The Chicago Mustangs are an American professional indoor soccer team based at the Now Arena in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Illinois. They play in the Eastern Conference of the Major Arena Soccer League 2 (M2).[1]They are also competing outdoors as members of the Midwest Premier League[2]
| Full name | Chicago Mustangs | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 | ||
| Stadium | Grand Sports Arena (indoor) Hoffman Estates, Illinois MAC Athletic Complex (outdoor) Crystal Lake, Illinois | ||
| Capacity | (Now Arena)11,800 (9,400 with field) (MAC) unknown | ||
| Owner/CEO | Armando Gamboa | ||
| Coach | Armando Gamboa (2013–present) | ||
| League | Major Arena Soccer League 2(indoor) Midwest Premier League(outdoor) | ||
| 2017–18 | 1st, Eastern Division Playoffs: M2 Champions | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
History
The Mustangs were originally awarded an expansion franchise in the Professional Arena Soccer League on September 25, 2012.[3] The team was originally coached by Narciso "Chicho" Cuevas until he was replaced on the bench late in the 2012–13 season by team owner Armando Gamboa.
The Mustangs won the PASL Championship in the 2013–14 season. They were undefeated in the regular season, setting a PASL record of 202 goals in a season. They earned the right to host the Final Four of the Ron Newman Cup playoffs, which they also claimed. They defeated the Cleveland Freeze 10–3 in the semifinals before stopping Hidalgo La Fiera 14–5 in the Newman Cup Final. That victory also earned the United States Open Cup for Arena Soccer title.[4]They became members of the Midwest Premier League on February 1, 2021, and will compete in the league's West Division following the 2021 MASL 2 season. The MAC Athletic Complex in Crystal Lake will host the MPL matches.
Personnel
Active players
As of December 20, 2016[update] [5]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | FM |  CMR | Souleyman N |
| 16 | DF |  MKD | Trajche Lostovski |
| 17 | DF |  MEX | Edwin Rojas |
| 18 | FW | MEX | Juan De La Cruz |
| 19 | DF |  USA | Carlos Avina |
| 22 | MF | MEX | Francisco Garcia |
| 23 | GK | MEX | Jesus Flores |
| 77 | MF | USA | Alexis Camarena |
| 79 | UP |  ENG | Ross Bristow |
Inactive players
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | GK | USA | Evan Claffy |
| 48 | GK |  | Jose Resendiz |
Staff
- Armando Gamboa - Owner/CEO and Head Coach
- Dino Delevski - Assistant Coach
- Ermanno Rossi - Assistant Director of Soccer Operations/ Player Operations Manager
Front Office Staff:
- Ray Kincaid Jr. - Game Operations
- A.J. Collier II - Trainer
- David Novoa - Graphic Artist
Year-by-year
| League champions | Runners-up | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| Year | League | Reg. season | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs | U.S. Open Cup | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | PASL | 11–5 | 146 | 104 | 3rd, Central | Did not qualify | Semifinals | 339 |
| 2013–14 | PASL | 16–0 | 202 | 83 | 1st, Eastern | Won Ron Newman Cup | U.S. Open champions | 779 |
| 2014–15 | MASL | 11–9 | 137 | 133 | 3rd, Central | Lost in Conference SF | none | 1,672 |
| 2015–16 | MASL | 13–7 | 152 | 123 | 2nd,Central | Lost in Central Division SF | none | 2,510 |
| 2016–17 | MASL | 11–9 | 124 | 136 | 3rd,Central | Did not qualify | none | 2,623 |
| 2017–18 | MASL2 | 10–2 | 114 | 61 | 1st, Eastern | Won M2 Championship | none | unk |
| 2018–19 | MASL2 | 10–2 | 92 | 62 | 1st, Eastern | Lost in QF | None | unk |
| 2020-21 | MASL2 | 5–5 | 81 | 86 | 4th | Lost in Semifinals | None | unk |
| Totals: | 87–39 | 1048 | 788 |
Playoff record
| Year | Win | Loss | GF | GA | Avg. attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–14 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 8 | 3,916 |
| 2014–15 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 1,443 |
| 2015–16 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 3,746 |
| 2016–18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ? |
| Total | 6 | 4 | 58 | 35 |
Honors
- 2013–14 PASL Eastern Division champions
- 2013–14 PASL Ron Newman Cup champions
- 2013–14 U.S. Open champions
Mustangs Premier
The Chicago Mustangs Premier are the minor league affiliate of the Mustangs, competing in the Premier Arena Soccer League. Mustangs Premier home games are played at Grand Sports Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois or Sears Centre.
In 2013–14, Mustangs Premier went undefeated in the regular season and went on to capture the PASL National Championship.[6]