Palmetto Rewind: The Myrtle Beach SeaDawgs
Pro soccer on the Grand Strand in the late 90’s
The Myrtle Beach SeaDawgs played three seasons (1997-1999) in the old USISL D3 Pro league. The team was very successful in their first two seasons of play and even hosted a preseason MLS tournament in 1999.
The team were South Atlantic Division champs in 1997 and followed that up with a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division in 1998. Hard times and financial woes plagued the franchise in their final year in 1999 as they finished in last place (7th) in the Atlantic Division and then folded before the 2000 season.
Home matches were played at Doug Shaw Stadium on the campus of Myrtle Beach HS just like the previous USISL team from the Grand Strand, the Myrtle Beach Boyz.
Head Coach David Irving was coach of both the Boyz (1995) and the SeaDawgs (1997) before moving up the coast to the Hammerheads in Wilmington, NC.
1997 saw the team fly out of the gates to a 14-3 record and first place in the division. The team was high-scoring netting 40 goals while allowing just 19. Jeremy Eason was leading scorer netting 12 goals with Neil Payne scoring 5 goals and adding 6 assists to pace the Dawgs. English female professional golfer Laura Davies played six minutes in a league match providing an interesting footnote to the season.
The six-minute Davies’ cameo was a publicity stunt for the then 33-year-old golfer/avid football fan/Liverpool FC supporter. Davies had signed a 4 year/$1 contract and played her lone match at forward against the New Jersey Imperials in a 1-4 home loss on April 18. In the goal was future US National Team goalkeeper Tim Howard for the Imperials and Howard recounts in his book how the Sea Dawgs were offered a $500 bonus for an assist on a Davies’ goal. No bonuses were paid from the event.
To close out 1997 the SeaDawgs hosted and defeated Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution in a December post-season friendly.
1998 again saw the team win double-digit games this time posting a 13-5 record in route to a second-place finish. The team again poured in the goals (42 scored) while having a solid defense (26 allowed). Ryan Walker was the leading scorer with 9 goals/6 assists followed by Jeremy Eason (5g/1a), Joey Johnson (5g/5a), and Jeff Johnson (5g/8a). The franchise was a Kansas City Wizards affiliate for the 1998 season.
1999 is when the fortunes were turned as the team posted a 4-14 record to finish 7th in the division. The goals just like the wins dried up as the team scored just 27 goals while allowing 38. Chris Welling was the lone scoring menace netting 10 goals and dishing out 4 assists to lead the team.
The 1999 season began with the SeaDawgs hosting an MLS Invitational tournament from February 7-20. Billed as “The Biggest Pro Soccer Event ever in South Carolina,” the preseason tournament featured three of the early MLS powerhouse clubs and all their stars playing matches at both Doug Shaw Stadium and on the Campus of Coastal Carolina University in nearby Conway, SC. DC United, the Chicago Fire, and the Kansas City Wizards joined the SeaDawgs, Coastal Carolina University, Clemson University, and the University of South Carolina in this event. Myrtle Beach played the KC Wizards on February 14 and DC United on February 17.
1999 would be the final season for the SeaDawgs as the franchise folded before the 2000 season.
Other Myrtle Beach clubs like the Mutiny have followed the SeaDawgs but failed to reach the heights of this storied franchise from the Grand Strand.