TEAMMATES FROM ’94 STILL GET TOGETHER
The Vegas Golden Knights have been in first place most of the NHL season and could become the “first” expansion franchise to win a championship. Players ask, “What about the Dustdevils?”
The Las Vegas Lights soccer franchise will play the home opener of its inaugural season today and is being called the area’s first professional soccer team. Again, what about the indoor squad?
“They were brilliant rookies. They were quick learners,” said Kennedy, who stores boxes of memorabilia from the team in his garage. “We had some kids in this town who could do damage in that (indoor) league.”
Next year marks the 25th anniversary of their championship season, and a reunion is being planned. As a testament to the bond they formed in two seasons, many of those players remain in frequent communication. Borgel and Erickson coach a local club team together.
They’d love to be honored before a home game of the Knights or Lights, or to be invited to join the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.
•••
It was a celebration fit for champions. A line of adoring fans wrapped around the Boulevard Mall for a championship rally and autograph session. The county proclaimed Oct. 8, 1994, Dustdevil Day.
“I had never seen anything like that before,” said Borgel, who scored the game-winner in a playoff game against San Diego. “The line was unbelievable.”
The season started with practices at a vacant warehouse in Henderson, where the biggest challenge for players was maneuvering around support posts in the middle of the makeshift field. But the young players quickly took to the indoor game with the help of the veterans, and the Dustdevils kept winning games they weren’t expected to. “Our local guys were better than any other (city’s) local guys,” Borgel said.
Games were fast and high-scoring. They were played in NBA and NHL arenas such as the Palace at Auburn Hills, home of the NBA’S Detroit Pistons, or the Pond in Anaheim, where the NHL’S Mighty Ducks played. Many of the Dustdevils were just months removed from college soccer, but they weren’t intimidated. It was still soccer.
Before each game, Kennedy would say, “Who do we play? Don’t care!” Barber recalled.
They posted a 17-11 record and had a knack for winning close playoff games. Both wins against Dallas came by one goal, behind the saves of goalie Brett Phillips and the brilliance of Šegota. Same with series wins against San Diego and Anaheim.
•••
They were on the road for the playoffs in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1995 when ownership sent a message: The team would be folding.
They told us, “Don’t come back until you’re beat,” Kennedy said. “And we were beat. We could never bring back the magic (from the first season).”
They finished their second season with a 13-15 record in 1995.
Erickson went on to play for indoor teams in Portland, Seattle and St. Louis. Barber was drafted into Major League Soccer. Borgel found his niche in coaching, guiding the Las Vegas Legends indoor team a few years ago and winning multiple club and high school youth titles.
They all agree the two years together with the Dustdevils were their most memorable. Some have their jerseys framed; others keep them in the garage. Same for the championship rings.
Other than a championship banner hanging at the Big League Dreams indoor complex in northeast Las Vegas, the team’s existence is relatively unknown. More than 20 years has that impact.
The memories, though, are still fresh.
“Dallas, they had the Champagne already on ice,” Kennedy said. “We ended up winning 9-8. It was a brilliant game, a brilliant season.”