Force Makes Coaching Change

Published on October 16, 2002 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2)
Cleveland Force News Release


CLEVELAND, OHIO- Cleveland Force President and General Manager Paul Garofolo announced today that the team has named Technical Director Andy Schmetzer as the interim head coach for the remainder of the 2002-03 season replacing former coach Mike Pilger.

"This decision was not made quickly, but rather as a result of observing the lack of development and progress by the team over the last 14 months. We wanted to give Mike the opportunity to turn the team around during pre-season and our early games. Unfortunately, we saw the same pattern of play and lack of energy that we observed last season, which is simply not acceptable." stated Garofolo.

The Force, who missed the playoffs for two straight seasons, has started the 2002-03 season with a record of 1-2 overall and 1-2 in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) Eastern Conference.

Schmetzer, who announced his retirement as a professional player on October 2, 2001, will begin his first stint as a head coach in the Major Indoor Soccer League after spending 14 seasons as a player in indoor soccer including the last 10 seasons in a Cleveland uniform. Andy has earned three championship rings; all three with the Cleveland franchise and has participated in three All-Star games. Schmetzer returned to the field for eight games last season. Throughout his stellar career, Schmetzer served as team captain for six seasons and claimed his spot in the rankings, as first on the club's All-Time block list with 513 and third in scoring with 609 points.

"I'm excited to step in as Head Coach of this team," stated Schmetzer, "Our performance during our first three games does not accurately reflect the talent of this team."

Schmetzer was originally drafted in the first round of the 1985 MISL Draft by the Cleveland Force. He played with the original Force for two seasons (1986-87 and 1987-88) but left Cleveland for the Tacoma Stars. He returned to Cleveland as a free agent on August 7, 1990.

Pilger had one year remaining on his contract after the 2002-03 season.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major Indoor Soccer League 2 Stories from October 16, 2002


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central