# El Paso Patriots

El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southern Conference.
The team played its home games at the soccer-specific Patriot Stadium, where they played since 2005 until 2012, when they played their last season (2013) home schedule at the SAC. The team's colors were red, navy blue and white.
Prior to their stadium being completed in 2005, the Patriots played at the Sun Bowl Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso, and at Dudley Field, the former home of the El Paso Diablos baseball team. They were one of the more long-serving franchises in American soccer, having previously played in the first division A-League until 2003.

## History

Founded in 1989 as the El Paso Sixshooters and owned and coached by Dan Guard, the team competed in the Southwest Indoor Soccer League. The season was a disaster from the start, as they allowed 179 goals in 12 games (including a 27-3 blowout against the Austin Sockadillos) while scoring only 44. (Fittingly, the infamous footballer/con artist Carlos Kaiser was listed on the El Paso roster, but never got in a game.) In January 1990, the 0-12 Sixshooters (who drew about 300 fans total to two home contests at the El Paso County Coliseum) ceased operations and forfeited their remaining games, finishing with an official record of 0-24.
The team resumed operations in the fall of 1990 as the El Paso Spurs. Before the 1991 season, the Spurs were sold to a group which included primary investor Enrique Cervantes as well as Jaime Monardes. The new ownership group renamed the team the Patriots to capitalize on the Patriot missile's recent success in the Gulf War and hired Brazilian Marinho Chagas as head coach. In 2003, the team played in the Sun Bowl.
Prior to the 2010 PDL season the Patriots signed a formal agreement with Mexican Premier Division team Guadalajara, and were officially rebranded as the Chivas El Paso Patriots. In addition to cross-promotion, sponsorship and player development, the agreement will also see the U-20, Division 1A and Division II Chivas teams playing regular games in El Paso. In 2012, the club rebranded to their original name El Paso Patriots.

## Players
### Notable former players

This list of notable former players comprises players who went on to play professional soccer after playing for the team in the Premier Development League, or those who previously played professionally before joining the team.
* Carlos Kaiser (footballer)
* Ben Everson
* Carlos Farias
* Julio Daniel Frías
* Freddy Juarez
* Cesar Sosa
* Salvador Mercado
* Dimitar Popov
* Steve Sengelmann
* Dimitar Vasev

## Year-by-year

| Year | Division | League | Regular Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
| 1989/90 | N/A | SISL Indoor | 4th, Cactus | did not qualify | N/A |
| 1990/91 | N/A | SISL Indoor | 8th, Southwest | did not qualify | N/A |
| 1991 | N/A | SISL | 2nd, Southwest | Semifinals | did not enter |
| 1992 | N/A | USISL | 1st, Southwest | did not qualify | did not enter |
| 1993 | N/A | USISL | 6th, Atlantic | Sizzling Six | did not enter |
| 1994 | 3 | USISL | 2nd, Southwest | Divisional Semifinals | did not enter |
| 1995 | 3 | USISL Pro League | 1st, South Central | Divisional Finals | Final |
| 1996 | 3 | USISL Select League | 3rd, Pacific | 1st Round | 2nd Round |
| 1997 | 2 | USISL A-League | 6th, Pacific | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1998 | 2 | USISL A-League | 6th, Central | did not qualify | 3rd Round |
| 1999 | 2 | USL A-League | 5th, Pacific | Conference Quarterfinals | did not qualify |
| 2000 | 2 | USL A-League | 4th, Pacific | Conference Quarterfinals | did not qualify |
| 2001 | 2 | USL A-League | 7th, Western | did not qualify | 3rd Round |
| 2002 | 2 | USL A-League | 2nd, Pacific | 1st Round | did not qualify |
| 2003 | 2 | USL A-League | 3rd, Central | did not qualify | 3rd Round |
| 2004 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, Mid South | Conference Semifinals | did not qualify |
| 2005 | 4 | USL PDL | 1st, Mid South | National Final | 2nd Round |
| 2006 | 4 | USL PDL | 3rd, Mid South | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2007 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, Mid South | Conference Semifinals | 2nd Round |
| 2008 | 4 | USL PDL | 3rd, Mid South | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2009 | 4 | USL PDL | 4th, Mid South | did not qualify | 2nd Round |
| 2010 | 4 | USL PDL | 5th, Mid South | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2011 | 4 | USL PDL | 2nd, Mid South | Conference Semifinals | 1st Round |
| 2012 | 4 | USL PDL | 3rd, Mid South | did not qualify | 2nd Round |
| 2013 | 4 | USL PDL | 6th, Mid South | did not qualify | did not qualify |

## Honors

* USL PDL Southern Conference Champions 2005
* USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2005
* USL PDL Mid South Division Champions 2004
* USISL Pro League South Central Division Champions 1995
* US Open Cup Runners-Up 1995
* USISL Southwest Division Champions 1992

## Head coaches

* Dan Guard (1989–1990)
* Marinho Chagas (1991–1992)
* Oscar Lira (1993–1994-1995)
* Francisco Paco Chavez (1996–1999)
* Greg Petersen (2000)
* Alfredo Solares (2001 – interim)
* Carlos Bracamontes (beginning July 2, 2001)
* Tita (2002)
* Miguel Murillo (2002, 2008)
* Fernando Gutierrez (2003)
* Jesus Enriquez (2002–2003-2004–2005–2006)
* Salvador Mercado (2007)
* Javier McDonald (2008 interim)

## Stadium

* Sun Bowl Stadium; El Paso, Texas (2003)
* Dudley Field; El Paso, Texas (2004)
* Gary Del Palacios Field (Patriot Stadium); El Paso, Texas (2005–2012)
* SISD Student Activities Complex; El Paso, Texas (2013)

## Average attendance

Attendance stats are calculated by averaging each team's self-reported home attendances from the historical match archive at https://web.archive.org/web/20100105175057/http://www.uslsoccer.com/history/index_E.html.
* 2005: 1,546 (2nd in PDL)
* 2006: 867 (7th in PDL)
* 2007: 789 (8th in PDL)
* 2008: 1,269
* 2009: 607
* 2010: 1,069 (8th in PDL)