2014–15 Brownsville Barracudas season

Brownsville Barracudas

2014–15 MASL season
OwnerOscar Ruvalcaba
Head CoachRaul Salazar
ArenaBarracudas Sports Complex
Brownsville, Texas
Major Arena Soccer League4th, Southern (regular season)
Top goalscorerMoises Gonzalez (30 goals, 11 assists)
Highest home attendance850 (November 1 vs. Saltillo Rancho Seco)
Lowest home attendance225 (January 3 vs. Saltillo Rancho Seco)
Average home league attendance435 (11 games)[1]
← N/A

The 2014–15 Brownsville Barracudas season was the inaugural season for the Brownsville Barracudas professional indoor soccer club. (The team was also known as Barracudas FC.) The Barracudas, a Southern Division team in the Major Arena Soccer League, played their home games at the Barracudas Sports Complex in Brownsville, Texas.

The team was led by owner Oscar Ruvalcaba, general manager Ricardo Rodriguez, and head coach Raul Salazar. The Barracudas finished the 2014–15 season with a 4–16 record, good enough for 4th place in the Southern Division but not enough to qualify for the playoffs.

Season summary

Brownsville began the season with a road defeat by the Monterrey Flash before a home opening win against Saltillo Rancho Seco. The team then lost 8 consecutive games before an overtime win at home against Saltillo.[2] Another 6 losses (3 each to the Dallas Sidekicks and Oxford City FC of Texas) preceded a win in Brownsville's final home game against Saltillo. Splitting a road series in Saltillo to end the season, Brownsville ended with a 4–16 record and 4th place in the Southern Division. All 4 of Brownsville's wins came at the expense of Saltillo.

History

Barracudas on the road at the Allen Event Center.

Team owner Oscar Ruvalcaba started laying the groundwork for this team in 2001 when he began developing the Barracudas Sports Complex to add more soccer fields in his community.[3] The complex opened in 2004 and began hosting several games each week.[4] Barracudas FC organized as an amateur club that same year and, a decade later, the complex hosts almost 200 teams playing 7-on-7 soccer each week. In May 2014, Ruvalcaba secured an expansion franchise in the new Major Arena Soccer League and began construction of a 2,000-seat open-air soccer arena.[3]

Off-field moves

In May 2014, the Professional Arena Soccer League added six refugee teams from the failed third incarnation of the Major Indoor Soccer League and reorganized as the Major Arena Soccer League.[5][6] The 2014–15 MASL season will be 20 games long, 4 more than the 16 regular season games of recent PASL seasons.[7] Brownsville joins the league in the new Southern division.[3][6] The other Southern teams for 2014–15 are the Dallas Sidekicks, Hidalgo La Fiera, Monterrey Flash, Saltillo Rancho Seco, and Beaumont-based Oxford City FC of Texas.[8][9]

The Barracudas publicly displayed their new MASL uniforms for the first time on October 18 in the food court at Sunrise Mall in Brownsville.[10] The new uniforms, manufactured by Pirma, use the same colors as the team has worn since its founding as an amateur club in 2004.[10] Brownsville's home uniforms are light blue with white sides and the away uniforms are white with a blue collar.[11]

Schedule

  Win   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season

Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location Attendance
Score Record
1 Sunday June 29 3:15pm at Austin Capitals (PASL) L 3–2[12] 0–1 South Zone South Austin[13]

Regular season

Game Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location[14] Attendance
Score Record
1 Sunday October 26 5:05pm at Monterrey Flash L 6–15[15][16] 0–1 Arena Monterrey[17][18] 6,339[19]
2 Saturday November 1 6:00pm Saltillo Rancho Seco W 12–11[20][21][22] 1–1 Barracudas Sports Complex[23][24][25] 850[26]
3 Saturday November 15 7:00pm at Dallas Sidekicks L 2–14[27][28][29] 1–2 Allen Event Center[30] 3,656[31]
4 Saturday November 22 6:00pm Hidalgo La Fiera L 3–6[32] 1–3 Barracudas Sports Complex[28][33][34] 715[35]
5 Saturday November 29 6:00pm Oxford City FC of Texas L 4–5[36][37] 1–4 Barracudas Sports Complex 450[38]
6 Sunday November 30 5:05pm at Monterrey Flash L 1–14[37][39] 1–5 Arena Monterrey[40] 1,764[41]
7 Saturday December 6 7:05pm at Oxford City FC of Texas L 4–7[42][43] 1–6 Ford Arena[36][44] 1,079[45]
8 Saturday December 20 6:00pm Dallas Sidekicks L 3–11[46][47] 1–7 Barracudas Sports Complex[48] 575[49]
9 Saturday December 27 6:00pm Monterrey Flash1 L 1–6[50][51] 1–8 Barracudas Sports Complex[52][53][54] 375[55]
10 Sunday December 28 6:00pm Monterrey Flash L 8–9[51][56] 1–9 Barracudas Sports Complex[57][58] 475[59]
11 Saturday January 3 6:00pm Saltillo Rancho Seco W 7–6 (OT)[60] 2–9 Barracudas Sports Complex[2][61][62] 225[63]
12 Saturday January 10 2:30pm at Oxford City FC of Texas3 L 4–8[64] 2–10 Ford Arena[52][65] 0[66]
13 Saturday January 10 7:05pm at Oxford City FC of Texas3 L 3–10[64] 2–11 Ford Arena[65] 740[67]
14 Saturday January 24 6:00pm Dallas Sidekicks L 5–9 2–12 Barracudas Sports Complex[68] 375[69]
15 Sunday January 25 6:00pm Dallas Sidekicks3 L 6–7 2–13 Barracudas Sports Complex[68] 375[70]
16 Sunday February 15 3:00pm at Dallas Sidekicks L 3–11 2–14 Allen Event Center[30] 3,109[71]
17 Saturday February 21 6:00pm Oxford City FC of Texas L 6–9 2–15 Barracudas Sports Complex 240[72]
18 Sunday February 22 1:00pm Saltillo Rancho Seco2 W 11–8[73] 3–15 Barracudas Sports Complex[74][75] 140[76]
19 Friday February 27 8:30pm at Saltillo Rancho Seco4 L 10–15[77] 3–16 Deportivo Rancho-Seco Saltillo[73] 70[78]
20 Saturday February 28 5:00pm at Saltillo Rancho Seco3,4 W 8–4[77] 4–16 Deportivo Rancho-Seco Saltillo[74][75] 145[79]

1 Originally scheduled for January 31 but rescheduled after Hidalgo La Fiera left the league mid-season.[53][54]
2 Originally scheduled for November 7 but postponed due to weather.[75][80]
3 Rescheduled due to mid-season withdrawal of Hidalgo, maintaining 20-game schedule.
4 Postponed due to travel issues caused by "recent acts of violence" in northern Mexico[81]

Awards and honors

The Brownsville Herald declared the debut of the Barracudas franchise as one of the Brownsville metro area's best sports stories of 2014.[82]

Brownsville's Moises Gonzalez earned honorable mention for the league's all-rookie team for 2014-15.[83]

References

  1. ^ "2014-15 League Attendance". Major Arena Soccer League. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (December 31, 2014). "Cierra Barracudas el año a tambor batiente". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Crum, Andrew (May 21, 2014). "A decade of work pays off for Ruvalcaba, Barracudas". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  4. ^ Armstrong, Zach (May 20, 2014). "Brownsville soccer team goes pro". Brownsville, TX: KVEO-TV. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  5. ^ Marshall, Raymond (June 2, 2014). "Sidekicks Hire VP of Ticket Sales; First of Many Changes Coming". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Marshall, Raymond (July 29, 2014). "MASL Announces 2014-15 Alignment". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  7. ^ Welch, Matt (May 19, 2014). "Dallas Sidekicks to join new indoor soccer league". Allen American. Allen, TX: Star Local News. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  8. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (September 7, 2014). "La Fiera y Barracudas ya tienen 'cita'". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  9. ^ "Dallas Sidekicks tickets for 2014-15 season on sale". Allen American. Allen, TX: Star Local News. August 5, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (October 18, 2014). "Barracudas presenta 'pieles' para la MASL". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  11. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (October 19, 2014). "Muestra Barracudas 'piel' de profesional". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  12. ^ "Barracudas FC edged by Austin in summer opener". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. June 30, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  13. ^ "Barracudas FC to face Gamboa". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. June 28, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  14. ^ "Brownsville Barracudas Schedule". Major Arena Soccer League. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  15. ^ Aguilar, Daniel Zamora (October 27, 2014). "Gana Flash de Monterrey con Triplete de Guillermo Franco". Vavel (in Spanish). Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  16. ^ "Barracudas FC loses first game". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  17. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (October 19, 2014). "Barracudas debuta hoy en la MASL". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  18. ^ Cedillo, Martha (October 23, 2014). "El Flash de Monterrey continua con su preparación" (in Spanish). Monterrey: Grupo Multimedios. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014 – via XHAW-TV.
  19. ^ "Box Score: Arena Monterrey - Sat, Oct 26, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
  20. ^ Arancivia, Gerardo (November 4, 2014). "Inicio gris de Rancho Seco en MASL". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  21. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (November 1, 2014). "Barracudas saca histórico triunfo". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  22. ^ "Barracudas FC wins home opener". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. November 1, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  23. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (October 29, 2014). "Barracudas con ansias de jugar en casa". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  24. ^ Arancivia, Gerardo (November 1, 2014). "Regresa la de gajos con Rancho Seco en la MASL". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  25. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (November 1, 2014). "Debuta Barracudas en la MASL como local". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  26. ^ "Box Score: Estadio Barracudas - Sat, Nov 01, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. November 1, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  27. ^ Marshall, Raymond (November 16, 2014). "Dallas Sidekicks fillet Barracudas 14-2". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  28. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (November 19, 2014). "Lanzan advertencia a Barracudas". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  29. ^ Thornton, Matt (November 16, 2014). "Dallas Sidekicks Dominant in Win Over Brownsville Barracudas". Dallas Entertainment Journal. Dallas, TX. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  30. ^ a b "Dallas Sidekicks Schedule". Dallas Sidekicks. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  31. ^ "Box Score: Allen Event Center - Sat, Nov 15, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  32. ^ "Barracudas lose at home to Hidalgo". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  33. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (November 5, 2014). "Lista La Fiera para entrar en acción". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  34. ^ "Barracudas FC, Hidalgo La Fiera clash in arena soccer match". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  35. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Nov 22, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  36. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (December 3, 2014). "Barracudas reconoce su deuda". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  37. ^ a b "Barracudas go 0-2 during weekend". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  38. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Nov 29, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  39. ^ Santoyo, Mayela (November 30, 2014). "Flash gana contundentemente a Barracudas" (in Spanish). Monterrey: Grupo Multimedios. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014 – via XHAW-TV.
  40. ^ Graciano, Brenda (September 9, 2014). "Anuncia Flash su calendario". El Horizonte (in Spanish). Monterrey, Nuevo León. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  41. ^ "Box Score: Arena Monterrey - Sun, Nov 30, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. November 30, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  42. ^ Elam, Ashly (December 6, 2014). "Oxford FC gets home win". Beaumont, TX: KBMT-TV. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  43. ^ "Barracudas FC takes road loss". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  44. ^ Hofferth, Dave (December 3, 2014). "Oxford City FC set to face Brownsville". Beaumont, TX: KBMT-TV. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  45. ^ "Box Score: Ford Arena - Sat, Dec 6, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. December 6, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
  46. ^ Marshall, Raymond (December 20, 2014). "Sidekicks Make Hash of Brownsville Barracudas 11-3". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  47. ^ "Barracudas stomped by Sidekicks". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  48. ^ Marshall, Raymond (December 19, 2014). "Sidekicks Game Sunday Moving to Smaller Venue?". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  49. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Dec 20, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  50. ^ Santoyo, Mateya (December 27, 2014). "Flash de Monterrey vence 6-1 a Barracudas de Brownsville" (in Spanish). Monterrey: Grupo Multimedios. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014 – via XHAW-TV.
  51. ^ a b Martinez, Manuel (December 29, 2014). "Se lleva Flash dos victorias en gira por Brownsville". Vavel (in Spanish). Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  52. ^ a b "MASL Announcement Regarding Hidalgo". Major Arena Soccer League. December 23, 2014. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  53. ^ a b Ramirez, Carlos Ivan (December 24, 2014). "Cambia para Flash calendario de fin de año". Vavel (in Spanish). Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  54. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (December 24, 2014). "La Fiera FC deja de existir". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  55. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Dec 27, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  56. ^ Cedillo, Martha (December 28, 2014). "Lluvia de goles, pero Flash se impone a Barracudas" (in Spanish). Monterrey: Grupo Multimedios. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014 – via XHAW-TV.
  57. ^ Cedillo, Martha (December 26, 2014). "Flash busca quitarse mala racha" (in Spanish). Monterrey: Grupo Multimedios. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014 – via XHAW-TV.
  58. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (December 26, 2014). "Desaparición de La Fiera afecta a Barracudas". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  59. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sun, Dec 28, 2014". Major Arena Soccer League. December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  60. ^ "RGV Capsules: Barracudas FC wins in overtime". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  61. ^ Bautista, Israel D. (January 3, 2015). "Rancho Seco, por su primera victoria de la campaña". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  62. ^ Sanchez, Juan Carlos (January 3, 2015). "Barracudas recibe hoy a 'Rancho Seco' de Saltillo". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  63. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Jan 03, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. January 3, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  64. ^ a b Elam, Ashly (January 10, 2015). "Oxford City FC of Texas takes two from Brownsville". Beaumont, TX: KBMT-TV. Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  65. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (January 10, 2015). "Viaja Barracudas con doble reto". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
  66. ^ "Box Score: Ford Arena - Game 1/2 - Sat, Jan 10, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. January 10, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  67. ^ "Box Score: Ford Arena - Game 2/2 - Sat, Jan 10, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. January 10, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  68. ^ a b Sanchez, Juan Carlos (January 21, 2015). "Barracudas FC recibe dos veces a Dallas". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  69. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Jan 24, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. January 24, 2015. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  70. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sun, Jan 25, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. January 25, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  71. ^ "Box Score: Allen Event Center - Sun, Feb 15, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  72. ^ "Box Score: Estadia Barracudas - Sat, Feb 21, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  73. ^ a b Davila, José Luis (February 23, 2015). "Cierra Rancho Seco con derrota". El Diario de Coahuila (in Spanish). Coahuila. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  74. ^ a b Arancivia, Gerardo (October 15, 2014). "Deportivo Rancho Seco regresará a las canchas de la MASL". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  75. ^ a b c "Barracudas' road game postponed". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  76. ^ "Box Score: Barracudas Sports Complex - Sun, Feb 22, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  77. ^ a b Martinez, José Luis (March 1, 2015). "Concluye campaña con derrota". El Diario de Coahuila (in Spanish). Coahuila. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  78. ^ "Box Score: Deportivo Rancho-Seco Saltillo - Fri, Feb 27, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  79. ^ "Box Score: Deportivo Rancho-Seco Saltillo - Sat, Feb 28, 2015". Major Arena Soccer League. February 28, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  80. ^ Arancivia, Gerardo (November 8, 2014). "Lluvia afecta al deporte en Saltillo". Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  81. ^ Sánchez, Juan Carlos (February 4, 2015). "La inseguridad afecta al fútbol". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  82. ^ Hess, Roy (January 1, 2015). "Rivera, Los Fresnos playoff trips top area's best sports stories". The Brownsville Herald. Brownsville, TX: American Consolidated Media. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
  83. ^ "MASL Announces 2014/15 All-Rookie Team". Major Arena Soccer League. March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 6, 2015.