New England Sharks


The New England Sharks were an American soccer club that played a single season, 1981, in the American [Soccer League (1933-1983)|American Soccer League]. The team's home matches were played at Sargent Field in New Bedford, Massachusetts for the first half of the season, before shifting to Dunnell Park in Pawtucket, [Rhode Island|Pawtucket], Rhode Island as a cost-saving measure.
Along with the move to Dunnell Park, the Sharks also hired a new coach and dropped all but one of their players in favour of local amateurs. Despite the drastic cost-cutting, the franchise ran out of operating capital after playing just seventeen matches of its 28-game schedule, and dropped out of the ASL. New England's record at the time was 4-13; league officials opted to award 1-0 forfeit victories to the Sharks' opponents in the eleven games remaining to be played on their schedule. As a result, their overall record appears as 4-24 in the final league standings for the 1981 season.

1981 Roster

YearDivisionLeagueReg. SeasonPlayoffsU.S. Open Cup
19812ASL4th, LibertyDid not qualifyDid not enter