Aug. 5 (2000)

A new professional indoor soccer team in St. Louis with an old name — the Steamers — loses its first game, 8-5, to the Arizona Thunder at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. A member of the grandly named World Indoor Soccer League, the Steamers pick up on the heritage of the original Steamers, who played before numerous sellout crowds at the Checkerdome-St. Louis Arena in the early years of their existence from 1979-88. The new Steamers include an old Steamer, future Indoor Soccer Hall of Famer Daryl Doran, who played on the city’s other predecessor indoor teams, the Storm and the Ambush. Doran scores in the new Steamers’ opener. The Steamers play the Thunder on even terms until the fourth quarter, when the home side scores four times. The Steamers will end their first season with a 9-15 record. Their best season will be their last, when they post a 23-7 record and lose in the league championship match at the end of the 2005-06 season.