1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League season

Major Indoor Soccer League
Season1988–89
ChampionsSan Diego Sockers
(5th title)
Matches played168
Top goalscorerPreki (51 goals)
Average attendance7,805

The 1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the eleventh in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers repeating as MISL champions. It was the Sockers' seventh indoor title in eight NASL and MISL seasons. The Sockers would win seventh games in both the semifinals and championship series.

Recap

The league very nearly did not make it to the fall of 1988 as both labor negotiations and rising costs threatened to fold the league. The St. Louis Steamers, Minnesota Strikers, Cleveland Force and Chicago Sting dropped out over the course of the summer.[1] Plans for a 60-game schedule were scrapped,[2] and a new labor agreement was signed on July 16.[1]

The remaining seven teams would play a 48-game schedule that would see the top five teams qualify for the playoffs. The fourth and fifth-place teams would play each other, while the first-place team would play the winner in the league semifinals. The second and third-place teams played in the other semifinal, and the semifinal winners would play in the league championship series.[1]

After the season, the Los Angeles Lazers [3] folded and new franchises were placed in St. Louis and Cleveland for the 1989–90 season.[4]

Teams

Team City/Area Arena
Baltimore Blast Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
Dallas Sidekicks Dallas, Texas Reunion Arena
Kansas City Comets Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena
Los Angeles Lazers Inglewood, California The Forum
San Diego Sockers San Diego, California San Diego Sports Arena
Tacoma Stars Tacoma, Washington Tacoma Dome
Wichita Wings Wichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum

Map of clubs

Major Indoor Soccer League clubs

Regular Season Schedule

Main article: 1988–89 Major Soccer League regular season schedule

The 1988–89 regular season schedule ran from November 4, 1988, to April 18, 1989. At 48 games, it was a decrease of eight games per team compared to the previous season.[5]

Final standings

Team Pld HW HL AW AL GF GA GD GB PCT Qualification
Baltimore Blast 48 16 8 13 11 215 208 +7 — .604 Playoffs
San Diego Sockers 48 17 7 10 14 220 168 +52 2 .563
Dallas Sidekicks 48 15 9 9 15 185 206 −21 5 .500
Tacoma Stars 48 14 10 9 15 208 207 +1 6 .479
Wichita Wings 48 15 9 8 16 212 208 +4 6 .479
Kansas City Comets 48 12 12 9 15 218 222 −4 8 .438
Los Angeles Lazers 48 14 10 7 17 194 233 −39 8 .438
Source: [citation needed]

Playoffs

Wildcard Series Semifinals Championship Series
         
4 Tacoma Stars 1
5 Wichita Wings 3
1 Baltimore Blast 4
5 Wichita Wings 2
1 Baltimore Blast 3
2 San Diego Sockers 4
2 San Diego Sockers 4
3 Dallas Sidekicks 3

Wildcard Series

Tacoma vs. Wichita
Date Away Home Attendance
April 28 Wichita 4 Tacoma 1 4,193
April 29 Wichita 4 Tacoma 1 4,338
May 6 Tacoma 5 Wichita 4 9,320
May 8 Tacoma 2 Wichita 6 6,200
Wichita wins series 3-1

Semifinals

Championship Series

Baltimore vs. San Diego
Date Away Home Attendance
May 29 San Diego 3 Baltimore 4 6,539
Billy Ronson scored at 7:02 of overtime
May 30 San Diego 5 Baltimore 4 6,280
Steve Zungul scored at 2:46 of overtime
June 2 Baltimore 2 San Diego 5 11,484
June 4 Baltimore 3 San Diego 4 11,147
June 6 Baltimore 6 San Diego 3 12,884
June 8 San Diego 0 Baltimore 7 6,990
June 10 San Diego 6 Baltimore 5 11,220
San Diego wins series 4-3

Regular Season Player Statistics

[6]

Scoring leaders

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

Player Team GP G A Pts
Preki Tacoma Stars 48 51 53 104
Chico Borja Wichita Wings 45 34 53 87
Dale Mitchell Kansas City Comets 47 46 36 82
Erik Rasmussen Wichita Wings 48 42 36 78
Hector Marinaro Los Angeles Lazers 44 47 28 75
Gary Heale Los Angeles Lazers 48 37 29 66
Tatu Dallas Sidekicks 43 35 29 64
Branko Segota San Diego Sockers 31 29 34 63
Peter Ward Tacoma Stars 47 41 19 60
Carl Valentine Baltimore Blast 46 31 26 57

Leading goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Victor Nogueira San Diego Sockers 33 1996 95 2.86 19 13
P.J. Johns Tacoma Stars 31 1946 114 3.51 18 13
Scott Manning Baltimore Blast 29 1596 102 3.83 17 9
Joe Papaleo Dallas Sidekicks 24 1463 94 3.86 13 11
Cris Vaccaro Wichita Wings 40 2298 154 4.02 22 14
Krys Sobieski Dallas Sidekicks 23 1415 98 4.16 11 12
Slobo Ilijevski Baltimore Blast 23 1232 89 4.34 12 9
Kris Peat Los Angeles Lazers 24 1273 94 4.43 14 8
Mike Dowler Tacoma Stars 17 1068 82 4.60 5 12

Playoff Player Statistics

[7]

Scoring leaders

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

Player Team GP G A Pts
Billy Ronson Baltimore Blast 13 17 8 25
Domenic Mobilo Baltimore Blast 13 16 6 22
Branko Segota San Diego Sockers 12 12 10 22
Chico Borja Wichita Wings 10 10 9 19
David Byrne Baltimore Blast 13 10 7 17

Leading goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player Team GP Min GA GAA W L
Joe Papaleo Dallas Sidekicks 4 237 9 2.28 3 1
Victor Nogueira San Diego Sockers 14 829 52 3.76 8 6
P.J. Johns Tacoma Stars 3 171 11 3.86 1 2
Scott Manning Baltimore Blast 13 740 48 3.89 7 5
Cris Vaccaro Wichita Wings 10 569 44 4.64 5 5

All-MISL Teams

First Team   Position   Second Team
Victor Nogueira, San Diego G Scott Manning, Baltimore
Kevin Crow, San Diego D Tim Wittman, Baltimore
Bruce Savage, Baltimore D Chico Moreira, Wichita
Chico Borja, Wichita M Branko Segota, San Diego
Preki, Tacoma F Hector Marinaro, Los Angeles
Dale Mitchell, Kansas City F Erik Rasmussen, Wichita
Honorable Mention   Position  
P.J. Johns, Tacoma G
Fernando Clavijo, Los Angeles D
Mike Powers, Dallas D
Kai Haaskivi, Baltimore M
Tatu, Dallas F
Carl Valentine, Baltimore F

League awards

Most Valuable Player: Preki, Tacoma

Scoring Champion: Preki, Tacoma

Pass Master: Preki, Tacoma/Chico Borja, Wichita

Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego

Rookie of the Year: Rusty Troy, Baltimore

Newcomer of the Year: Domenic Mobilio, Baltimore

Goalkeeper of the Year: Victor Nogueira, San Diego

Coach of the Year: Kenny Cooper, Baltimore

Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Victor Nogueira, San Diego

Championship Series Unsung Hero: Paul Daugherty, San Diego

Team Attendance Totals

Club Games Total Average
Kansas City Comets 24 221,465 9,228
Wichita Wings 24 207,465 8,644
Dallas Sidekicks 24 205,607 8,567
San Diego Sockers 24 201,186 8,383
Baltimore Blast 24 196,068 8,170
Tacoma Stars 24 162,751 6,781
Los Angeles Lazers 24 116,774 4,866
OVERALL 168 1,311,316 7,805

References

  1. ^ a b c 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 49.
  2. ^ "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today..." Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  3. ^ "MISL Lazers Reportedly Fold". Press-Courier. June 22, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  4. ^ 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 50.
  5. ^ 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. pp. 46–47.
  6. ^ 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 35.
  7. ^ 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 88.

Griffin, John, ed. (1989). MISL Official Guide 1989-90. Overland Park, Kansas: Major Indoor Soccer League Communications Department.