, beginning in 2004.
Players
Final roster This list is a historical record of the final group of players on the last Tornados roster for their final game in August 2010. Source:
Notable former players
This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
Kyle Altman Kyle Brown Jeff Agoos John Hedlund Caesar Cervin Andres Cuero Chad Deering Hunter Freeman Bruno Guarda Stephen McCarthy Ryan Mirsky Jordan Murch Jay Needham Gifton Noel-Williams Dane Saintus Shea Salinas Chad Smith T. J. Tomasso Jamie Watson Daniel Woolard
Year-by-year
YearTeam NameDivisionLeagueRegular seasonPlayoffsOpen Cup1986–87Garland Genesis3SISL Indoor1stChampion1987–88Arlington Arrows3SISL Indoor4thSemifinal1988–89Addison Arrows3SISL Indoor1st, NorthSemifinals19896SOSL3rdFinalDid not enter1989–907SISL Indoor1st, Tex-Ark-OmaChampion1990North Texas United6SISL Outdoor5th, EasternDid not qualifyDid not enter1990–91Fort Worth Kickers7SISL Indoor3rd, SoutheastSemifinals19917SISL2nd, Tex-OmaSemifinalsDid not enter1991–92Dallas Kickers3USISL Indoor1st, Tex-OmaSizzling Four1992Dallas AmericansUSISL3rd, South CentralSizzling SixDid not enter1992–93USISL Indoor2nd, South CentralSizzling Four1993Dallas/Fort Worth TorosUSISL3rd, South CentralDid not qualifyDid not enter1994USISL2nd, South CentralSizzling NineDid not enter1995USISL Pro League2nd, South CentralDivisional SemifinalsDid not qualify1995–96USISL Indoor5th, CentralDid not qualify1996USISL Pro League1st, CentralSizzling SixDid not qualify1997Dallas Toros3USISL D-3 Pro League6th, South CentralDid not qualifyDid not qualify1998Texas Toros3USISL D-3 Pro League2nd, South CentralDivision SemifinalsDid not qualify19993USL D-3 Pro League2nd, WesternConference FinalsDid not qualify2000Texas Rattlers3USL D-3 Pro League1st, SouthernConference Quarterfinals2nd Round2001Texas Spurs4USL PDL1st, Mid SouthConference SemifinalsDid not qualify2002Texas Spurs4USL PDL2nd, Mid SouthConference Semifinals1st Round2003Texas Spurs4USL PDL4th, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify2004DFW Tornados4USL PDL2nd, Mid SouthConference Semifinals2nd Round2005DFW Tornados4USL PDL4th, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20064USL PDL2nd, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20074USL PDL3rd, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20084USL PDL6th, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20094USL PDL6th, Mid SouthDid not qualifyDid not qualify20104USL PDL3rd, Mid SouthDid not qualify1st Round
New indoor team (2004–2012) DFW Tornados played in the Premier Arena Soccer League in the South Central Division. The team played its home games at Arena Athletics in Euless, TX.
YearDivisionLeagueReg. seasonPlayoffsWinter 04/05 N/APASL PremierN/ALost FinalWinter 05/06South CentralPASL Premier2ndN/AWinter 06/07South CentralPASL Premier 1st N/AWinter 07/08South CentralPASL Premier 3rdN/AWinter 08/09South CentralPASL Premier 3rdN/AWinter 09/10South CentralPASL Premier 3rdN/AWinter 10/11South CentralPASL Premier 2ndN/ASummer 2012South CentralPASL Premier 4thN/A
Honors USL PDL Mid South Division Champions: 2001 USL D-3 Pro League Southern Division Champions: 2000 USISL Pro League Central Division Champions: 1996
Head coaches Ken Muhall (1986–1989) Ken Billy Pettigrew (1989–1990) Caesar Cervin (1991) Ed Puskarich (1998, 2001–2003) Bernard Brodigan (2004) Paul Robinson (2005–2010)
Stadia Pennington Field; Bedford, Texas (2004–2010) Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas (2010)
Average attendance Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at
2005: 207 2006: 349 2007: 389 2008: 320 2009: 188 2010: 179
References
External links
Official Site Official PDL site