1996–97 National Professional Soccer League season

National Professional Soccer League
Season1996–97
ChampionsKansas City Attack
2nd title
Matches played300
Top goalscorerHector Marinaro (104)
Highest attendance17,617 Wichita – Milwaukee (February 28)
Average attendance5,650

The 1996–97 National Professional Soccer League season was the thirteenth season for the league.

League standings

American Conference

East Division

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT GB
1 Harrisburg Heat 40 22 18 523 457 +66 .550 —
2 Baltimore Spirit 40 20 20 506 494 +12 .500 2
3 Philadelphia KiXX 40 17 23 451 593 −142 .425 5
4 Tampa Bay Terror 40 15 25 503 541 −38 .375 7
Source: RSSSF

Central Division

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT GB
1 Cleveland Crunch 40 29 11 772 550 +222 .725 —
2 Cincinnati Silverbacks 40 21 19 570 517 +53 .525 8
3 Columbus Invaders 40 5 35 479 895 −416 .125 24
Source: RSSSF

National Conference

North Division

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT GB
1 Buffalo Blizzard 40 21 19 545 469 +76 .525 —
2 Edmonton Drillers 40 21 19 538 475 +63 .525 —
3 Detroit Rockers 40 20 20 563 532 +31 .500 1
4 Toronto Shooting Stars 40 6 34 416 685 −269 .150 15
Source: RSSSF

Midwest Division

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD PCT GB
1 St. Louis Ambush 40 27 13 637 545 +92 .675 —
2 Milwaukee Wave 40 26 14 525 472 +53 .650 1
3 Kansas City Attack 40 26 14 605 500 +105 .650 1
4 Wichita Wings 40 24 16 589 497 +92 .600 3
Source: RSSSF

Playoffs

Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Finals
A1 Cleveland Crunch 14 21 14
A4 Baltimore Spirit 15 18 – A4 Baltimore Spirit 19 9 13
A5 Philadelphia KiXX 8 8 – American ConferenceA1 Cleveland Crunch 11 13 17 14 –
A2 Harrisburg Heat 8 19 14 12 –
A2 Harrisburg Heat 11 13 –
A3 Cincinnati Silverbacks 13 15 16 A3 Cincinnati Silverbacks 9 12 –
A6 Tampa Bay Terror 11 17 11 A1 Cleveland Crunch 14 19 8 12 – – –
N4 Kansas City Attack 18 25 14 15 – – –
N1 St. Louis Ambush 19 9 16
N3 Milwaukee Wave 6 9 – N6 Edmonton Drillers 18 19 11
N6 Edmonton Drillers 20 10 – National ConferenceN1 St. Louis Ambush 11 16 11 – –
N4 Kansas City Attack 15 22 13 – –
N2 Buffalo Blizzard 12 11 –
N4 Kansas City Attack 13 13 22 N4 Kansas City Attack 18 13 –
N5 Wichita Wings 11 14 5

Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points

Player Team GP G A Pts
Hector Marinaro Cleveland 36 104 65 265
Zoran Karic Cleveland 34 81 81 242
Dennis Brose Detroit 39 102 51 236
Michael King Milwaukee 38 72 44 185
Joe Reiniger St. Louis 39 62 39 174
Mark Moser St. Louis 37 82 24 165
Franklin McIntosh Cincinnati 36 48 65 161
Goran Hunjak Kansas City 39 61 42 151
Bojan Vučković Baltimore 40 61 33 150
Nikola Vignjević Cleveland 40 58 35 149

League awards

All-NPSL Teams

First Team   Position   Second Team Third Team
Victor Nogueira, Milwaukee G Carlos Peña, Cincinnati Scott Hileman, Edmonton
Daryl Doran, St. Louis D Randy Prescott, Detroit Genoni Martinez, Wichita
Wes Wade, Kansas City D Ricky Mobley, Milwaukee Kim Røntved, Wichita
Zoran Karić, Cleveland M Joe Reiniger, St. Louis Franklin McIntosh, Cincinnati
Hector Marinaro, Cleveland F Michael King, Milwaukee Bojan Vučković, Baltimore
Dennis Brose, Detroit F Mark Moser, St. Louis Goran Hunjak, Kansas City

All-NPSL Rookie Teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Pete Pappas, Philadelphia G Jim McCombs, Baltimore
Drew Callahan, Columbus D René Rivas, Buffalo
John Ball, Cleveland D Shayne Campbell, Edmonton
Adolfo Mella, Toronto M Michael Stephenson, Harrisburg
Jason Dunn, Wichita F Saša Zorić, Baltimore
Carmen D'Onofrio, Edmonton F Martin Dugas, Edmonton

Emeka Moneme, Milwaukee

References


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