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High-level indoor soccer will return to the area this December, when the Central Florida Crusaders take to the floor at Addition Financial Arena on the campus of the University of Central Florida.
The Crusaders will play in the National Indoor Soccer League, which fields both men’s and women’s teams, and will play a 20-game season. Each of the 10 home games will be men’s and women’s doubleheaders, and last a little over three hours, which team co-owner Andrew Haines called a “family friendly event.”
The teams in the NISL, which debuted in 2021-22 will be centrally-owned. The Crusaders and the Tampa Bay Strikers, to be coached by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Martin Gramatica, join the Columbus (Ga.) Rapids, Fayetteville Fury, Rome (Ga.) Gladiators and Memphis Americans in the league. Fayetteville’s men and Memphis’ women were league champions last season.
Osceola County has connections to indoor soccer in Central Florida. The Orlando SeaWolves of the Major Arena Soccer League played at the Silver Spurs Arena in the 2018-19 season and in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the MASL. And Tom Traxler, who coached that team, has been named head coach of both the Central Florida men’s and women’s teams. Traxler is a fixture in the area’s soccer scene. He played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 1989-93, has coached Winter Park High School since 2006, has been a part of the broadcast team for Orlando City since its USL days, and owns and operates United Soccer World in the Florida Mall.
Tickets are now on sale. For information go to cflcrusaders.com.