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Cleveland Crunch
The Cleveland Crunch is an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio.
Formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the Crunch played a total of 16 seasons in three separate leagues under two different names. The team played three seasons in the original MISL, later known as the Major Soccer League (MSL), before joining the rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1992. After nine seasons in the NPSL (including winning three league titles - 1994, 1996, 1999), the team joined a second incarnation of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 2001. In 2002, the team was rebranded the Cleveland Force in honor of the former team of the same name. After four seasons in the second MISL, the team folded in 2005.
The Cleveland Crunch franchise was revived in 2020. The team joined Major Arena Soccer League 2 (MASL 2) for the 2021 season (winning the MASL 2 championship) and then joined Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS) for its 2023 season, winning the MLIS Championship in 2024. All totaled, the Crunch recognizes all five championships won under the various incarnations of the franchise (three NPSL, one MASL 2, one MLIS).
The original Cleveland Force team had folded on July 22, 1988. Akron businessmen George S. Hoffman and Stuart Lichter formed an ownership group; named Al Miller general manager; and named former Force star Kai Haaskivi player-coach. Miller and Haaskivi brought back many players who had been fan favorites during the Force's height of popularity in the mid-1980s. The Crunch's home arena was originally the Richfield Coliseum.
Near the end of the Crunch's first season, Miller engineered a trade that would help Cleveland make the championship finals in seven of the next 10 years. He sent veteran forward Paul Wright to the San Diego Sockers for Zoran Karic, a feisty forward who immediately hit it off with Cleveland star Hector Marinaro. Within weeks, they were dubbed the "Dynamic Duo" and together rewrote the scoring record books for the next decade.
In 1992 the Crunch joined the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) where it made a name for itself as a dominating soccer club, winning three championships in five seasons.
When the original MISL ceased operation in the summer of 1992, the Crunch, Baltimore and Wichita joined the rival NPSL as "expansion teams". All were permitted to keep only six players, then fill the rest of their rosters in an expansion draft of players made available by other NPSL teams.
The NPSL, in an effort to promote the sport in the United States, had a cap of two non-Americans allowed on a roster. Canadian-born Marinaro and Serbia native Karic filled that quota immediately. Besides Marinaro and Karic, holdovers from the MISL Crunch were midfielders Tommy Tanner and Andy Schmetzer, defender George Fernandez and young goalkeeper Otto Orf.
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Cleveland Crunch
The Cleveland Crunch is an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio.
Formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the Crunch played a total of 16 seasons in three separate leagues under two different names. The team played three seasons in the original MISL, later known as the Major Soccer League (MSL), before joining the rival National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1992. After nine seasons in the NPSL (including winning three league titles - 1994, 1996, 1999), the team joined a second incarnation of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) in 2001. In 2002, the team was rebranded the Cleveland Force in honor of the former team of the same name. After four seasons in the second MISL, the team folded in 2005.
The Cleveland Crunch franchise was revived in 2020. The team joined Major Arena Soccer League 2 (MASL 2) for the 2021 season (winning the MASL 2 championship) and then joined Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS) for its 2023 season, winning the MLIS Championship in 2024. All totaled, the Crunch recognizes all five championships won under the various incarnations of the franchise (three NPSL, one MASL 2, one MLIS).
The original Cleveland Force team had folded on July 22, 1988. Akron businessmen George S. Hoffman and Stuart Lichter formed an ownership group; named Al Miller general manager; and named former Force star Kai Haaskivi player-coach. Miller and Haaskivi brought back many players who had been fan favorites during the Force's height of popularity in the mid-1980s. The Crunch's home arena was originally the Richfield Coliseum.
Near the end of the Crunch's first season, Miller engineered a trade that would help Cleveland make the championship finals in seven of the next 10 years. He sent veteran forward Paul Wright to the San Diego Sockers for Zoran Karic, a feisty forward who immediately hit it off with Cleveland star Hector Marinaro. Within weeks, they were dubbed the "Dynamic Duo" and together rewrote the scoring record books for the next decade.
In 1992 the Crunch joined the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) where it made a name for itself as a dominating soccer club, winning three championships in five seasons.
When the original MISL ceased operation in the summer of 1992, the Crunch, Baltimore and Wichita joined the rival NPSL as "expansion teams". All were permitted to keep only six players, then fill the rest of their rosters in an expansion draft of players made available by other NPSL teams.
The NPSL, in an effort to promote the sport in the United States, had a cap of two non-Americans allowed on a roster. Canadian-born Marinaro and Serbia native Karic filled that quota immediately. Besides Marinaro and Karic, holdovers from the MISL Crunch were midfielders Tommy Tanner and Andy Schmetzer, defender George Fernandez and young goalkeeper Otto Orf.