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The Southern Premier Soccer League (SPSL) was an amateur soccer league featuring teams from Texas and Oklahoma and recognized by the United States Soccer Federation and United States Adult Soccer Association. The league existed from September 2010 to June 2011, and ran two seasons during this brief but unsteady existence – a six-team 2010-2011 winter season that saw two teams depart or fold mid-season, and a six-team 2011 spring season that saw one team fold mid-season.
 | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2011 |
| Country |  United States |
| Confederation | CONCACAF |
| Level on pyramid | 5 |
| Promotion to | None |
| Relegation to | None |
| Domestic cup(s) | U.S. Open Cup |
| Last champions | Rio Grande Valley Ocelots FC (2011 SPSL Summer Cup) |
Origin
editThe National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) had intended to introduce a NPSL Winter League, with initial operation in the 2010–2011 winter season. However the FC Tulsa folded at the end of the normal NPSL 2010 season, leaving the NPSL's South Central division with three teams, less than the minimum four required for a division.
The remaining NPSL South Central teams – Galveston Pirate SC, Houston-based Regals FC, Corpus Christi Fuel – founded the SPSL in September 2010, reaching out to a number of potential new teams to join the newly formed league. By month's end, the SPSL finalized a slate of six teams to start the season; the original survivors of the NPSL South Central division, plus Club América Soccer Academy Houston, Texas Lonestrikers from Nacogdoches, Texas, and a new Tulsa-based team, Tulsa Lobos FC.
SPSL 2010–2011 winter season
editThe inaugural 2010–11 SPSL season ran from October 2 through March 26. Each team was to play 20 games during the regular season. Before the season ended, Texas Lonestrikers folded and Galveston Pirate SC, having reached a new agreement with the NPSL, withdrew from play. Regals FC won the inaugural season, with five of the six top goal scorers in the SPSL playing for that club.
SPSL 2011 spring season
editHaving ended its first season with just four teams, the SPSL continued to recruit new clubs for the 2011 spring season. Two additional teams were added in time for the season: the Rio Grande Valley Ocelots FC (continuing on from their summer 2010 season in the USL Premier Development League) and the Houston Hurricane (revival of a name last used in 1980 by a team playing in the North American Soccer League). Club América folded before the season finished. The Ocelots won the short 2011 Spring season, with a 9–1 record and a championship game victory over Regals FC.
SPSL folds
editThe SPSL folded after completing a shortened 2011 Spring season.[1]
Teams
edit| Team | Location | Stadium | Founded | Seasons | Color | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club América Soccer Academy Houston | Houston, TX | USA Soccer Park | 2010–2011, partial Spring 2011 |
Yellow and blue | Thaigo Costa Reis | |
| Corpus Christi Fuel | Corpus Christi, TX | Fairgrounds Field | 2010 | 2010–2011, Spring 2011 |
Red, gray, and black | Patrick Escueda |
| Galveston Pirate SC | Galveston, TX | Kermit Courville Stadium | 2010 | partial 2010–2011 | Blue, white, and yellow | Brendan Keyes |
| Regals FC | Houston, TX | Maya Park | 2009 | 2010–2011, Spring 2011 |
Black, silver, and white | Miguel Landaverde |
| Texas Lonestrikers | Nacogdoches, TX | Expo Soccer Complex | 2010 | partial 2010–2011 | Red, white, and blue | Gerrardo Romero |
| Tulsa Lobos FC | Tulsa, OK | Booker T. Washington High School | 2010 | 2010–2011, Spring 2011 |
Red and blue | José Carlos Godoy |
| Rio Grande Valley Ocelots FC | Brownsville, TX | Brownsville Sports Park | 2008 | Spring 2011 | Orange, white, silver, and black | Juan de Dios Garcia |
| Houston Hurricane FC | Houston, TX | North Channel Park | 2011 | Spring 2011 | Red and black | Eric Martinez |