In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina heavily damaged Pan American Stadium, along with much of the rest of the area. Pablo Araya-Espinozo was the season's top scorer, with 9 goals. The team finished sixth in the Mid South Division. A brief mid-season surge that included a pair of wins over divisional Laredo Heat sparked the potential for a revival, but four more defeats, including another to Nashville, ended any playoff hopes New Orleans may have had. The team then lost their next five games, including a 5–2 defeat at the hands of the Nashville Metros. In 2005, the team moved to Pan American Stadium in City Park and won their first game over Memphis Express. Roberto Najarro was the team's top scorer, with 5 goals, while former Carlisle United, West Ham United, and Manchester City midfielder Ian Bishop registered 5 assists. The Shockers ended the season a disappointing fifth in the Mid South Division, 30 points behind divisional champs El Paso Patriots and well out of the playoffs. The team went on a slide, losing to the El Paso Patriots twice, to DFW once more, and to Memphis Express. Unfortunately, despite winning their opening fixture of the season 3–1 over the Lafayette Swamp Cats, they were flattened 8–0 by the DFW Tornados in their next game, having been reduced to nine men by the 57th minute. Having been so dominant the previous year, expectations were high for the Shell Shockers as they approached the 2004 season. Head Coach Kenny Farrell was named PDL Coach of the Year. They comfortably overcame Central Florida Kraze 4–1 in the conference semi-final but were uncharacteristically beaten 2–0 in the conference final by Memphis. The Shell Shockers hosted the Southern Conference playoffs and were favorites to progress. After a 5–3 loss on the road against Memphis Express, the Shell Shockers won nine in a row and secured the Mid South Division title well before the final game of the season. They outscored many of their opponents – they put four goals past the Lafayette Swamp Cats on two separate occasions, with Jonas Lopez scoring a hat trick in one of the games, and they beat the Houston Toros 4–0. In its first season, the team won their first game 2–0 over Nashville Metros, then won seven of the next eight. The team played their first season with the nickname the "Shell Shockers" which came from the team's sponsorship by the Shell Oil Company. The New Orleans Shell Shockers entered the USL Premier Development League (PDL) as an expansion franchise in 2003, playing at the George G.
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