View source for Virginia Beach Mariners

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox football club|
  clubname = Virginia Beach Mariners |
  image    = [[Image:VirginiaBeachMariners05.png]]|
  fullname = Virginia Beach Mariners Soccer Club|
  nickname = Mariners |
  founded  = 1994 |
  dissolved= 2007 |
  stadium  = [[Virginia Beach Sportsplex]],<br />2181 Landstown Rd<br> [[Virginia Beach, Virginia]], USA |
  capacity = 10,000 |
  manager  =  |
  league   = [[USL First Division]] |
  season   = 2006 |
  position = 9th |
  pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=|
  leftarm1=008b8b|body1=008b8b|rightarm1=008b8b|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=008b8b|

pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=|
  leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=008b8b|socks2=FFFFFF|
| American = yes
}}

The '''Virginia Beach Mariners''' were an American [[football (soccer)|soccer]] club, who formerly played in the [[USL First Division]] of the [[United Soccer Leagues]], the second division in the US Soccer hierarchy behind [[Major League Soccer]]. On March 30, 2007 the team folded due to lack of ownership.

The Mariners played at the [[Virginia Beach Sportsplex]] in [[Virginia Beach]], [[Virginia]], from 1999 up to their demise in 2007.

==History==
The team was founded in 1994 as the ''Hampton Roads Hurricanes'', but they changed their name to Mariners after the first year.  For the 2003 season, the team changed their name from Hampton Roads Mariners to the more widely recognizable Virginia Beach Mariners. The team went on a one- year hiatus in 1997, after which they joined the A-League.

In 2006, the Mariners added a [[USL Premier Development League]] club, the [[Virginia Beach Submariners]]. Shortly after the termination of the Mariners, the Submariners were taken over by the [[Hampton Roads Piranhas]], a women's W-League soccer club, who renamed the team the [[Hampton Roads Piranhas (PDL)|Hampton Roads Piranhas]] to reflect the change of ownership.

==Year-by-year==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!League
!Reg. Season
!Playoffs
!Open Cup
|-
|1994
|USISL
|5th, Atlantic
|Divisional Semifinals
|''did not enter''
|-
|1995
|USISL Pro League
|5th, Atlantic
|Divisional Semifinals
|''did not qualify''
|-
|1996
|USISL Select League
|3rd, South Atlantic
|Select Six
|''did not qualify''
|-
|1997
|rowspan=1 colspan=5 align=center|'''''On Hiatus'''''
|-
|1998
|USISL A-League
|3rd, Atlantic
|Conference Quarterfinals
|3rd Round
|-
|1999
|USL A-League
|6th, Atlantic
|''did not qualify''
|''did not qualify''
|-
|2000
|USL A-League
|4th, Atlantic
|Conference Quarterfinals
|3rd Round
|-
|2001
|rowspan=1 colspan=5 align=center|'''''On Hiatus'''''
|-
|2002
|USL A-League
|5th, Southeast
|''did not qualify''
|3rd Round
|-
|2003
|USL A-League
|2nd, Southeast
|Division Finals
|4th Round
|-
|2004
|USL A-League
|6th, Eastern
|''did not qualify''
|3rd Round
|-
|2005
|USL First Division
|11th
|''did not qualify''
|2nd Round
|-
|2006
|USL First Division
|9th
|''did not qualify''
|3rd Round
|}

== Head coaches ==
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Shawn McDonald (soccer)|Shawn McDonald]] (1996 – August 2005)
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Jay Hoffman (soccer)|Jay Hoffman]] (August 2005 – 2006)

==See also ==
* [[USL First Division#Teams|USL First Division teams]]

==External links==
* [http://hamptonroads.com/node/243791 Virginia Pilot article announcing the team's March 2007 demise]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131110144353/http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/home/176266.html Press Release announcing Hampton Roads Piranhas Mens PDL Team]
* [http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=132138&ran=83411 Virginia Pilot - "No one knew the hope of the tanking Mariners was broke"]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{USSoccer}}

[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1994]]
[[Category:Soccer clubs in Virginia]]
[[Category:Sports in Virginia Beach, Virginia]]
[[Category:USL First Division teams]]
[[Category:1994 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:2007 disestablishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Soccer clubs in Hampton Roads]]
[[Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 2007]]
[[Category:Defunct soccer clubs in Virginia]]