The
Rochester Lancers were a soccer team based in
Rochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
that played in the
American Soccer LeagueThe American Soccer League has been a name used by three different professional soccer leagues in the United States. The first American Soccer League was established in 1921 by the merger of teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League. For...
from 1967 until 1969 and the
North American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
from 1970 to 1980 at Aquinas Stadium (renamed
Holleder Memorial StadiumHolleder Memorial Stadium was a 20,000 seat football stadium in Rochester, New York.Located on Ridgeway Avenue, at the south east corner of Mount Read Blvd., it was built in 1949 to serve as the home of Aquinas Institute football....
in 1974). They were owned by Bernie Rodin, who also owned the
New York ArrowsThe New York Arrows was an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. They won the first four MISL championships.-Preparing for the first season:...
and the Baltimore Blast.
After three years competing in the ASL, the club jumped to the newer NASL and won the league championship in their first season. They followed that up with a division title the next season and a second consecutive MVP award for forward Carlos Metidieri.
They were the only NASL club in history to participate in an international tournament, in the 1971 CONCACAF Champions' Cup where they finished in fourth-place.
The Lancers could not sustain their early success through the rest of the decade. Posting only a couple of winning records and a few playoff appearances, the team folded after the 1980 season. However, starting in 1978 most of the Lancer lineup competed in the NASL's off-season as the
New York ArrowsThe New York Arrows was an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League from 1978 to 1984. They won the first four MISL championships.-Preparing for the first season:...
of the
Major Indoor Soccer LeagueThe Major Indoor Soccer League, known in its final two seasons as the Major Soccer League, was an indoor soccer league in the USA from 1978 to 1992. After the folding of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the MISL was the Division I soccer league for the United States...
; under that name the squad lasted until 1984 and won several championships in the other league.
A
new teamThe Rochester Lancers are an indoor soccer team in the Major Indoor Soccer League. The team is named in honor of the Rochester Lancers of the North American Soccer League....
named after the Lancers are set to begin play in November of 2011 in the
MISLThe Major Indoor Soccer League was the top professional indoor soccer league in the USA. The league was a member of both the United States Soccer Federation and FIFA. The MISL had replaced the NPSL which folded in 2001. According to MISL.net, the league has ceased operations as of May 31, 2008...
.
Year-by-year
| Year |
Record (W-L-D) |
Regular Season Finish |
Playoffs |
| 1967-68 |
6-7-2 |
4th, First Division, ASL |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1968 |
6-5-1 |
4th, First Division, ASL |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1969 |
12-3-5 |
2nd, Northern Division, ASL |
Northern Division Playoff |
| 1970 |
9-9-6 |
1st, Northern Division |
NASL Champions |
| 1971 |
13-5-6 |
1st, Northern Division |
Semifinals |
| 1972 |
6-5-3 |
2nd, Northern Division |
Semifinals |
| 1973 |
4-9-6 |
3rd, Northern Division |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1974 |
8-10-2 |
3rd, Northern Division |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1975 |
6-16 |
4th, Northern Division |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1976 |
13-11 |
3rd, Northern Division, Atlantic Conference |
First Round |
| 1977 |
11-15 |
3rd, Northern Division, Atlantic Conference |
Division Championships |
| 1978 |
14-16 |
4th, Eastern Division, National Conference |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1979 |
15-15 |
4th, Eastern Division, National Conference |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1980 |
12-20 |
4th, Eastern Division, National Conference |
Did Not Qualify |
Honors
CONCACAF Champions Cup
NASL Championships
Division Titles
- 1970 Northern Division
- 1971 Northern Division
NASL Most Valuable Player
- 1970 Carlos Metidieri
Jose Carlos Metidieri is a retired Brazilian-American soccer forward. He played professionally in Canada and the United States where he was the leading scorer of the North American Soccer League in 1970 and 1971 and named the league's Most Valuable Player - the only player in the league's history...
- 1971 Carlos Metidieri
All-Star First Team Selections
- 1970 Carlos Metidieri, Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell is a Scottish American former soccer defender and coach. He played ten seasons in the North American Soccer League from 1970 to 1979.-Club career:...
- 1971 Carlos Metidieri, Manfred Seissler
Manfred “Manny” Seissler is a former U.S.-German soccer player who began his career in the lower German divisions before moving to the United States. He played one season in the National Professional Soccer League and seven in the North American Soccer League. He also earned one cap with the U.S...
, Peter Short
- 1972 Peter Short
All-Star Second Team Selections
- 1970 Bob DeLuca
- 1971 Francisco Escos
Francisco Escos is a retired Argentine association football player who played in Argentina for Temperley and Estudiantes, in the NASL between 1971 and 1978 for the Rochester Lancers and in the Major Indoor Soccer League for the Buffalo Stallions from 1979 to 1981.In 1984, Escos coached the Buffalo...
, Charlie Mitchell
- 1972 Francisco Escos, Carlos Metidieri
- 1973 Francisco Escos
- 1975 Charlie Mitchell, Tommy Ord
Tommy Ord is a retired English professional football forward. Nearly all of his pro career was spent in North America....
- 1977 Mike Stojanovic
Momčilo Stojanović was an NASL and Canadian international soccer forward...
All-Star Honorable Mentions
- 1971 Claude Campos
Claude Campos is a retired Brazilian association football player who played in the NASL between 1970 and 1974 for the Rochester Lancers.In 1971, Graham Leggat kicked Campos in the face in a game between the Lancers and the Toronto Metros. The kick broke Campos' jaw in five places.-External links:*...
, Roberto Lonardo
- 1972 Adolfo Gori
Adolfo Gori is a retired Italian professional football player.-External links:*...
, Charlie Mitchell
- 1974 Charlie Mitchell
- 1978 Joszef Horvath
Head coaches
- Alex Perolli 1970, 1980
- Charles Schiano 1970
- Sal DaRosa 1970 - 1971, 1973
- Adolfo Gori
Adolfo Gori is a retired Italian professional football player.-External links:*...
1972
- Bill Hughes 1974
- John Petrossi 1974
- Ted Dumitru
Theodore "Ted" Dumitru is the current Technical Director of Mamelodi Sundowns in the South African Premier Soccer League...
1974 - 1975
- Dragan Popovic 1976 - 1979
- Ray Klivecka 1980
Yearly Average Attendance
- 1970 - 4,506
- 1971 - 5,871
- 1972 - 5,505
- 1973 - 4,069
- 1974 - 5,908
- 1975 - 5,333
- 1976 - 5,159
- 1977 - 6,065
- 1978 - 6,758
- 1979 - 8,680
- 1980 - 7,757