Founded in 2006 as the Virginia Beach Submariners as part of the development system of the now-defunct USL First Division franchise, the Virginia Beach Mariners, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the South Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.

June was almost as good as May, winning four of their five games, and putting six goals past Northern Virginia Royals off goals by Edson Elcock and Daniel Haywood, but towards the end of the year the team stuttered a little, crawling over the finish line off the back of a 3–2 final day loss to West Virginia Chaos, and having lost two of their previous four games.

Despite this, the Submariners still finished top of the Mid Atlantic Division, three points ahead of second place Williamsburg Legacy, and into the playoffs at the first attempt.

Caetano Lima, Daniel Haywood and Edson Elcock all posted impressive scoring tallies, netting 19 times between them, while Jared Kent registered 7 assists.

One week later, on April 6, 2007, the Hampton Roads Piranhas W-League club took control of the Submariners, and renamed them to reflect the new ownership.

A strong run through the playoffs seemed inevitable, but the Piranhas were shockingly beaten on penalties by Brooklyn Knights after a 1–1 tie in the conference semi-final.

Having defeated all-comers in 2007, the Piranhas finished 2008 a disappointing third in the Mid Atlantic Division, out of the playoffs; Tom Woolard was the team's top scorer, with 5 goals, while Daniel Haywood and Josh Nolz each contributed three assists.