Orange County Blue Star
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| Full name | Orange County Blue Star |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The OC, Blue Star |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Stadium |
Eagle Stadium Irvine, California |
| Capacity | 100 |
| Owner | Jon Spencer |
| Head Coach | Jon Spencer |
| League | USL Premier Development League |
| 2012 | 7th, Southwest Playoffs: DNQ |
| Website | Club home page |
Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California, United States. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference until 2012.
The team played its home games at Eagle Stadium on the campus of Concordia University, where they played from 2007-12. The team's colors are white and black.
Blue Star began life as Orange County Zodiac in the USISL A-League in 1997, finishing fifth in the Pacific Conference in their inaugural season, with Gustavo Leal leading the scoring charts. The team suffered three years of middling results, only advancing to the post season in 1999, where they lost to the Seattle Sounders in the Round of 16. The Zodiac played some of their games at Santa Ana Stadium. They changed their name to Orange County Waves prior to the 2000 season, their final one in the A-League, but finished rock bottom of the Pacific Conference, and took the 2000-01 offseason to consider their options.
The club dropped down to the PDL in 2001 and changed their name again, and the newly christened Blue Star immediately enjoyed success. They finished their first year in the fourth tier as Champions of the Southwest division, but were defeated by eventual championship runners-up, Calgary Storm, in the Conference semi-finals. 2002 was frustrating, with Blue Star finishing a third in the division and missing out on the playoffs, but 2003 was better, for although they finished second to Fresno Fuego in the divisional table, they advanced all the way to the national playoff semi-finals, falling 3-1 to Chicago Fire Reserves at the penultimate hurdle. The 2003 regular season included some stunning results, including a pair of 5-1 victories over Fresno Fuego and San Diego Gauchos, a 5-2 demolition of Nevada Wonders, and a breathtaking 5-4 win over BYU Cougars which featured a hat trick by Ryan Coiner.
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