The Year in American Soccer, 1990

APSL | MISL | SISL | LSSA | CSL | AISA | 1990 World Cup | National Teams | U. S. Open Cup | College Game | Other Action


The year 1990 was one of flux in American soccer. The US had been awarded the 1994 World Cup, and was already scrambling to not only made a respectable start on securing and improving venues for the competition, as well as developing the National team to a respectable competitive level, and establishing a Division 1 professional soccer league as required by FIFA. There was a lot of floundering on all fronts, but also the beginnings of real progress that would become more significant in the later years of the decade. The National Team was well into its residential development program, and there were high hopes following the unexpected qualification to World Cup 1990. Although their final World Cup performance was disappointing, a near tie with host Italy showed that the US was already on the road to bigger things. Back home, organizing efforts for World Cup 1994 were going around in circles, and FIFA, disenchanted with Werner Fricker’s leadership, promoted Los Angeles lawyer Alan Rothenberg to run against him as president of the United States Soccer Foundation. Rothenberg, who had organized the soccer competition at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, easily won the election and gave the USSF the business acumen and international clout it needed. He was also named chair of the 1994 World Cup Organizing Committee and soon went to work laying the groundwork for the event.

Meanwhile various factions were vying to establish the new Division 1 professional league that was a condition of the USA being awarded World Cup 1994. To that end, the Western Soccer Alliance and the American Soccer League reached a merger agreement to establish a single, nationwide league which would then work its way up to Division 1 status. The Sunbelt Independent Soccer League meanwhile was consolidating its strength and beginning its shift towards outdoor soccer. Meanwhile, the Major Indoor Soccer League was facing increased competition from the American Indoor Soccer Association, which, to emphasize its future intentions, renamed itself the National Professional Soccer League. Although there was high optimism for the World Cup as an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the sport for the American audience, the professional arena was still a mishmash of competing leagues which spent more time hurting each other financially than growing the sport as a whole.


World Cup 1990

The 1990 World Cup marked the start of the USA’s drive back towards respectability. The US had qualified through good fortune when Mexico was disqualified, and the US, while on the brink of elimination scored an amazing upset over Trinidad & Tobago in the last game of qualifications. Even though the US went winless in the 1990 World Cup, the overall performance was a marked improvement over recent decades, most especially 1986 when the US was eliminated with little more than a whimper. By 1990, the USSF development program had been in force for almost two years with the result that many of the American players were training together full-time, and experiencing tougher competition than they could expect with the leagues available in the States. The US roster also featured an array of young and advancing stars who would play significant roles for the rest of the decade, including Tony Meola, John Harkes, Steve Trittschuh, Paul Galigiuri, Tab Ramos, Eric Wynalda, Marcelo Balboa, Brian Bliss and Peter Vermes.

The US was trounced in the opening game against Czechoslovakia 5-1, leading to comments by the press that the Americans were a bunch of clueless amateurs, but the result was partially a result of the US underestimating the intensity of the competition, and putting forth a three-man backline which the Czechs were able to exploit. They would not make that mistake against host Italy. That game, although a loss, showed the future potential of the team, as the US hobbled Italy’s scorers in a heavily defensive formation, which turned the expected Italian goalfest into a close hard-fought contest, with Italy pulling out 1-0. After giving up a goal early in the game, the US shut down Italy’s vaunted defense in front of their home crowd, and nearly tied the game in the later stages. The US had a small chance of advancing, but that was ended quickly as they lost to Austria 2-1 for a disappointing exit. The rest of the tournament went on to an exciting finale, and the Americans went home disappointed, but with bigger horizons already looming in the future.

The quarterfinals saw four very evenly matched teams take their matches into penalty kicks. England and Germany drew 1-1, with Germany prevailing 4-3 on PK’s. Argentina and Italy also went 1-1 through regulation time, with Argentina winning 4-3 on kicks. Ital;y beat England 2-1 in the 3rd place match, and Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final.

Complete World Cup 1990 results


American Professional Soccer League

The American Professional Soccer League was formed as a result of a 1989 merger agreement between the Western Soccer Alliance and the American Professional Soccer League. This merger brought together the two strongest professional outdoor leagues, and that union accomplished several important purposes: It was seen as an opportunity to return top flight soccer on a nationwide basis for the first time since the demise of the North American Soccer League, and shift the balance in favor of the outdoor sport, which had taken a back seat to indoor soccer for the latter half of the 1980’s. The league also had ambitions to be designated by FIFA as the new Division 1 American league. The APSL had several advantages, among them several established clubs, some of them with years of amateur experience, as well as the bulk of the top players in the US. APSL rosters boasted many of the National Team players and reserves who were not already part of the USSF residency program. The major challenges were the fact that none of the teams was truly operating at a high level of professionalism, and the new nationwide sprawl of teams would wreak havoc with high travel expenses. To ease the transition, The former ASL and WSA played their regular seasons as separate conferences, meeting only at the end for the Championship game.

The regular season provided some high excitement in the divisional races, as Maryland, Albany and Penn-Jersey fought a tight three way battle right into the last week of the season, with Maryland squeaking out a two point victory at season’s end. The WSL featured two divisional races worth watching: In the North, the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks, Salt Lake Sting, Colorado Foxes and Portland Timbers were within five points of each other, with Salt Lake City and San Francisco tied for the crown. Meanwhile in the South, California, Los Angeles and Real Santa Barbara finished neck and neck. In the first official APSL Championship game, Maryland and San Francisco Bay mounted a memorable fight in driving rain at Boston before a national television audience, and Maryland finally pulled out a 2-1 victory on penalty kicks to crown a true national outdoor champion for the first time in more than half a decade.

              Final APSL Standings, 1990

                            G   W   T   L   GF  GA  PTS    
	EAST  (ASL) CONFERENCE
     	North Division
Maryland Bays              20  15   0   5   42  29   44
Albany Capitals            20  14   0   6   35  22   42
Penn-Jersey Spirit         20  13   0   7   34  23   39
Boston Bolts               20   9   0  11   27  27   28
Washington Stars           20   7   0  13   24  28   22
New Jersey Eagles          20   6   0  14   21  38   17

     	South Division
Ft. Lauderdale Strikers    20  15   0   5   38  22   45
Tampa Bay Rowdies          20  10   0  10   32  39   29
Orlando Lions              20   8   0  12   25  30   24
Miami Freedom              20   8   0  12   27  29   24
Washington Diplomats       20   5   0  15   22  40   16

Semifinals:  Ft. Lauderdale defeated Albany, 3-2, 2-0
             Maryland defeated Tampa Bay 2-1 (OT), 4-1
Finals:      Maryland defeated Ft. Lauderdale, 3-2, 2-0

	WEST (WSL) Conference
     	North Division
San Francisco Bay Blackhawks 20  13 0   7   39  30  104
Salt Lake Sting            20  12   0   8   39  34  104
Colorado Foxes             20  14   0   6   22  12  100
Portland Timbers           20  10   0  10   42  36   99
Seattle Storm              20  10   0  10   42  35   93

     	South Division
California Emperors        20  10   0  10   35  32   89
Los Angeles Heat           20  11   0   9   39  39   87
Real Santa Barbara         20  10   0  10   33  35   85
San Diego Nomads           20   8   0  12   22  28   67
New Mexico Chilies         20   7   0  13   25  45   61
Arizona Condors            20   5   0  15   29  51   59

First Round:  Los Angeles defeated Santa Barbara 0-1, 2-1, 1-0 (MG)
              Colorado defeated Salt Lake, 2-1, 4-1
Semifinals:   Los Angeles 2 at California 0
              Colorado 1 at San Francisco Bay 2
Finals:       San Francisco Bay defeated Los Angeles 0-2, 2-1 (PK), 1-0 (MG)
CHAMPIONSHIP: Maryland defeated San Francisco Bay 2-1 (PK)

Leading Scorers:
                               G   A  Pts
Chance Fry, Seattle           17   5   39
George Pastor, Salt Lake      14   9   37
Mike Masters, Albany          14   4   32
Philip Gyau, Maryland         12   6   30
Derek Sanderson, Salt Lake    11   6   37
Jerry O'Hara, California      10   3   23
Shawn Medved, Portland        10   2   22
Jean Harbor, Maryland          8   6   22
Jim Hutchingson, Santa Barbara 9   4   22
Scott Benedetti, Seattle       9   3   21
Cesar Plascenia, Portland      9   3   21
Steve Pittman, Ft. Lauderdale  7   7   21
David Byrne, Tampa Bay         5  10   20
Steve Corpening, San Francisco 8   4   20
Rob Paterson, Portland         8   4   20
Mike Sweeney, Boston           8   3   19
Elvis Comrie, Albany           8   2   18
Lazlo Barna, Miami             7   4   18
Duane Robinson, Penn-Jersey    5   8   18

Goalkeeping Leaders:  (Min. 1450 minutes played)
                                Min  GA  Sv   GAA
Mark Dodd, Colorado            1760   7  87   0.36
Dale Caya, Penn-Jersey         1540  12  55   0.71
Bill Stetten, Albany           1755  19  58   0.97
Arnie Mausser, Albany          1856  21  83   1.02
Anton Nistl, San Diego         1957  23  79   1.05
Mark Simpson, Orlando          1350  17  66   1.13
Mike Littman, Los Angeles      1670  22  63   1.17
Neil Cowley, Washington Stars  1472  20  89   1.22
Paul Parkinson, Salt Lake      1731  24  76   1.24
Mark Dougherty, San Francisco  1450  20  42   1.24

1990 First All-Star Team:

G - Dale Caya, Penn-Jersey
D - Steve Pittman, Ft. Lauderdale
D - Paul Mariner, Albany
D - Brian Ainscough, Penn-Jersey
D - George Gelnovatch, Penn-Jersey
M - Chicago Borja, Albany
M - Marcelo Carrera, Ft. Lauderdale
M - David Byrne, Tampa Bay
F - Philip Gyau, Maryland
F - Dan Donigan, Penn-Jersey

Most Valuable Players:  Mark Dodd, Colorado Foxes, Philip Gyau, Maryland Bays
Coach of the Year:  Thomas Rongen, Ft. Lauderdale
Rookie of the Year:  Steve Pittman, Ft. Lauderdale

Other APSL 1990 players of note: Jorge Acosta, New Jersey; Chad Ashton, Colorado; Marcello Balboa; San Francisco; Scott Benedetti, Seattle; Hubert Birkenmeier, New Jersey, Brian Bliss, Boston; Troy Darak, San Francisco; Mark Dodd, Colorado; Winston DuBose, Tampa Bay; Robin Fraser, Colorad; John Kerr, Jr. Washington; Dominic Kinnear, Miami; Matt Knowles, Penn-Jersey; Cle Kooiman, San Diego; Lawrence Lozzano, California; Bruce Murray, Washington Stars; Thomas Rongen, Ft. Lauderdale; Jim St. Andrew, Colorado; Steve Triitschuh, Tampa Bay; Perry van Der Veck, Tampa Bay; Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay; Eric Wynalda, San Francisco.


Major Indoor Soccer League

The Major Indoor Soccer League faced increasing competition with the American Indoor Soccer Association which made clear its intentions to compete head to head. This soon led to an all out salary war, which had grave repercussions for both leagues. Meanwhile, the MISL implemented four rule changes: (1) permitting goalkeeping on the fly, (2) elimination of the sixth foul rule, (3) elimination of the three-line violation by field players, and (4) awarding of shootouts in place of penalty kicks. MISL returned to one of their most successful cities with the expansion St. Louis Storm, who lost their debut to cross-state rivals Kansas City before 14,752. The league season saw a close race in the East between the perennial favorites Baltimore Blast and Kansas City Comets, with the Comets claiming the crown with a mere 2 point lead after a 52 game season. The Dallas Sidekicks had an easier time of it with a decisive Western Division crown. Tatu continued his impressive goal-scoring feats with 64 goals. League attendance held steady, at an average of 7,765 for the regular season. At the conclusion of the season, MISL reached an agreement with ESPN for a nine game TV schedule for the following season. The league remained busy during the summer, announcing a renewal with the Intercollegiate Soccer Association of America to host their annual showcase of senior collegiate stars. Later, the league changed their name to Major Soccer League, and reached an agreement with the USSF to play two outdoor exhibitions against the Men’s National team. Finally, USSF President Alan Rothenberg appointed commissioner Earl Foreman to a commission to study the feasibility of establishing a 1st division outdoor league in the United States.

             Final MISL Standings, 1989-1990

Before the season, Cleveland and St. Louis were added.

                            G   W   L   GF  GA   %   GB
     	Eastern Division
Baltimore Blast            52  32  20  231 191 .615  --
Kansas City Comets         52  30  22  208 205 .577   2
Wichita Wings              52  26  26  210 229 .490   6.5
Cleveland Crunch           52  20  32  201 237 .392  11.5

     	Western Division
Dallas Sidekicks           52  31  21  217 190 .596  --
San Diego Sockers          52  25  27  217 204 .481   6
St. Louis Storm            52  24  28  202 205 .462   7
Tacoma Stars               52  20  32  191 217 .385  11

Div. Semi-finals:  Kansas City defeated Wichita 5-4, 4-3, 3-4, 5-4
                   San Diego defeated St. Louis 3-2, 3-4 (OT), 4-1, 5-4
Div. Finals:       San Diego defeated Dallas 4-2, 1-6, 1-4, 4-2, 4-0,3-1
                   Baltimore defeated Kansas City 6-4, 4-2, 2-1(OT),
                   2-3(OT), 2-3(OT), 7-2
CHAMPIONSHIP:      San Diego def. Baltimore 4-7, 4-3, 5-2, 4-1, 2-3,6-4.

Scoring Leaders:
                                GP   G   A  Pts
Tatu, Dallas                    52  64  42  113
Jan Goossens, Kansas City       51  41  55   96
Preki, Tacoma                   44  33  39   72
Michael King, Cleveland         52  45  26   71
Dale Mitchell, Kansas City      48  47  23   70
Dale Ervine, Wichita            47  47  20   68
Hector Marinaro, Cleveland      45  40  23   63
Zorin Karic, Cleveland          47  34  28   62
Branko Segota, San Diego        44  27  34   61
Domenic Mobilio, Baltimore      48  41  20   61
Chico Borja, Wichita            43  24  35   59
Carl Valentine, Baltimore       52  24  34   58

Leading Goalkeepers:   (Min 1250 minutes played)
                               GP   Min. SHT   SV  GA  Avg.   W  L
Joe Papaleo (Dallas)           27  1633  829  342  91  3.34  16 10
Zoltan Toth (San Diego)        27  1640  682  334  95  3.48  14 13
Scott Manning (Baltimore)      34  2091  991  457 122  3.50  22 12
Slobo Illjevski (St. Louis)    32  1903  851  415 113  3.56  17 14
Victor Nogueira (San Diego)    25  1511  590  284  91  3.61  11 13
Mike Dowler (Kansas City)      28  1671  751  308 102  3.66  17 10
Krye Sobieski (Dallas)         22  1354  644  237  85  3.77  14  8
Jim Gorsek (Kansas City)       26  1485  648  275  95  3.84  13 11
Ron Fearson (Wichita)          33  1988  789  331 128  3.86  18 14
Cris Vaccaro (Tacoma)          28  1672  730  313 109  3.91  11 17
P. J. Johns (Cleveland)        38  2087  894  439 140  4.02  16 18
David Brcic (St. Louis)        21  1269  558  275  87  4.11   7 14

1st MISL All-Star Team:

G - Victor Nogueira, San Diego
F - Tatu, Dallas
F - Zoran Karic, Cleveland
M - Preki, St. Louis
D - Kevin Crow, San Diego
D - Fernando Clavijo, St. Louis

Most Valuable player:  Tatu, Dallas Sidekicks
Coach of the Year:  Billy Phillips, Dallas
MISL Scoring Champion:  Tatu, Dallas Sidekicks
MISL Pass Master (most Assists):  Jan Goossens, Kansas City Comets
Defender of the Year:  Wes McLeod, Dallas
Goalkeeper of the Year:  Joe Papaleo, Dallas Sidekicks
Rookie of the Year:  Terry Brown, St. Louis Storm
Newcomer of the Year:  Claudio DeOliviera, St. Louis Storm
Championship Series Player of the Year:  Brian Quinn, San Diego Sockers
Championship Series Unsung Hero:  Paul Wright, San Diego Sockers

Southwest Independent Soccer League

The SISL expanded out of its traditional Texas-Oklahoma stomping grounds, expanding to outlying regions by adding El Paso, Arkansas, Permian Basin, Phoenix, Richardson, Tucson and Waco, and splitting into four divisions. A greater emphasis was placed on outdoor soccer this season, with 14 clubs choosing to participate. it would eventually become clear that the future of the league lay under the sun.

The outdoor season expanded greatly this season, but that didn’t dampen the quality of play. Tulsa Renegades led the league, easily winning the Eastern Conference with a 12-2 record. The West saw a race to the wire, as Lubbock Lazers just barely pulled out a divisional title by one point over the Colorado Comets who actually had one more victory; Lubbock gained the extra points due to their high scoring which was rewarded by the league by awarding a bonus point for each goal scored up to a maximum of three per game. In the playoffs, Colorado, Richardson, Austin and Tucson advanced easily to the semifinals. Richardson easily beat Austin 2-1 and 5-1, while Colorado shut out Phoenix 2-0 and 1-0. The championship game had to be cancelled, and Colorado Comets were declared champions based on overall record.

               Final Outdoor Standings, 1990

                              GP   W  L  SW-SL  BP   GF  GA  PTS
     Eastern Conference
Tulsa Renegades               14  12  2  (1-1)  34   45  17  106
Austin Sockadillos            14   8  6  (0-2)  33   45  27   85
San Antonio Generals          14  10  4  (2-0)  29   38  25   85
Richardson Rockets            14   7  7  (0-0)  28   38  22   70
North Texas United            14   7  7  (1-0)  25   36  30   68
Arkansas Diamonds             14   6  8  (0-2)  20   26  34   60
Waco Kickers                  14   1 13  (0-0)   9    9  54   15
Oklahoma City Warriors         6   1  5  (0-0)   7    7  25   13

     Western Conference
Lubbock Lazers                14  11  3  (0-0)  35   52  28  101
Colorado Comets               14  12  2  (1-0)  30   38  17  100
Phoenix Hearts                14   8  6  (1-0)  30   39  29   76
Tucson Amigos                 14   7  7  (0-1)  28   29  20   68
Albuquerque Gunners           14   3 11  (0-0)  17   17  51   35
Permian Basin Shooting Stars  14   2 12  (0-0)  19   20  43   31

Quarterfinals:  Colorado defeated Lubbock 5-1, 5-2
                Richardson defeated Tulsa 1-2, 1-0, 3-1
                Austin defeated San Antonio 0-1, 4-1, 3-2
                Tucson defeated Phoenix 2-1, 2-1
Semifinals:     Richardson defeated Austin 2-1, 5-1
                Colorado defeated Tucson 2-0, 1-0
CHAMPIONSHIP:   Colorado declared champion based on overall record.

After the season, North Texas United was merged into Ft. Worth.

Top Scorers:
                            GP   G  Pts
M. Friederich, Lubbock      13  11   32
Chris Veselka, Austin       10  12   31
D. Sholeen, Lubbock         10  12   29
S. Schwab, Tulsa            13  11   27
M. Draguicevich, Austin     13  12   26
A. Richardson, Tulsa        13  11   26
G. Garcia, San Antonio      13  11   25
S. Gallegos, Phoenix        13  10   22
K. Coughlin, North Texas    13   9   21

Leading Goalkeepers:
                            GP   G  Pts
Lammering, Colorado         14  17  1.21
Hughes, Tulsa               14  17  1.21
Apodaca, Tucson             14  20  1.43
Hovard/Smith, Richardson    14  22  1.57
Chavarria, San Antonio      14  25  1.79
Hale/Lord, Austin           14  27  1.93
Swissler/Godi               14  28  2.00
Valdez, Phoenix             14  29  2.07
Patterson, North Texas      14  30  2.14
Scott, Arkansas             14  34  2.43

Most Valuable Player:  Craig Lammering, Colorado Comets
Coach of the Year:  Phil Jones, Richardson Rockets
Top Goalkeeper:  Craig Lammering, Colorado Comets

The Indoor season demonstrated the league’s tradition of parity, as two of the expansion teams, Richardson and Phoenix won their divisional titles, along with Addison and the perennial favorite Colorado. All four division champs easily defeated their first round opponents, setting up an exciting semi between Phoenix and Colorado, with Phoenix winning 6-4, 7-8 and 11-10, the last two games going into overtime. Addison Arrows defeated Richardson 7-5, 5-4 before earning the championship over Phoenix, 9-6, 9-8 (shootout), 10-3.

                  Final Indoor Standings, 1989-1990

                              GP   W  L   GF  GA  PTS
        EASTERN CONFERENCE
        Texas Division
Richardson Rockets            24  17  7  176  112  69
Austin Capital Sockadillos    24  14 10  165  130  56
Waco Kickers                  24  11 13  132  182  44
Houston Express               24   2 22   66  143   9
San Antonio Generals          13   1  8   60   91   4

        Tex-Ark-Oma Division
Addison Arrows                24  17  7  179  122  68
Tulsa Renegades               24  14 10  170  155  54
Oklahoma City Warriors        24  13 11  138  131  53
Arkansas Diamonds             12   2 10   46   97   8

        WESTERN CONFERENCE
        Central Division
Colorado Comets               24  21  3  235  102  84
Lubbock Lazers                24  19  5  199  106  76
Permian Basin Shootin' Stars  24   5 19  142  218  21
Amarillo Challengers          24   5 19  125  272  19

        Cactus Division
Phoenix Hearts                24  21  3  207  118  84
Tucson Amigos                 24  12 12  128  126  46
Albuquerque Gunners           24   9 15  157  167  37
El Paso Sixshooters           24   0 24   44  179   0

First Round:   Phoenix defeated Lubbock 7-6, 4-0
               Colorado defeated Tucson 5-4, 9-4
               Richardson defeated Tulsa 7-5, 7-6
               Addison defeated Austin 12-4, 8-5
Semifinals:    Phoenix defeated Colorado, 6-4, 7-8 (OT), 11-10 (OT)
               Addison defeated Richardson 7-5, 5-4
CHAMPIONSHIP:  Addison defeated Phoenix 9-6, 9-8 (SO), 10-3

After the season, Amarillo and Houston folded.

Most Valuable Player:  Andy Crawford, Permian Basin/Colorado
Top Scorer:  Enrique Serrano, Albuquerque Gunners
Coach of the year:  Petar Baralic, Phoenix
Rookie of the year:  Jose Miranda, Tucson

Lone Star Soccer Association

The LSSA expanded and adopted a two-division format for the first time. The relatively short season saw division winners F. C. Dallas defeat Austin and San Antonio fall to Oklahoma City. The league largely ignored the larger SISL, and stuck to tradition, allowing ties and foregoing bonus points to encourage more scoring. The championship was won by Oklahoma City Spirit 3-0 over F. C. Dallas.

            Final LSSA League Standings, 1990:

Before the season, Oklahoma City and the Wichita Blue were added.

                            G   W   L   T   GF  GA  PTS 
     Northern Division
F. C. Dallas               10   8   1   1   26   6  17
Oklahoma City Spirit       10   6   4   0   22  17  12
Wichita Falls Fever        10   6   4   0   19  14  12
Wichita Blue               10   1   9   0    8  30   2

     Southern Division
San Antonio Alamo          10   5   4   1   18  17  11
Austin Thunder             10   5   5   0   16   9  10
Houston Alianza            10   4   6   0   10  16   8
Houston Dynamos            10   4   6   0    9  17   8

Playoffs:        Oklahoma City defeated San Antonio 2-1
                 F. C. Dallas defeated Austin 2-0
CHAMPIONSHIP:    Oklahoma City defeated F. C. Dallas 3-0

After the season, San Antonio folded.

American Indoor Soccer Association

The 1989-1990 season saw an expansion team, the Atlanta Attack, win a fairly respectable 2nd place in the American division. The All-Star game featured a gala exhibition against the Soviet Red Army, who beat the AISA Best 10-8 at Detroit. In the playoffs, Atlanta defeated Hershey 13-10 and 13-9, Milwaukee defeated Chicago 8-6 and 8-6. The semifinals went to Canton 10-4 and 12-4 over Milwaukee, and Dayton, winners by 8-6 and 13-6 over Atlanta. Finally, the Canton Invaders, who set a record for victories (19) in the regular season, made it a three-peat as they beat the Dayton Dynamo 16-8, 6-8, 16-7, 6-22, and 9-15 in a see-saw battle that nearly saw a single game scoring record broken. Such is the nature of the indoor game, a trouncing one day can lead to a surprise victory the next. One player of note was drafted in round 4 of the amateur draft – Shawn Medved, out of Evergreen State and later of MLS fame, who went to the Atlanta Attack.

                Final AISA League Standings, 1989-1990

Before the season, Atlanta was added, Ft. Wayne changed their name to Indiana,
and Memphis changed their nickname to the Rogues.

                            G   W   L    %   GB   GF  GA
     	American Division
Canton Invaders            40  36   4  .900  --  544  321
Atlanta Attack             40  23  17  .575  13  443  382
Hershey Impact             40  19  21  .475  17  397  384
Memphis Rogues             40   6  34  .150  30  267  484

     	National Division
Dayton Dynamo              40  21  19  .525  --  388  354
Milwaukee Wave             40  21  19  .525  --  373  353
Chicago Power              40  20  20  .500   1  375  394
Indiana Kick               40  14  26  .350   7  368  488

First Round:         Atlanta defeated Hershey 13-10, 13-9
                     Milwaukee def. Chicago 8-6, 8-6
Semifinals:          Canton def. Milwaukee 10-4, 12-4
                     Dayton def. Atlanta 2-15, 8-6 OT, 13-6
FINALS:              Canton defeated Dayton 14-2, 7-8, 21-8, 13-11(OT)

After the season, Indiana and Memphis folded.

Leading scorers:  
                                GP   G    A  Pts
Drago Dumbovic, Atlanta/Hersey  41  100  67  167
Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton         36  102  38  140
Peter Hattrup, Atlanta          40   88  43  135
Dan O'Keefe, Indiana            40  108  17  125
George Pastor, Milwaukee        39   90  29  119
Steve Frick, Canton             37   91  18  109
Batata, Chicago                 37   63  41  104
Art Kramer, Milwaukee           40   74  27  101
Franklin McIntosh, Hershey, Atl.35   63  35   98
Tony Bono, Dayton               39   61  32   93

Leading Goalkeepers: (min. 900 minutes)
                               Min   PA  PAA   W-L
Jamie Swanner, Canton         2134  273  7.67  32-4
Pat Harrington, Dayton         980  131  8.00  10-6
Yaro Dachniwsky, Atlanta      1526  206  8.10  16-10

Most Valuable Player:  Jamie Swanner, Canton Invaders
Goalkeeper of the Year:  Jamie Swanner, Canton Invaders
Coach of the Year:  Rick Schweizer, Dayton Dyamo
Defender of the Year:  Bret Hall, Chicago Power
Rookie of the Year:  Brian Haynes, Atlanta Attack

First All-AISA Team:

G -   Jamie Swanner, Canton
D -   Bret Hall, Chicago
D -   Tim Tyma, Milwaukee
M/F - Peter Hattrup, Atlanta
M/F - Drago Dumbovic, Hershey
M/F - Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton

Canadian Soccer League

Before the season, Kitchener and London were added.

                            G   W   T   L   GF  GA  PTS
	Eastern Division
Toronto Blizzard           26  18   3   5   52  15   39
Montreal Supra             26  13  11   2   30  12   37
Hamilton Steelers          26  10   9   7   44  35   29
Kitchener Spirit           26   8   7  11   30  36   23
North York Rockets         26   7   9  10   34  36   23
Ottawa Intrepid            26   2   9  15   21  49   13
London Lasers              26   2   7  17   26  68   11

	Western Division
Vancouver 86ers            26  17   3   6   69  26   40
Victoria Vistas            26  12   7   7   42  32   31
Winnipeg Fury              26   7  11   8   22  37   22
Edmonton Brickmen          26   6  14   6   20  44   18

Quarterfinals:  Victoria 1 at Winnipeg 4
                Victoria 2 at Winnipeg 1
                Victoria 1 at Winnipeg 1 - 5-4 Victoria Penalty
                Vancouver 2 at North York 0
                North York 1 at Vancouver 2
                Kitchener 0 at Toronto 1
                Kitchener 0 at Toronto 0 - 4-3 Kitchener Penalty
                Montreal 1 at Hamilton 2
                Hamilton 1 at Montreal 0
Semifinals:     Vancouver 2 at Victoria 2
                Victoria 1 at Vancouver 6
                Hamilton 1 at Kitchener 0
                Kitchener 3 at Hamilton 3
CHAMPIONSHIP:   Hamilton 1 at Vancouver 6

Leading Goalscorers:
John Catliff, Vancouver     19
Domenic Mobilio, Vancouver  13
Paul Peschisolido, Toronto  13
Alex Bunbury, Toronto       12
Billy Domazetis, Toronto    10
Eddy Berdusco, North York    9
Ted Eck, Toronto             9
Ivor Evans, Vancouver        8
Geoff Aunger, Victoria       8

All-Star Team:
Pat Harrington, Montreal
Patrick Diotte, Montreal
Edinho, Toronto
Allan Evans, Victoria
Ian Bridge, Victoria
Michael Araujo, Montreal
Lyndon Hooper, Toronto
Ivor Evans, Vancouver
Domenic Mobilio, Vancouver
John Catliff, Vancouver
Paul Peschisolido, Toronto

National Teams

Men’s National Team

Although the World Cup was clearly the highlight of the year, the Men’s team had a full schedule of competition. The early part of the year saw a series of friendlies to get the team in shape for the Cup. Games included a highly anticipated match with the Soviet Union, which was lost 1-3 in front of 61,000 at Palo Alto, CA on February 24, with John Harkes getting the lone goal. The only two games ever against East Germany saw the Easties take a 3-2 victory in March at Berlin, and a 1-2 loss in July at Milwaukee. Other games of note were a 1-1 draw against the strong Colombian side on February 4, and a convincing 3-1 romp over Poland on May 9. Eric Wynalda was already securing his reputation as a goal scorer, with 5 goals, second only to Bruce Murray.

After World Cup ’90, there was a home and away series against Trinidad, who was eager for revenge after their elimination at the hands of the Americans. They didn’t get it though, as the US scored a 3-0 win at Charlotte, NC, and a 0-0 draw in Trinidad. The US also repeated against Poland in October with a 3-2 away triumph at Warsaw, and managed a face-saving draw against the Soviet Union in November. Overall, the US had a record of 8 wins, 3 draws and 11 losses, not as good as 1989, but this time including some wins against stronger competition.

1990 USA Men’s National Team results

Women’s National Team

The Women had a fairly quiet year, but also an unbeaten one, as they proved themselves to be quick learners rapidly moving to the top echelon in the world’s game. All six matches were victories, the most impressive being against West Germany and Norway, two other world powers, and an 8-0 thrashing of the Soviet Union. Michelle Akers, Mia Hamm and future hall of famer April Heinrichs had established themselves as mainstays of the team and would make the world take notice later in the decade. At this early stage, the national team was largely inactive, only getting together for occasional series. It was a measure of the players’ skill and experience that this did not hurt them the following year as they powered on to their triumph in the first World Cup.

             Women's National Team Results, 1990:

Aug 11 90  W 3-0  West Germany               Blaine, MN, USA
               Akers-Stahl (2), Heinrichs
Aug 09 90  W 3-0  England                    Blaine, MN, USA
               Akers-Stahl (2), Heinrichs
Aug 05 90  W 8-0  Soviet Union               Blaine, MN, USA
               Higgins, Jennings, Hamm (2), Akers-Stahl (3), Heinrichs
Jul 29 90  W 4-2  Norway                     Winnipeg, Canada
               Jennings, Akers-Stahl, Heinrichs (2)
Jul 27 90  W 4-1  Canada                     Winnipeg, Canada
               Lilly, Jennings, Hamm, Hebauer
Jul 25 90  W 4-0  Norway                     Winnipeg, Canada
               Jennings, Akers-Stahl, Heinrichs, Hamm

U. S. Open Cup

In the Quarterfinals, Chicago AAC Eagles defeated St. Louis Mike Duffy’s, FC Dallas defeated St. petersburg Kickers 1-0, Brooklyn Italians defeated Philadelphia United German-Hungarians 5-3 and Los Angeles Zamora defeated San Francisco Greek-American 2-1. In the semifinals, Chicago defeated FC Dallas 3-0 and Brooklyn defeated Los Angeles 4-1. The Final was held on July 28, 1990 at Kuntz Stadium, Indianapolis where the Chicago Eagles defeated Brooklyn Italians 3-1 before 3,116 fans to claim the championship.


The College Game

In 1990, the college game was continuing to grow rapidly, as it continued to benefit from the surge in youth soccer that occurred during the excitement of the North American Soccer League. By this point, growth in men’s soccer at the top level was beginning to level off as a result of competition with other sports forced by Title IX, but conversely, the women’s game was benefiting enormously, and colleges were going varsity at an ever accelerating rate. For the 1989-1990 academic year, there were 547 varsity men’s programs (up from 543) and 294 women’s varsity programs (up from 270).

In the Men’s Division 1 NCAA tournament, the third round saw Rutgers defeat Dartmouth 1-0, Evansville beat Indiana 1-0, North Carolina State defeated defending champion Virginia 1-1 on penalty kicks, and UCLA defeated Southern Methodist 2-0. In the semifinals, Rutgers defeated Evansville 1-0 and UCLA defeated North Carolina 1-0 after two overtime periods and penalty kicks. That didn’t exhaust the Bruins however, as the stamina team of the year then went on to down Rutgers 1-0 after FOUR overtime periods and a round of penalty kicks to take the national championship. Tenacity was their name.

The Women’s Division 1 NCAA tournament saw continuing dominance by North Carolina which had already established themselves as THE dynasty of women’s soccer, a title it holds to this day. In 1990, under coach Anson Dorrance, they were simply unstoppable. In the second round of the tournament, North Carolina defeated North Carolina State 4-3 in overtime, Colorado College defeated Wisconsin, Santa Clara defeated UC Santa Barbara 2-0, and Connecticut downed Virginia 1-0. The semifinals saw North Carolina top Colorado College 2-1 and Connecticut survive through penalty kicks to take Santa Clara 2-0. The Championship was yet another cakewalk for North Carolina who beat Connecticut 6-0.

Division II Men’s champion: Southern Connecticut State defeated Seattle Pacific 1-0 (OT,PK)
Division II Women’s champion: Sonoma State defeated Keene State 2-0.
Division III Men’s champion: Rowan defeated Ohio Weslayen 1-1 (4 OT, PK)
Division III Women’s champion: Ithaca defeated Cortland State 0-0 (4 OT,PK)
NAIA Men’s Champion: West Virginia Weslayen 3, Boca Raton 1
NAIA Women’s Champion: Berry 3, Simon Fraser 1 (OT)
NJCAA Men’s Championship: Yavapai College 2, Passaic County Comm. Coll. 1
NJCAA Women’s Championship: Florissant Valley Community College 1, Farmingdale 0
NCCAA Division 1 Championship: George Fox 1, John Brown 0
NCCAA Division 2 Championship: Baptist Bible College (PA) 3, Tocoa Falls 2 (OT,SD)

Final Men's Division 1 Coaches' Poll:

1.  Evansville
2.  UCLA
3.  Rutgers
4.  North Carolina State
5.  Clemson
6.  St. Louis
7.  Santa Clara
8.  Dartmouth
9.  Indiana
10.  Virginia

Men's Division 1 College All-Americans:

G - Kasey Keller, Portland
D - Jeff Agoos, Virginia
D - Scott Cannon, Evansville
D - Tom Loeber, South Carolina
M - Dario Brose, North Carolina State
M - Chad Deering, Indiana
M - Mark Santel, St. Louis
F - Steve Rammel, Rutgers
F - Ken Snow, Indiana
F - William Thompson, UCLA
F - David Weir, Evansville

Women's Division 1 NSCAA All-Americans (first team):

G - Hether Taggart, Wisconsin
D - Julie Foudy, Stanford
D - Sandra Gaskill, William & Mary
D - Beth Grecco, Connecticut
F - Suzanne Baily, Brown
F - Brandi Chastain, Santa Clara
F - Lisa Cole, Southern Methodist
F - Mia Hamm, North Carolina
F - Charmaine Hooper, North Carolina State
F - April kater, Massachusetts
F - Kristine Lilly, North Carolina
F - Robin Lotze, William & Mary

Men’s National Award Winners:

Hermann Trophy: Ken Snow, Indiana
Missouri Athletic Club: Ken Snow, Indiana
ISAA Player of the Year: William Thompson, UCLA
ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year: Juergen Sommer, Indiana
NSCAA Coach of the Year (Division 1): Bob Reasso, Rutgers

Women’s National Award Winners:

Hermann Trophy: April Kater, Massachusetts

 

Other Action

US Open Cup Championship: Chicago A.A.C. defeated Brooklyn Italians (NESSL) 2-1.

National Amateur Cup Championship: St. Petersburg Kickers defeated San Francisco Glens 1-0.

James P. McGuire Cup (U-19 Men): Spartan Randolph Blackhawks, St. Paul, MN

J. Ross Stewart Cup (Women U-19): Springfield (VA) Spirit

D.J. Niotis Cup (Boys U-16): Livonia (MI) Metro Magic Wolves

Patricia Masotto Cup (Girls U-16): Willingboro (NJ) Strikers

North American Nations Cup: Canada defeated the USA 1-0 on 5/6, Mexico defeated the USA 1-0 on 5/10, Canada beat Mexico 2-1 on 5/13. Canada finished first, Mexico 2nd.

North American Club Championship (Pepsi Cup): Vancouver 86ers (CSL) defeated Maryland Bays (APSL), 3-2.

CONCACAF U-20 Championship: The USA finished 1-2. Mexico won the cup with three wins and qualified for World Youth Cup 1991.

CONCACAF Champions Cup: St. Petersburg Kickers entered the competition but lost to America of Mexico 1-0. Club America (Mexico) defeated Pinar del Río (Cuba) 8-2, 6-0 in the final.

Hall of Fame: In 1990, the US Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Bob Kehoe, Shamus O’Brien, Eddie Pearson, and Manny Schellscheidt. The National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NISOA) Hall of Fame inducted Roy Yarborough.

USSF Players of the Year: Tab Ramos, Michelle Akers-Stahl
Chevrolet/US Soccer Athletes of the Year: Tab Ramos, Michelle Akers-Stahl