Hidalgo La Fiera

Hidalgo La Fiera (also known as "La Fiera FC") was an American professional indoor soccer team based in Hidalgo, Texas. They played in the Southern Division of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The team was founded in 2012 as the Rio Grande Valley Flash when the Monterrey Flash left the Liga Mexicana de Futbol Rápido Profesional to move to Texas and the Professional Arena Soccer League.[1] The PASL was rebranded as the MASL in May 2014. The team fell into financial disarray and, unable to reorganize, resigned their membership in the MASL effective December 23, 2014.[2][3]

Hidalgo La Fiera
Founded2012 (as "Rio Grande Valley Flash")
Dissolved2014
GroundState Farm Arena
Hidalgo, Texas
Capacity5,500
OwnerVictor Fernandez[1]
Head CoachJulio Garcia
LeagueMajor Arena Soccer League
WebsiteClub website

History
The original RGV Flash logo, mirroring the Monterrey Flash logo, used until January 9, 2013
The Flash at the Dallas Sidekicks, November 30, 2012.

Attorney Gerardo Guerra Lozano founded the Monterrey Flash, and joined the Liga Mexicana de Futbol Rápido Profesional (LMFRPro) in 2011.[4] They won the league championship in that first season. They also finished second in the 2012 FIFRA Club Championship, losing to the San Diego Sockers 5-3 in the championship.[5]

Main article: 2012–13 Rio Grande Valley Flash season
2013 logo for the RGV Flash

Lozano then renamed his team, the Rio Grande Valley Flash and moved to Texas.[6] The Flash was admitted to the PASL on September 27, 2012.[7][8][9] The team's initial logo was identical, except for the city name, to the one used by the Monterrey Flash. The team revealed a new, sleeker logo at a press conference on January 9, 2013, at Ford Arena.[10]

The Flash began their inaugural PASL season unevenly, losing 4 of their first 8 games, including 3 to the Dallas Sidekicks. In the latter half of the regular season, head coach Mariano Bollella's team won 8 straight games and qualified for the post-season. The Flash defeated the Sidekicks in consecutive games to win the Central Division Finals 2–0 and advance to the Ron Newman Cup Semi-Finals in San Diego, California. They lost that match to the Detroit Waza, ending their playoff run.

Main article: 2013–14 Hidalgo La Fiera season

On July 2, 2013, the team announced that Victor Fernandez had assumed ownership and would take on the role of team president. Seeking to give the team an identity separate from the Monterrey club, the team announced that would operate with a new name, "La Fiera FC", colors (black, white, and gold), and logo (a stylized paw print in team colors with "La Fiera FC" and a lion head ingrained) for the 2013–2014 season.[1] "La Fiera" translates from Spanish to English as "The Beast". After a league mandate, the team became known officially as Hidalgo La Fiera to reflect their home city.

With a new owner and a new name, the team returned to State Farm Arena as one of three Texas teams in the PASL. The team held its first local tryouts on July 8–9, 2013.[11] In late July, the team announced Joaquín García Fernández as its new president.[12]

Main article: 2014–15 Hidalgo La Fiera season

With the expansion of the league and the re-branding to the Major Arena Soccer League, La Fiera moved to the new Southern Division for this season. All of the team's games were played or scheduled against in-division rivals in Texas and Mexico. On November 19, after two regular season games, the team announced that interim head coach Angel Hernandez had replaced Mariano Bollella.[13] On November 28, Angel Hernandez and Joel Perez left the team and Julio Garcia was announced as the team's new head coach.[14]

A last-ditch money-saving effort involved rescheduling 3 late-December home games for the team's practice facility, Golazo Soccer in Pharr, Texas.[15] Before the first such game, the visiting Dallas Sidekicks filed a protest with the league about the inadequate playing facilities, including too-small goals. The league vacated the apparent 4–3 La Fiera win on December 23 and accepted the team's resignation from the league, ending both La Fiera's season and MASL franchise.[16][17][3][18]

Year-by-year
League champions Runners-up Division champions Playoff berth
YearLeagueReg. seasonGFGAFinishPlayoffsAvg. attendance
2012–13PASL12-4150692nd, CentralSemi-Finals1,549
2013–14PASL14–2185651st, CentralSemi-Finals1,036
2014–15MASL4–348526th, SouthernFolded at midseason859

Honors
  • 2013-14 PASL Central Division champions

References
  1. Silva, Dennis II (July 2, 2013). "RGV's arena soccer team gets new owner, look". The Monitor. McAllen, TX: AIM Media Texas. p. C1. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  2. "Hidalgo folds, leaves MASL with 22 teams". The Examiner. Independence, MO: GateHouse Media. December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  3. Sanchez, Juan Carlos (December 24, 2014). "La Fiera FC deja de existir". El Nuevo Heraldo (in Spanish). Brownsville, TX: AIM Media Texas. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  4. "INICIA FLASH UN NUEVO SUEÑO, JUGARÁ EN EL VALLE DE TEXAS" (in Spanish). Federacion Internacional de Fuutbol Rapido. Archived from the original on September 16, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  5. "2012 Año de Crecimiento Para el Flash". Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Rápido Profesional. December 30, 2012. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  6. Krieger, Dan (October 2, 2012). "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". Our Sports Central. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  7. "PASL Sets 2012/13 Alignment With the Addition of Rio Grande Valley Flash". PASL. September 27, 2012. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  8. "Indoor Soccer Franchise Moves Into Hidalgo's Arena In A 'Flash'". ValleyCentral.com. September 28, 2012. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  9. "RGV Flash formalized as a part of Mexican Indoor Soccer League". RGV Flash. October 15, 2012. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
  10. "RGV Flash Makes Changes". Our Sports Central. January 9, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  11. "La Fiera F.C. to Hold Tryouts". Our Sports Central. July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  12. Romero, Rogelio (July 27, 2013). "Quieren equipo competitivo para el campeonato de PASL". El Mañana (in Spanish). Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico: Heriberto Deandar Amador. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  13. Marshall, Raymond (November 21, 2014). "MASL: Hidalgo La Fiera Changes Coaches". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  14. Marshall, Raymond (December 5, 2014). "Sidekicks Face 2nd Big Game Test Against Wounded La Fiera". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  15. Marshall, Raymond (December 19, 2014). "Sidekicks Game Sunday Moving to Smaller Venue?". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  16. "MASL Announcement Regarding Hidalgo". Major Arena Soccer League. December 23, 2014. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  17. Marshall, Raymond (December 23, 2014). "BREAKING: Hidalgo La Fiera Ceases Operations". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, TX: A. H. Belo. Archived from the original on December 24, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  18. Ramirez, Carlos Ivan (December 24, 2014). "Cambia para Flash calendario de fin de año". Vavel (in Spanish). Retrieved December 25, 2014.
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