Rochester Thunder

Full name	Rochester Thunder
Nickname(s)	The Thunder
Founded	2008
Stadium	RCTC Stadium (Capacity: ????)
Chairman	Todd Penz
Manager	Neil Cassidy
League	USL Premier Development League
2009	5th, Heartland did not qualify for playoffs
Home colors Away colors

Rochester Thunder is an American soccer team based in Rochester, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2008, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Heartland Division of the Central Conference. It is part of the official development system of the Minnesota Thunder USL First Division franchise.

The team plays its home games at RCTC Stadium on the campus of Rochester Community and Technical College, where they have played since 2009. The team's colors are blue, white and silver.

The team is currently suspended from the USL PDL after their parent team, the Minnesota Thunder left the USL for the new North American Soccer League.^[1]

[edit] History

The Thunder joined the PDL in 2009, and played their first ever game on May 9, 2009, away at Des Moines Menace. The Thunder lost game 2-1, with the first goal in franchise history being scored by Brian Pederson.^[2]

[edit] Players

[edit] Current roster

as at June 14, 2009

No. Position Player 1 GK Elliott Purdom 2 GK Paul Grandstrand 3 MF John Zietlow 4 DF Paul Moran 5 MF Kentaro Takada 6 DF Justin Hoskins 7 MF Wesley Costa 8 MF Santiago Mejia 9 DF Brian Pederson 10 FW Mark Heath-Preston 11 DF Brian Reddish

No. Position Player 12 DF Ross Hamilton 13 FW Drew Lukas 14 DF Ryan Sappington 15 MF Chris Sutton 16 MF Muharem Dedic 17 FW Gustavo Dias 18 FW Teal Bunbury 19 MF Miguel Bonilla 22 DF Paul Monson 24 DF Juan Mundo 25 MF Bakari Williams

[edit] Year-by-year

[edit] Head coaches

• Neil Cassidy (2009-present)

[edit] Stadia

• Stadium at Rochester Community and Technical College; Rochester, Minnesota (2009-present)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• Press announcement

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