APSL | MSL | USISL | NPSL | LSSA | CSL | 1992 Olympics | Men’s National Team | Women’s National Team | U. S. Open Cup | College Game | Other Action
This was a year of flux, struggle and promise. On the national front, the USSF was putting its organizational struggles behind it and finally getting down to the task of choosing venues for the World Cup, and Bora Milutinovic was firming up the National team through the new developmental program and a grueling set of exhibitions as well as an impressive performance in the inaugural US Cup. Meanwhile, the search for a new professional division 1 league was turning into a real circus. With so many powerful entities at each others throats in the bid for FIFA recognition, it looked as if the league would never get off the ground. The problem was that the parties involved simply couldn’t put their own interests aside and work towards a cooperative agreement that would pool their resources together, but rather they actively sought to undercut each other’s efforts. This was complicated by the precarious situation of one of the leagues, the APSL which shrank to just five teams, as well as the demise of three professional leagues, the Major Indoor Soccer League, the Lone Star Soccer Alliance, and the Canadian Soccer League. The only bright spot is this at least reduced the excessive fraticidal competition and removed one major player from the fight. But at times, columnists and critics would simply throw up their hands when speculating about the future of the US Soccer program. This was so typical of the infighting that had hobbled the game for much of its history in the US. On the brighter side, the US had an impressive performance in its inaugral USA Cup tournament, showing the steady development of the US players, and the USISL was making significant progress in their dream of establishing a wide-ranging lower level league to provide playing opportunity and a grassroots base for the development of players to the higher professional level.
American Professional Soccer League
The APSL continued to struggle with expenses after the 1991 season, and suffered the loss of three teams, Albany, Penn-Jersey and Maryland. What was left was a highly competitive and dynamic league of five teams which completed a somewhat reduced 16 game schedule. Jean Harbor repeated as leading goal scorer, with 13 goals and 30 points. This season saw the return of the shootout to settle ties. A neck and neck race for the regular season championship between the Colorado Foxes and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, ended with the Foxes finishing just two points ahead. In the semifinals, Tampa Bay defeated San Francisco Bay, and Colorado defeated Ft. Lauderdale. The championship was taken by Colorado, who defeated Tampa Bay 1-0. After the season, Miami folded and San Francisco dropped out to join the USISL, leaving the league in a very precarious situation.
Final APSL Standings, 1992
Pd W L WN WE WS LN LE LS G+ G- GD Pts
Colorado Foxes 16 11 5 10 0 1 5 0 0 26 18 +8 89
Tampa Bay Rowdies 16 10 6 8 1 1 4 1 1 34 25 +9 87
SF Bay Blackhawks 16 8 8 6 0 2 6 0 2 27 25 +2 73
Ft Lauderdale Strikers 16 7 9 4 2 1 8 0 1 25 23 +2 61
Miami Freedom 16 4 12 4 0 0 9 2 1 17 38 -21 43
Semifinals: Tampa Bay defeated San Francisco Bay, 2-1
Colorado defeated Ft. Lauderdale, 3-2 (PK)
CHAMPIONSHIP: Colorado defeated Tampa Bay, 1-0
After the season, Miami folded, and San Francisco joined the USISL.
Leading Scorers:
G A Pts
Jean Harbor, Tampa Bay 13 4 30
Talifour Diane, Colorado 10 3 23
Kevin Sloan, Tampa Bay 7 6 20
Eric Eichman, Ft. Lauderdale 7 3 17
Philip Gyau, Tampa Bay 7 2 16
Steve Kinsey, Ft. Lauderdale 7 1 15
Chad Ashton, Colorado 4 5 13
Peter isaacs, San Francisco 5 2 12
Zico Doe, Miami 4 3 11
Mike Masters, San Francisco 4 2 10
Bryan haynes, Colorado 2 6 10
Goalkeeping Leaders: (Min 600 minutes to qualify)
Min GA Sv GAA
Mark Dodd, Colorado 645 7 40 0.97
Jim St. Andre, Colorado 810 11 43 1.22
Mark Dougherty, San Francisco 1313 19 49 1.30
Bill Andracki, Tampa Bay 1484 25 66 1.51
Arnie Mausser, Ft. Lauderdale 1118 20 44 1.61
Scoop Stanisic, Miami 1386 36 68 2.33
First APSL All-Star Team:
G - Bill Andracki, Tampa Bay
D - Steve Pittman, Ft. Lauderdale
D - Robin Fraser, Colorad
D - Steve Trittschuh, Tampa Bay
D - Danny Pena, San Francisco Bay
M - Ricky Hill, Tampa Bay
M - Jorge Salazar, San Francisco Bay
M - Domminic Kinnear, San Francisco Bay
M - Kevin Sloan, Tampa Bay
F - Talifour Diane, Colorado
F - Jean Harbor, Tampa Bay
Most Valuable Player: Talifour Diane, Colorado
Coach of the Year: Ricky Hill, Tampa Bay
Rookie of the Year: Talifour Diane, Colorado
Major Soccer League
Major Soccer League was in financial disarray heading into the 1991-92 season. Despite a new collective bargaining agreement with the players, increasing competition from the NPSL was showing its effect, and the financial losses were simply too much for the Kansas City Comets, one of the oldest teams, who folded, and the league was forced back to a single division lineup. More ominously, players were leaving in increasing numbers to join the NPSL, which, although it was still operating at a slightly lower level, was much stronger financially due to its lower operating budgets. They fought on right to the end; attendance actually climbed slightly this season, and the league was already moving ahead with plans for a new Pittsburgh franchise as well as preliminary plans for European competition. But in the summer of 1992, Commissioner and founder Earl Foreman, seeing a bleak future ahead, pulled the plug. Cleveland and Wichita then joined the rival NPSL, while San Diego and Dallas joined up with a group of arena owners to create the new Continental Indoor Soccer League, which took to the field the following season in a summer league that would avoid direct competition with the NPSL.
In the regular season, the San Diego Sockers easily won the league title, and cruised through the semifinals over Baltimore, before taking their final MSL championship, 7-3, 9-7, 5-4 (OT), 6-10, 2-4, and 8-2 over the Dallas Sidekicks.
Final MSL Standings, 1991-1992:
G W L GF GA % GB
San Diego Sockers 40 26 14 243 186 .650 --
Dallas Sidekicks 40 22 18 231 229 .550 4
Cleveland Crunch 40 20 20 249 229 .500 4
Baltimore Blast 40 19 21 213 230 .475 7
Wichita Wings 40 18 22 198 236 .450 8
Tacoma Stars 40 18 22 228 242 .450 8
St. Louis Storm 40 17 23 241 251 .425 9
Semifinals: San Diego defeated Baltimore 5-4, 6-7, 5-4(OT), 6-3, 4-3.
Dallas defeated Cleveland, 6-3, 7-6(OT), 6-7(OT),
8-7(OT), 7-8(OT), 8-4.
CHAMPIONSHIP: San Diego defeated Dallas 7-3, 9-7, 5-4(OT), 6-10, 2-4,
8-2.
After the season, the league folded, along with all teams except Cleveland and
Wichita, which joined the NPSL, and San Diego and Dallas, which joined the
CISL.
Leading Scorers:
GP G A TP
Zoran Karic, Cleveland 37 39 63 102
Preki, St. Louis 39 45 52 97
Hector Marinaro, Cleveland 40 53 41 94
Tatu, Dallas 39 47 41 88
Chico Borja, Wichita 33 32 52 84
Dale Mitchell, Tacoma 40 45 34 79
Paul Wright, San Diego 39 50 27 77
Dale Ervine, Wichita 33 42 33 75
David Doyle, Dallas 40 51 23 74
Branko Segota, St. Louis 34 47 25 72
Domenic Mobilio, Baltimore 40 45 20 65
Paul Doughtery, San Diego 39 37 26 63
Kevin Smith, Dallas 35 25 33 58
Thompson Usyan, San Diego 40 29 26 57
Jan Goossens, Dallas 29 19 33 52
Leading Goalkeepers: (Min 1200 minutes to qualify)
GP Min Sht Svs GA GAA W-L
Victor Noguiera, San Diego 39 2271 905 411 174 4.60 26-12
Joe Papaleo, Dallas 32 1859 1071 414 163 5.26 20-11
Cris Vaccaro, Baltimore 36 2139 998 449 192 5.38 18-16
Kris Peat, Wichita 35 2020 860 361 183 5.43 17-15
Mike Dowler, Tacoma 39 2294 1229 528 215 5.52 17-21
P. J. Johns, Cleveland 29 1688 907 438 160 5.68 14-14
Jim Gorsek, St. Louis 30 1637 971 391 178 5.81 14-18
Most Valuable Player: Victor Nogueira, San Diego
Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Thompson Usiyan, San Diego
Championship Series Unsung Hero: Kevin Crow, San Diego
United States Interregional Soccer League
The Southwest Independent Soccer League became the United States Interregional Soccer League in the fall of 1991. By then, Commissioner Francisco Marcos had developed his vision of a nationwide league consisting of regional divisions that would play year-round soccer at a lower level. He envisioned the league as a developmental resource that would prepare players to compete in the future division 1 league. To this end, the USISL maintained stringent budgets, opting to develop the game from the ground up. Outside of a large number of name changes, only two teams were added for the indoor season (Amarillo and Atlanta Magic). However, in the outdoor season, eight new teams were added, this time extending to both coasts for the first time. A new “conference” was added, consisting entirely of California teams, while the Southeast Conference added teams in Florida.
The outdoor league saw a tight race in the Southeast Conference with expansion teams Orlando, Boca Raton, and Atlanta Magic finishing tied atop the division. The Dallas Rockets finished easily atop the South central, ditto for El Paso in the Southwest. Palo Alto finished two games ahead of North Bay to win the new Pacific Conference. The USISL adopted a unique playoff format for this season: Two rounds of initial playoff games were followed by the “Sizzling Six”, a modified round robin tournament, with each of the six teams playing two games against two of the other five teams, and the two with the best two-leg record competing in a championship. The teams as well as their positions in the “six” were determined by two rounds of playoff games, a play-in round and a 2nd round involving the divisional leaders. Ironically, a divisional leader who lost in the 2nd round was still eligible for the “sizzling six”, as witness El Paso’s results this year. The two winners of the “six” were Palo Alto and Tucson, with Palo Alto winning the final 1-0.
Final USISL Outdoor Standings, 1992
Before the season, Orlando, Boca Raton, Chattanooga, Gwinnest County,
Palo Alto, North Bay, San Francisco, and East Bay are added.
Atlanta Express became Gwinnest County. Fort Worth Kickers became
the Americans. Richardson moved to Dallas. Memphis became the
United Express. Phoenix Hearts became the Arizona Cotton.
GP W L GF GA BP PTS SO
Southeast Conference
Orlando Lions 14 10 4 37 17 30 94 0-2
Boca Raton Sabres 14 10 4 27 17 26 86 0-0
Atlanta Datagraphic Magic 14 10 4 35 20 29 85 2-0
Memphis United Express 14 8 6 34 22 27 77 0-1
Nashville Metros 14 6 8 25 23 21 55 1-0
Chattanooga Railroaders 14 3 11 22 40 19 37 1-1
Gwinnest County Steamers 14 2 12 12 36 11 25 0-1
South Central Conference
Dallas Rockets 14 13 1 29 13 27 105 1-1
Oklahoma City Warriors 14 7 7 22 24 21 63 0-0
Dallas Americans 14 6 8 21 22 20 56 0-0
San Antonio Generals 14 6 8 27 32 20 54 0-0
Austin Soccadillos 14 5 9 19 27 17 49 0-1
Arkansas Diamonds 14 2 12 13 47 11 21 1-0
Southwest Conference
El Paso Patriots 14 12 2 32 15 29 96 0-0
New Mexico Chiles 14 7 7 29 22 24 95 1-2
Tucson Amigos 14 5 9 23 36 20 52 0-1
Arizona Cotton 14 5 9 22 28 20 48 1-0
Pacific Conference
Palo Alto Firebirds 14 12 2 32 15 26 94 2-0
North Bay Breakers 14 10 4 32 13 26 86 0-0
San Francisco All Blacks 14 7 7 25 26 23 65 0-0
East Bay Red Riders 14 7 7 25 24 21 63 0-0
Round 1: Oklahoma City defeated Dallas 0-2, 3-0
Tucson defeated New Mexico 2-0, 3-1
Atlanta defeated Memphis 5-1, 1-0
Round 2: Dallas defeated Oklahoma City 0-2, 3-1, 2-0(MG)
Tucson defeated El Paso 1-2(SO), 2-1
Atlanta defeated Boca Raton 0-2, 3-0
Palo Alto defeated North Bay 0-1, 4-2, 2-0(MG)
Sizzling Six: El Paso 3, Atlanta 1
Palo Alto 2, Orlando 0
Tucson 3, Dallas 1
Dallas 3, Atlanta 2
Tucson 2, Orlando 0
Palo Alto 2, El Paso 0
FINAL: Palo Alto defeated Tucson, 1-0.
After the season, Gwinnest County folded.
Top Scorers:
GP G Pts
Efen Rodarte, El Paso 13 14 35
Sheldon Lee, Orlando 13 13 29
R. Alarpe, Atlanta 10 10 21
T. Trevino, Dallas Rockets 12 9 21
A. Pastor, North Bay 13 19
Leading Goalkeepers:
GP GA Pts
Vince DaSilva, Palo Alto 12 9 0.75
W. Russ, Orlando 13 11 0.85
Mesingaener, Boca Raton 12 13 1.08
Kaufman, North Bay 11 12 1.09
L. Venable, Dallas Rockets 13 15 1.15
All-Star Team:
G - Vince DaSilva, Palo Alto
D - Greg Schwager, Palo Alto
D - Eric Dade, Dallas
D - Guillermo McFarlane, El Paso
D - Denny Panayi, Tucson
M - Craig Huft, Palo Alto
M - Robin Chan, Orlando
M - Jimmy Hutchinson, Palo Alto
F - Roderick Scott, Dallas
F - Olu Molomo, Tucson
F - Narciso Zazueta, Tucson
Most Valuable Player: Sheldon Lee, Orlando Lions
Coach of the Year: Joe Silviera, Palo Alto Firebirds
The indoor season saw a close race in the Southwest between the Tucson Amigos and Colorado Comets, with the Amigos winning by two games. Dallas Kickers and Oklahoma City finished a dead heat in the Tex-Oma division, while the new Atlanta Magic won the Southeast division. The playoffs adopted a unique tournament layout, as described above. For the indoor season, the trick was to get top teams from three divisions through a playoff round down to four teams. They chose to take seven teams (giving Oklahoma city an unexplained bye), reduce that to six by having Atlanta Lightning and Memphis engage in a play-in game, and pairing the remaining teams in a round of games. The three victors (Dallas, Tucson and Atlanta Magic) then played the “sizzling four” round-robin with Oklahoma City. The victors of that round-robin, Oklahoma City and Atlanta, played an exciting final, with Oklahoma City winning 7-2.
Final 1991-1992 USISL Indoor Standings:
Before the season, Richardson became North Texas. Forth Worth moved to Dallas.
Lubbock became the Tornado. Memphis became the Survivors. Permian Basin
became the Mirage. Amarillo and the Atlanta Magic were added.
GP W L GF GA PTS SO
Southeast Conference
Atlanta Magic 8 7 1 121 78 28 0-0
Memphis Survivors 8 6 2 68 57 24 0-0
Atlanta Lightning 8 4 4 88 94 16 0-0
Nashville Metros 8 2 6 45 72 8 0-0
Arkansas Diamonds 8 1 7 49 70 4 0-0
Southwest Conference
Tucson Amigos 14 12 2 113 69 48 0-0
Colorado Comets 14 10 4 133 80 40 0-0
Lubbock Tornado 14 9 5 114 81 36 0-0
Phoenix Hearts 14 5 9 79 93 20 0-0
Amarillo Challengers 14 5 9 119 129 20 0-0
Permian Basin Mirage 14 1 13 74 164 4 0-0
Tex-Oma Conference
Dallas Kickers 14 11 3 131 69 44 0-0
Oklahoma City Warriors 14 11 3 120 57 44 0-0
North Texas Mid-Cities Flyers 14 8 6 107 70 32 0-0
San Antonio Generals 14 7 7 97 112 28 0-0
Tulsa Renegades 14 5 9 73 112 20 0-0
Austin Soccadillos 14 0 14 29 137 0 0-0
Playoffs: Dallas defeated North Texas Mid-Cities 7-3,13-6)
Tucson defeated Colorado 9-5,4-3,3-9,7-6 (OT))
Atlanta Lightning defeated Memphis 8-4)
Atlanta Magic defeated Atlanta Lightning 11-3)
Sizzling Four: Dallas 3, Tucson 2
Atlanta 9, Oklahoma City 6
Atlanta 9, Oklahoma City 6
Atlanta 8, Tucson 7
Oklahoma City 8, Dallas 3
Atlanta 4, Dallas 3
Oklahoma City 8, Tucson 3
FINAL: Oklahoma City defeated Atlanta, 7-2
After the season Tulsa, Atlanta Quicksilver, and Colorado folded. Lubbock sat
out the outdoor season.
Leading Scorers:
GP G PT
Chris Melton, Amarillo 13 37 88
Andy Crawford, Colorado 14 25 77
E. Serrano, Amarillo 13 28 70
F. Manzano, Tucson 12 25 66
D. Watland, Amarillo 14 23 66
M. Draguicevich, San Antonio 11 22 65
M. Cook, Oklahoma City 12 20 61
J. Rogers, Phoenix 11 19 57
C. Hobbs, Lubbock 14 21 57
Chris Cook, Atlanta Magic 12 21 54
Leading Goalkeepers:
GA GAA
Myers/Patsah, Oklahoma City 57 4.07
Allen/Seaber, Tucson 69 4.93
Ray/Calderon, Dallas 69 4.93
Grimes/Hall, North Texas 70 5.00
Lammering/Vik, Colorado 80 5.71
Swissler/Godin, Lubbock 81 5.79
Dachniwsky/Ran, Atlanta Mag. 78 6.50
Puccia/Elias, Phoenix 93 6.64
Gonzales/Volga, Memphis 57 7.13
Looney/Spies, Atlanta 94 7.83
Most Valuable Player: Chris Cook, Atlanta Magic
Top Goal Scorer: Chris Melton, Amarillo
Coach of the year: Carlos Acosta, Tucson
Rookie of the year: Noel Clackum, Atlanta magic; Emillo Romero, Colorado
National Professional Soccer League
The NPSL brought themselves back up to eight teams with the addition of the Harrisburg Heat and Tulsa Ambush, while the Atlanta Attack moved to Kansas City, to take the place of the MSL Comets who had folded. The league averaged 3,619 fans per game this year, marking eight years of slow, but steady growth. More importantly, the league was winning the bidding war against the MSL. Although they weren’t bidding as high as MSL for top players, they were able to keep their teams in much better financial shape, by going after high-quality second-string players with more modest salaries. At the same time, an increasing number of players were starting to play year-round, by supplementing their indoor seasons with summer outdoor seasons in the USISL.
The regular season was almost a repeat of the previous year, with the Chicago Power and Canton Invaders again winning their divisions. Harrisburg made a good debut season, coming in 2nd in the East at 24-16, good enough for a tie with Canton. Tulsa was not so lucky, finishing with the worst record in the league. In the first round playoffs, Kansas City defeated Illinois and Detroit defeated Harrisburg. In the semifinals, Canton defeated Kansas City 6-17, 16-14 and 13-7, while defending champions Chicago were ousted by Detroit 18-8, 7-18, and 19-3 in a wild series. The Championship saw the title go to Detroit for the first time, in a series that went all five games, 8-14, 16-17, 14-10, 10-1, and 14-8. For Canton once again it was close, but no cigar.
Final NPSL League Standings, 1991-1992
Before the season, Harrisburg and Tulsa were added. Atlanta moved to Kansas
City.
G W L % GB GF GA
American Division
Canton Invaders 40 24 16 .600 -- 476 447
Harrisburg Heat 40 24 16 .600 -- 547 462
Detroit Rockers 40 22 18 .550 2 542 485
Dayton Dynamo 40 9 31 .225 15 479 593
National Division
Chicago Power 40 30 10 .750 -- 524 439
Kansas City Attack 40 26 14 .650 4 630 473
Illinois Thunder 40 20 20 .500 10 496 523
Milwaukee Wave 40 18 22 .450 12 453 534
Tulsa Ambush 40 7 33 .175 23 452 643
Quarterfinals Kansas City defeated Illinois 9-24, 23-6, 6-2(MG)
Detroit defeated Harrisburg 19-12, 16-8
Semifinals Canton defeated Kansas City 6-17, 16-14, 13-7
Detroit defeated Chicago 18-8, 7-18, 19-3
FINALS: Detroit defeated Canton 8-14, 16-17, 14-10, 10-1, 14-8
Leading scorers:
GP G* A Pts
Dan O'Keefe, Detroit 40 67 27 144
Brian Haynes, Kansas City 40 54 34 141
Mike Richardson, Chicago 39 47 36 130
Franklin McIntosh, Harrisburg 36 43 49 130
Andy Chapman, Detroit 35 71 22 129
Eloy Salgado, Tulsa 39 47 39 128
Teddy Kraft, Chicago 38 70 12 123
Kia Zolgharnain, Canton 38 60 25 122
Matt Knowles, Illinois 40 45 32 121
Joey Kirk, Milwaukee 40 50 28 121
Peter Hattrup, Kansas City 39 34 52 120
*Includes 1 point, 2 point and 3 point goals.
Leading Goalkeepers: (min. 700 minutes)
Min PA PAA W-L
Russ Prince, Chicago 1517:21 261 10.32 21-5
Mark Simpson, Chicago 594:33 104 10.50 7-3
Joe Malla, Harrisburg 1728:51 309 10.72 19-10
Jamie Swanner, Canton 2356:20 426 10.85 24-16
Scoop Stanisic, Illinois 1359:19 249 10.99 13-10
Warren Westcoat, Kansas City 1252:05 235 11.26 13-7
Frank Arlasky, Kansas City 1077:57 206 11.47 12-6
Brian Finnerty, Dallas 2275.46 441 11.63 22-17
Jim St. Andre, Milwaukee 1129:50 235 12.48 8-14
Most Valuable Player: Jamie Swanner, Canton Invaders
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jamie Swanner, Canton Invaders
Coach of the Year: Jim Polihan, Harrisburg Heat
Defender of the Year: Matt Knowles, Illinois Thunder
Rookie of the Year: Sean Bowers, Detroit Rockers
First All-NPSL Team:
G - Jamie Swanner, Canton
D - Matt Knowles, Illinois
D - Bret Hall, Chicago
M - Michael Richardson, Chicago
F - Brian Haynes, Kansas City
F - Dan O'Keefe, Detroit
Lone Star Soccer Association
The LSSA struggled through this season, and finally called it quits, in the face of increasing competition from the USISL which was by now securely established throughout the Tex-Oma area, and there simply was not sufficient market to support both leagues. However, several of the LSSA teams returned to the local amateur leagues from which they had come.
Final LSSA League Standings, 1992:
Before the season, Dallas changed their nickname to Inter. America F.C. and
San Antonio were added.
G W L GF GA PTS
Northern Division
Tulsa Pride 14 10 4 53 12 20
Oklahoma City Spirit 14 9 5 22 16 18
Wichita Falls Fever 13 5 8 27 29 10
Wichita Blue 14 3 11 9 55 6
Southern Division
Dallas Inter 14 11 3 42 14 22
America F. C. 14 9 5 30 22 18
Austin Thunder 13 5 8 16 28 10
San Antonio XLR8 12 2 10 18 38 4
Playoffs: Dallas Inter defeated Oklahoma City 1-0
America F. C. defeated Tulsa 3-1
CHAMPIONSHIP: Dallas defeated America F. C. 2-1.
Canadian Soccer League
The CSL barely limped into the 1992 season, staggering under the weight of their ever-present financial problems. Despite their losses from 1991, they managed to add a new team, the London Lasers. However the financial picture did not improve during the season, and with declining attendance and red ink continuing to mount, the league called it quits after the season. This brought an unfortunate end to the first truly national Canadian league. This was a major blow for the Canadian Soccer Federation, as the CSL had been enormously successful in providing Canadian players with a higher level of competition than had been previously available since the demise of the North American Soccer League. All was not lost however, as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver joined the APSL, while North York and Winnipeg, with fewer financial resources, joined the semi-pro Canadian National Soccer League.
Final League Standings, 1992:
Before the season, London was added.
G W T L GF GA PTS
Vancouver 86ers 20 11 3 6 42 28 36
North York Rockets 20 8 6 6 25 20 30
Winnipeg Fury 20 8 1 11 27 42 25
Montreal Supra 20 6 7 7 29 24 25
London Lasers 20 6 7 7 25 32 22
Toronto Blizzard 20 6 6 8 28 29 21
Semifinals: Vancouver 1 at Montreal 1
Montreal 0 at Vancouver 1
North York 1 at Winnipeg 1
Winnipeg 1 at North York 0
CHAMPIONSHIP: Vancouver 0 at Winnipeg 2
Winnipeg 1 at Vancouver 1
After the season, the league folded, along with the London franchise.
Vancouver Montreal, and Toronto joined the APSL, and North York, and Winnipeg
joined the semi-pro National Soccer League (which changed its name to the
Canadian National Soccer League in 1993).
Leading Goalscorers:
Eddy Berdusco, North York 14
Carlo Corazzin, Winnipeg 8
John Catliff, Vancouver 6
Doug Muirhead, Vancouver 6
Dale Mitchell, Vancouver 6
Geoff Aunger, London 5
Grant Needham, Montreal 5
Tony Notica, Winnipeg 5
All-Star Team:
Pat Onstad, Winnipeg
Peter Sarantopoulos, Winnipeg
Nick Dasovic, North York
Dino Lopez, London
Carl Fletcher, Toronto
Geoff Aunger, London
Dale Mitchell, Vancouver
Lyndon Hooper, Toronto
Eddy Berdusco, North York
Carlo Corazzin, Winnipeg
Paul Peschisolido, Toronto
The 1992 Olympics
The format for the Olympic soccer competition was changed for the 1992 games. FIFA, fearing competition from the Olympics that would diminish the prestige of the World Cup, forced an agreement with the International Olympic Committee in which only under-23 players could compete in the Olympic games. The USA had a very disappointing competition this time, being eliminated in the first round. Although they had been eliminated this early seven times before, hopes were high this time because of the star-studded roster of upcoming starts who would go on to make a huge impact at the 1994 World Cup. These new stars included Brad Friedel, Mike Burns, Alexi Lalas, Claudio Reyna, Cobi Jones, Joe-Max Moore, Mike Lapper and Chris Henderson. Many of these players had come from the U-20 team that had played so well in the 1989 U-20 championships.
The US swept through their qualifying games, outscoring Panama and Haiti by 18-2 in 4 games. They followed this with a sweep through the 1991 Pan-American Games, with five victories to claim the gold medal in a thrilling victory over Panama. The US finished its qualifying in triumph as they swept Mexico 2-1 in Mexico City and 3-0 in Bethlehem, PA. Everything fell apart however, once they arrived in Barcelona. With Lalas and Henderson injured and Steve Snow benched, the US lost to Italy 1-2, beating Kuwait 3-1, and drawing with Poland. Italy’s victory over Kuwait bumped the US to third place in their group, and they were eliminated. Ultimately, Spain took the gold, Poland took the Silver and Ghana took the bronze.
Men’s National Team
With the USSF in the midst of site selection for the World Cup 1994 venues, National team Coach Bora Milutinovic was deeply involved with the development of the team. His task was a hard one; in order to bring the players up to world class levels, they needed both playing opportunities and training time. To this end, his major ally was the USSF grant sponsorship of the national “Team in Training” program, which by now ad signed up a significant number of established players and promising newcomers, including Paul Caligiuri, Hugo Perez, Chris Henderson, Tony Meola, Desmond Armstrong, Bruce Murray, John Doyle, and Fernando Clavigo. Several top college stars were also on the squad, and the bulk of the team was firmly ensconced in the APSL which was improving in competitive quality due to its reduced number of franchises.
By this time, several players had developed to the point where they were now playing for European Clubs (Tab Ramos, Figueroas, Spain; John Harkes at Sheffield Wednesday; Kasey Keller at Millwall; Thomas Dooley at Kaiserslautern; Ernie Stewart, at Tilburg, Holland). The players were now getting practice at a competitive level heretofore unheard of for the national squad.
To showcase the developing US talent, the USSF founded the USA Cup tournament, a four team round-robin event. The inaugural USA Cup was held in late spring, against fairly strong competition, Ireland, Portugal and Italy. The US started off in good style, trouncing Ireland 4-0, in Washington, off of goals by Marcelo Balboa, Tab Ramos and John Harkes. This was followed by a 1-0 victory over Portugal in Chicago. The final was a real surprise, as the US held Italy to a 1-1 draw, giving them the Cup. Although the European opponents did not take the tournament fully seriously, leaving some of their starting players back home, the US performance demonstrated that the Americans were not to be taken lightly, especially coming back from their humiliating defeat to Ireland only a month before.
The US also participated in the inaugural Intercontinental Cup, held in Saudi Arabia. This four team event, consisting of the winning countries of the major continental tournaments (Copa America, Gold Cup, Euro ’92 and African Nations Cup) would eventually evolve into the Confederations Cup. The US was surprised by Saudi Arabia who shut them out 3-0. In the 3rd place game, the US rallied for a 5-2 victory over Ivory Coast. The rest of the US playing schedule was a series of friendlies, with a much less stellar record, although that can be partially explained by the tough competition (Brazil, C.I.S., Columbia) and numerous games on foreign soil. Several of the losses were close (including the first of several 0-1 losses to Brazil), and victories over China and C.I.S. were significant.
1992 Totals: 6W, 4D, 11L
Oct 19 92 W 5-2 Ivory Coast 9,500 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Intercontinental Cup)
Balboa (12), Jones (31), Wynalda (56), Murray (67,83)
Oct 15 92 L 0-3 Saudi Arabia 70,000 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Intercontinental Cup)
Oct 09 92 D 0-0 Canada 2,097 Greensboro, NC, USA
Sep 03 92 W 2-0 Canada 3,500 St. John's, Canada
Sorber (26), Vermes (60)
Aug 02 92 L 0-1 Brazil 17,021 Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jul 31 92 L 0-1 Columbia 26,651 Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jun 27 92 D 0-0 Ukraine 11,815 Piscataway, NJ, USA
Jun 13 92 L 0-1 Australia 17,309 Orlando, FL, USA
Jun 06 92 D 1-1 Italy 26,874 Chicago, IL, USA (USA'92)
Harkes (23)
Jun 03 92 W 1-0 Portugal 10,402 Chicago, IL, USA (USA'92)
Wegerle (35)
May 30 92 W 3-1 Rep. Ireland 35,696 Washington, DC, USA (USA'92)
Balboa (54), Ramos (70), Harkes (87)
May 17 92 L 0-1 Scotland 24,000 Denver, CO, USA
Apr 29 92 L 1-4 Ireland 27,000 Dublin, Ireland
Wynalda (89)
Apr 04 92 W 5-0 China 31,815 Palo Alto, CA, USA
Perez (12,75), Wynalda (28,78), Kinnear (49)
Mar 18 92 L 1-3 Morocco 20,000 Casablanca, Morocco
Perez (58)
Mar 11 92 L 0-2 Spain 35,000 Valladoid, Spain
Feb 26 92 L 0-3 Brazil 40,000 Fortaleza, Brazil
Feb 18 92 L 0-2 El Salvador 45,000 San Salvador, El Salvador
Feb 12 92 D 0-0 Costa Rica 22,000 San Jose, Costa Rica
Feb 02 92 W 2-1 C.I.S. 35,248 Detroit, MI, USA
Wynalda (3), Balboa (75-P)
Jan 25 92 L 0-1 C.I.S. (K) 30,386 Miami, FL, USA
Women’s National Team
The Women’s National Team was mostly inactive this year, only assembling briefly in August for two friendlies against Norway, both losses.
1992 Results: 0W, 0D, 2L
Aug 16 92 L 2-4 Norway New Britain, CT, USA
Milbrett, Cassella
Aug 14 92 L 1-3 Norway Medford, MA, USA
Hamm
U. S. Open Cup
In the quarterfinals, Indianapolis SC defeated St. Louis Scott Gallagher; San Jose Oaks were likewise victorious. Bridgeport Vasco de Gama defeated Fairfax Spartans 1-0, and Dallas Rockets (USISL) defeated FC Dallas 2-1. In the semifinals, Bridgeport Vasco de Gama defeated Dallas Rockets 2-1 and the San Jose Oaks defeated Indianapolis SC 3-1. The final was played at Kuntz Stadium at indianapolis before 2,500 fans where the San Jose Oaks defeated Bridgeport Vasco de Gama 2-1 for the title.
The College Game
This was the year of the high scorer, as Richard Sharpe, of Florida Tech set new records for points per game (5.33), points (112), goals per game (2.33), and goals (49). Sharpe would go on to set new career records in all of these categories in his senior year (1993), and hold them through the end of the century. Varsity men’s teams grew from 569 to 581 and women’s programs grew from 318 to 348.
In the Men’s Division 1 NCAA tournament, the third round saw Virginia defeat Dartmouth 3-0, Duke defeated Southern Methodist 0-0 on penalty kicks, Davidson defeated North Carolina 1-0 (OT), and San Diego defeated Indiana 2-0. The semifinals saw Virginia defeat Duke 3-0, and San Diego defeat Davidson 3-2 in overtime. The championship was held at Davidson, NC on December 6, where Virginia defeat San Diego 2-0.
The Women’s Division 1 NCAA tournament third round saw North Carolina defeat William & Mary 7-0, Santa Clara defeat Stanford 2-0, Hartford defeat Massachusetts 2-1, and Duke defeat Virginia 2-0. Semifinal action saw North Carolina defeat Santa Clara 3-0, and Duke defeat Hartford 1-0. The Championship returned to Chapel Hill, NC, where North Carolina delighted the hometown crowd with a 9-1 thrashing of Duke for their 7th consecutive championship.
Division II Men’s champion: Southern Connecticut State repeated, defeating Tampa 1-0
Division II Women’s champion: Barry defeated Adelphi 3-2.
Division III Men’s champion: Kean defeated Ohio Weslayen 3-1.
Division III Women’s champion: Cortland State defeated Massachusetts-Dartmouth 1-0.
NAIA Men’s Champion: Belhaven 2, Lynn 1
NAIA Women’s Champion: Lynn 1, Pacific Lutheran 0
NJCAA Men’s Championship: Yavapai College 3, Andrew College 0
NJCAA Women’s Championship: Meramec Community College 3, Monroe Comm. Coll. 0
NCCAA Division 1 Championship: Judson 2, Concordia (OR) 1 (OT)
NCCAA Division 2 Championship: Baptist Bible College 2, Pillsbury Baptist Bible 1
Final Men's Division 1 Coaches' Poll: 1. Virginia 2. North Carolina State 3. Duke 4. St. Louis 5. Creighton 6. Southern Methodist 7. Portland 8. Washington 9. UCLA 10. James Madison Final Women's Division 1 Coaches' Poll: 1. North Carolina 2. Hartford 3. Portland 4. Stanford 5. Virginia 6. Santa Clara 7. Duke 8. Connecticut 9. William & Mary 10. Massachusetts Men's Division 1 NSCAA All-Americans (1st team): G - Brad Friedel, UCLA D - Joseph Addo, George Mason D - Scott Schweitzer, North Carolina State D - Hector Zamora, Seton Hall M - Joe-Max Moore, UCLA M - Claudio Reyna, Virginia M - Joseph Thieman, Princeton F - Ben Corwley, Virginia F - Robert Martella, Bowling Green F - Alan Prampin, Southern Methodist F - Robert Ukrop, Davidson Women's Division 1 NSCAA All-Americans (1st team): G - Saskia Webber, Rutgers D - Holly Hellmuth, Massachusetts M - Karen Ferguson, Connecticut M - Julie Foudy, Stanford M - Tisha Venturini, North Carolina F - Mia Hamm, North Carolina F - Kim LeMere, Hartford F - Kristine Lilly, North Carolina F - Tiffeny Milbrett, Portland F - Sarah Rafanelli, Stanford F - Andrea Rubio, Virginia F - Rebecca Wakefield, William & Mary Men's National Award Winners: Hermann Trophy: Joseph Ulrich, Duke Missouri Athletic Club Award: Claudio Reyna, Virginia ISAA Player of the Year: Robert Ukrop, Davidson ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year: Brad Friedel, UCLA NSCAA Coach of the Year (Division 1): Charlie Slagle, Davidson Women's National Award Winners: Hermann Trophy: Mia Hamm, North Carolina Missouri Athletic Club Award: Mia Hamm, North Carolina
Other Action
US Open Cup Championship:San Jose Oaks (SFDML) defeated Bridgeport Vasco de Gama, 2-1. Tournament MVP: Joe Mihaljevic (San Jose Oaks Over 30 team).
National Amateur Cup Championship: Madison 56’ers defeated IFC Greensboro, 2-1.
James P. McGuire Cup (U19 Men): VISTA Hurricane, Alexandria, VA
J. Ross Stewart Cup (Women U-19): Texas Longhorns, Dallas
Don Greer Cup (Boys U-17): Alta Loma (CA) Arsenal
L. Moynihan Cup (Girls U-17): Sparta (IL)
D.J. Niotis Cup (U-16 Boys): North Huntington Beach (CA) Black
Patricia Masotto Cup: Burnsville (MN) Giants
CONCACAF Champions Cup:The San Francisco Bay Blachawks (SPSL) and Dallas Rockets (USISL) both participated this year. San Francisco surged through the early rounds, swamping Eurokickers (Panama) 10-0, 0-1, La Victoria (Belize) 3-2, 2-0, and real Espana (Honduras) 3-0, 3-0. Dallas defeated Cemcol-Crown (Belize) 1-0, 2-1, Hamilton International (Bermuda) 4-0, 2-1, and Tauro FC (Panama) 3-1, 2-2. In the 4th round, Dallas was eliminated by America (Mexico) 1-2, 1-5. The Blachawks, having gotten a 4th round bye, entered the 5th round, was gunning for the semifinals, but lost to America (Mexico) 0-3, 2-1 (losing on goals aggregate). In the final, America (Mexico) defeated LD Alajuelense (Costa Rica) 1-0.
CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup: Not held this year.
CONCACAF U-20 Championship: The USA swent the Kelowma Group, defeating Bermuda 5-0, Trinidad & Tobago 2-0, and Costa Rica 2-0. In the final round, the USA lost to Mexico 3-0, and defeated Honduras 4-0 and Canada 2-1. USA finished second behind Mexico, and both qualified for the U-20 World Youth Cup.
CONCACAF U-17 Championship: The US won group 2, beating El Salvador 5-0, Puerto Rico 6-0 and drawing with Cuba 1-1. In the final round, the US finished second to Mexico. They drew with trinidad & Tobago 1-1, beat Cuba 1-0 and drew with Mexico 1-1. Mexico, the United States and Cuba thereby qualified for the 1993 U-17 World Youth Cup.
FIFA Futsal World Championship: The US won the silver medal at the tournament. Overall they earned 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Highlights were a 6-3 victory over Iran, a 7-1 win over China, an 8-3 win over Russia, and a 6-3 victory over Argentina. They lost to Brazil 1-4 in the championship game.
Hall of Fame: In 1992, the US Soccer Hall of Fame inducted Julius Alonso, Werner Fricker, and Ron Newman. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America inducted Efrain “Chico” Chacurian, Thomas Dent, Robert Dunn, Otto Haas, Fred Holloway, Richard Schmeltzer, Glenn Warner, and Don Yonker. The National Intercollegiate Soccer Officials Association (NISOA) Hall of Fame inducted Fred Godart.
Honda Award (Player of the Year): Thomas Dooley
USSF Players of the Year: Marcelo Balboa, Carin Jennings Gabarra
Chevrolet/US Soccer Athletes of the Year: Marcelo Balboa, Carin Gabarra