This was Cleveland Force version 2.0, a nostalgic brand re-boot of Cleveland’s tremendously popular Major Indoor Soccer League team of the 1980’s. This latter day edition of the Force, which played from 2002 until 2005, reclaimed the earlier club’s Reflex Blue and Yellow colors along with the brand name, but could not rekindle the popularity of its predecessor.
The Crunch were Cleveland’s indoor soccer team of the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Led by standout forwards Hector Marinaro and Zoran Karic, the Crunch won National Professional Soccer League titles in 1994, 1996 and 1999. Between 1993 and 2001, either Marinaro or Karic led the NPSL in scoring for nine consecutive seasons. Off the field, the Crunch never managed to rekindle the passionate following enjoyed by their local predecessor, the Cleveland Force, who packed the Richfield Coliseum for Major Indoor Soccer League matches during the mid-1980’s. The Crunch era came to an end in 2002, as new owners switched back to the old “Force” name and colors in an unsuccessful bid to juice the team’s financial fortunes.
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