vs
Laredo Heat, 28 July 2006
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Augusta Fireball joined the PDL in 2005 as an expansion franchise, and made an immediate splash in the Mid Atlantic division. The team won four of its first five games in competition, including a dominant 6–0 take down of
West Virginia Chaos in which
Jason McLaughlin and
Mark Buchholz scored two goals each, in just their fifth competitive game. Stadium issues meant that Fireball had to play all their home games at the start of the season, and spend the second half of the year on the road; unfortunately, this curious schedule meant that Fireball suffered during the second half of the season, losing heavily on the road to
Raleigh Elite,
Central Florida Kraze and
Carolina Dynamo, although they did come out on top in an astonishing nine-goal thriller against
West Virginia Chaos. The team's final day 3–1 loss to the
DFW Tornados meant that the Fireball finished their first season fourth behind
Richmond Kickers Future, just out of the playoffs.
Jason McLaughlin and
Ryan Roushandel were the team's joint top scorers, with 7 goals each.
Fireball started 2006 superbly, with an 8-game unbeaten run that included impressive victories, including a 3–2 come-from-behind win over
Ajax Orlando Prospects in which
Frederico Moojen scored a hat trick, a 4–2 victory on the road over
Nashville Metros, and a comprehensive 3–0 win over
Atlanta Silverbacks U23's in which Moojen scored another brace. In fact, it was the goalscoring prowess of Moojen which kept Fireball winning all season long. He scored two more goals in Augusta's 3–0 win over Atlanta in the return fixture in early July, and eventually finished the season as the top scorer in the entire PDL, with 18 goals, and was named overall PDL MVP. Despite a 1–0 loss to
Carolina Dynamo on the last day of the regular season – only their third of the year – Fireball finished second in the South Atlantic Division, and qualified for the playoffs; their opponents in the Conference semi-finals were Mid South Division champions
Laredo Heat, who eventually ran out 3–2 winners, and went on to reach the championship game.
At the end of the season, and despite their considerable on-field success, Augusta's management team announced that they would not be competing in the PDL in 2007.
Massoud Roushandel 2005
