2015 North American Soccer League season

North American Soccer League
Season2015
ChampionsNew York Cosmos
Spring ChampionsNew York Cosmos
Fall ChampionsOttawa Fury
Matches played165
Goals scored453 (2.75 per match)
Top goalscorerStefano Pinho (16)
Biggest home win6 goals:
FTL 7–1 IND
(Aug 29)
Biggest away win4 goals:
JAX 0–4 CAR
(May 30)
Highest scoring8 goals:
FTL 7–1 IND
(Aug 29)
Longest winning run5 games:
Ottawa Fury
(Jul 19 – Aug 8)
Longest unbeaten run12 games:
Ottawa Fury
(May 9 – Aug 8)
Ottawa Fury
(Aug 26 – Oct 31)
Longest winless run8 games:
Atlanta Silverbacks
(Apr 25 – Jul 4)
Jacksonville Armada
(May 16 – Jul 15)
Longest losing run4 games:
Atlanta Silverbacks
(May 24 – Jul 4)
Carolina RailHawks
(Aug 12 – 30)
FC Edmonton
(Oct 4 – 17)
Highest attendance16,167
JAX 3–1 FCE
(Apr 4)
Lowest attendance1,112
FCE 4–0 SAS
(Jul 5)
Total attendance975,558
Average attendance5,912
← 2014
2016 →

The 2015 North American Soccer League season was the 48th season of Division II soccer in the United States and the fifth season of the North American Soccer League. It was contested by eleven teams including two from Canada. Jacksonville Armada FC made their NASL debut this season. The defending Soccer Bowl champions were the San Antonio Scorpions, while Minnesota United FC were the defending North American Supporters' Trophy winners. A split season format was used for the 2015 season.

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

Main article: List of NASL stadiums
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Locations of NASL clubs

Personnel and sponsorship

Team Head coach Captain Kit producer Shirt sponsor
Atlanta Silverbacks England Gary Smith England Simon Mensing Reto Sports
Carolina RailHawks Northern Ireland Colin Clarke United States Connor Tobin Adidas Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
FC Edmonton Canada Colin Miller Northern Ireland Albert Watson Adidas The Fath Group
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Austria Günter Kronsteiner Honduras Iván Guerrero Nike Azul Airlines
Indy Eleven United States Tim Regan (interim) Germany Kristian Nicht Diadora Honda
Jacksonville Armada FC United States Eric Dade (interim) Argentina Marcos Flores Nike Winn-Dixie
Minnesota United FC United States Manny Lagos United States Aaron Pitchkolan Inaria Atomic Data / Mall of America
New York Cosmos Venezuela Giovanni Savarese United States Carlos Mendes Nike Emirates
Ottawa Fury FC Canada Marc Dos Santos Republic of Ireland Richie Ryan Admiral The Heart and Crown
San Antonio Scorpions Canada Alen Marcina Canada Adrian Cann Nike Toyota
Tampa Bay Rowdies Scotland Stuart Campbell Brazil Marcelo Saragosa Nike Hard Rock

Player transfers

Main article: List of North American Soccer League transfers 2015

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Atlanta Silverbacks Uruguay Alejandro Pombo End of interim period November 2, 2014 Pre-Season England Gary Smith December 23, 2014
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Austria Günter Kronsteiner Not Returning December 5, 2014 Pre-Season Argentina Marcelo Neveleff January 19, 2015
Jacksonville Armada Expansion team Argentina José Luis Villarreal June 14, 2014[1]
Tampa Bay Rowdies England Ricky Hill Fired November 18, 2014 Pre-Season Netherlands Thomas Rongen December 3, 2014[2]
Jacksonville Armada Argentina José Luis Villarreal Resigned May 22, 2015 6th Argentina Guillermo Ángel Hoyos June 14, 2015[3]
Indy Eleven United States Juergen Sommer Fired June 2, 2015 11th United States Tim Regan (interim) June 2, 2015[4]
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Argentina Marcelo Neveleff Resigned June 7, 2015 10th Honduras Iván Guerrero (interim) June 7, 2015[5]
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Honduras Iván Guerrero (interim) End of interim period June 30, 2015 8th Austria Günter Kronsteiner June 30, 2015[6]
Tampa Bay Rowdies Netherlands Thomas Rongen Fired August 21, 2015 10th Scotland Stuart Campbell August 26, 2015[7]
Jacksonville Armada Argentina Guillermo Ángel Hoyos Fired September 21, 2015 11th United States Eric Dade (interim) September 21, 2015[8]

Spring season

The Spring season began on April 4 and ended on June 13. The schedule featured a single round robin format with each team playing every other team in the league a single time. Each team hosted 5 home games and played 5 road games. The winner of the Spring season earned one of four berths in the playoffs, known as The Championship.[9]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Cosmos (S) 10 5 5 0 18 9 +9 20 Playoffs
2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 10 5 4 1 15 9 +6 19
3 Carolina RailHawks 10 3 5 2 15 10 +5 14
4 Minnesota United 10 3 5 2 15 13 +2 14
5 Indy Eleven 10 3 4 3 13 12 +1 13
6 Jacksonville Armada 10 3 3 4 15 18 −3 12
7 San Antonio Scorpions 10 3 3 4 11 15 −4 12
8 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 10 3 2 5 12 13 −1 11
9 Ottawa Fury 10 2 5 3 5 8 −3 11
10 FC Edmonton 10 2 3 5 16 22 −6 9
11 Atlanta Silverbacks 10 1 5 4 7 13 −6 8
Source: NASL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) head-to-head record; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals scored
(S) Spring season champion

Results

Home \ Away ATL CAR FCE FTL IND JAX MNU NYC OTT SAS TBR
Atlanta Silverbacks 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1
Carolina RailHawks 1–2 1–1 2–2 3–1 1–1
Edmonton 4–2 1–1 3–2 2–2 2–3
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–1
Indy Eleven 1–1 3–0 1–3 1–1 2–2
Jacksonville Armada 0–4 3–1 1–0 0–0 2–1
Minnesota United 1–0 2–3 3–2 1–1 2–2
New York Cosmos 4–2 3–3 1–0 3–0 2–0
Ottawa Fury 0–0 1–3 1–0 1–0 0–0
San Antonio Scorpions 1–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–3
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–0 2–1 1–0 3–2 0–0
Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fall season

The Fall season began on July 4 and ended on November 1. The schedule featured each team playing every other team in the league once at home and once away. The winner of the Fall season earned one of four berths in The Championship.[10]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Ottawa Fury (F) 20 13 6 1 37 15 +22 45 Playoffs
2 Minnesota United 20 11 6 3 39 26 +13 39
3 New York Cosmos 20 10 6 4 31 21 +10 36
4 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 20 8 6 6 37 27 +10 30
5 FC Edmonton 20 7 5 8 25 24 +1 26
6 Atlanta Silverbacks 20 6 7 7 24 27 −3 25
7 Carolina RailHawks 20 6 3 11 29 39 −10 21
8 Tampa Bay Rowdies 20 5 5 10 18 28 −10 20
9 Indy Eleven 20 5 5 10 23 36 −13 20
10 San Antonio Scorpions 20 4 7 9 30 37 −7 19
11 Jacksonville Armada 20 5 4 11 18 31 −13 19
Source: NASL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) head-to-head record; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals scored
(F) Fall season champion

Results

Home \ Away ATL CAR FCE FTL IND JAX MNU NYC OTT SAS TBR
Atlanta Silverbacks 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 0–3 1–1 3–3 0–0
Carolina RailHawks 2–0 2–1 1–1 3–1 3–0 3–1 1–3 1–3 3–2 1–1
Edmonton 1–3 3–0 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–1 4–0 1–0
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2–2 4–0 1–1 7–1 2–0 2–5 3–3 0–2 0–0 2–1
Indy Eleven 0–1 2–1 0–2 2–1 3–0 3–1 1–1 1–4 1–2 2–0
Jacksonville Armada 1–0 3–0 3–2 0–1 1–1 3–3 1–0 1–3 0–0 2–0
Minnesota United 1–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–0 0–0 1–1 2–2 1–0
New York Cosmos 1–1 3–2 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–4 2–1 2–0
Ottawa Fury 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 4–2 2–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 2–2
San Antonio Scorpions 3–3 3–3 2–2 2–4 2–0 1–0 3–4 1–2 0–1 3–0
Tampa Bay Rowdies 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–3 1–1 3–2 1–3 2–0 1–1 2–0
Source: [2]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

The Championship, culminating with Soccer Bowl 2015, was contested by the winners of the spring and fall seasons hosting the next best two teams in the full year regular season table. The half-season champions earned the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, with the higher seed going to the team with the better full-season record. The two next-best teams earned the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The semi-finals had the No. 1 seed hosting the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed hosting the No. 3 seed. The winners met in the Soccer Bowl 2015 hosted by the team with the higher seed.[11]

Combined standings

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Cosmos (C, X) 30 15 11 4 49 30 +19 56 Championship qualifiers[a]
2 Ottawa Fury 30 15 11 4 42 23 +19 56 Championship qualifiers[b]
3 Minnesota United 30 14 11 5 54 39 +15 53 Championship qualifiers[c]
4 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 30 11 8 11 49 40 +9 41
5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 30 10 9 11 33 37 −4 39
6 Carolina RailHawks 30 9 8 13 44 49 −5 35
7 FC Edmonton 30 9 8 13 41 46 −5 35
8 Atlanta Silverbacks 30 7 12 11 31 40 −9 33
9 Indy Eleven 30 8 9 13 36 48 −12 33
10 San Antonio Scorpions 30 7 10 13 41 52 −11 31
11 Jacksonville Armada 30 8 7 15 33 49 −16 31
Source: NASL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) head-to-head record; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals scored
(C) Champions; (X) Regular season champion
Notes:
  1. ^ As spring season champions
  2. ^ As fall season champions
  3. ^ As next best teams in overall standings

The Championship

Participants

Bracket

Semifinals Soccer Bowl
      
1 New York Cosmos 2
4 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1
1 New York Cosmos 3
2 Ottawa Fury 2
2 Ottawa Fury (a.e.t.) 2
3 Minnesota United 1

Semifinals

New York Cosmos2–1Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Cellerino 37' Yellow card 74'
Senna Yellow card 58'
Raúl 61'
Szetela Yellow card 71'		 Report
Report		 PC 16'
Thomas Yellow card 33'
Attendance: 5,061
Referee: Sorin Stoica
Ottawa Fury2–1 (a.e.t.)Minnesota United
Heinemann Yellow card 9' 47', 108'
Trafford Yellow card 104'		 Report
Report		 Calvano Yellow card 2'
Ramirez 7' (pen.)
Ibson Yellow card 45'
Mendes Yellow card 45+'
Vicentini Yellow card 100'
Jordan Yellow card 120+'
Attendance: 9,346
Referee: Mathieu Bourdeau (CAN)

Soccer Bowl 2015

New York Cosmos3–2Ottawa Fury
Cellerino Yellow card 7' 8', 72', 85'
Maurer Yellow card 41'
Guenzatti Yellow card 60'		 Report
Report
Report		 Trafford Red card 68'
Heinemann 70', 90+2'
Falvey Yellow card 76'
Ryan Yellow card 76'
Attendance: 10,166
Referee: Alan Kelly

Attendance

Club GP Total High Low Average Change
Indy Eleven 15 147,139 10,524 8,500 9,809 -6.3%
Minnesota United 15 131,499 9,418 5,890 8,767 9.9%
Jacksonville Armada 15 118,905 16,164 5,652 7,927 N/A
San Antonio Scorpions 15 101,043 8,053 4,105 6,736 -0.3%
Tampa Bay Rowdies 15 84,739 7,010 4,219 5,649 24.2%
Ottawa Fury 15 77,464 6,899 3,023 5,164 24.5%
New York Cosmos 15 75,927 12,550 3,326 5,062 7.6%
Carolina RailHawks 15 68,080 7,217 3,055 4,539 -0.1%
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 15 67,067 11,691 1,278 4,471 9.9%
Atlanta Silverbacks 15 60,366 5,511 2,302 4,024 -0.7%
FC Edmonton 15 43,329 4,240 1,112 2,889 -14.6%
Total 165 975,558 16,164 1,112 5,912 7.5%

Source: NASL

Statistical leaders

Awards

Monthly awards

Month NASL Player of the Month
Player Club Stats Ref
April United States Jimmy Maurer New York Cosmos 12SV, 1GA [13]
May Spain Raúl New York Cosmos 3G [14]
June France Romuald Peiser Ottawa Fury 9SV, 0GA [15]
July United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United 4G, 2A [16]
August Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers 6G, 1A [17]
September France Romuald Peiser Ottawa Fury 11SV, 2GA [18]
October Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4G, 3A [19]

Weekly awards

Week NASL Player of the Week NASL Play of the Week
Player Club Player Club
Week 1 Serbia Stefan Antonijevic Tampa Bay Rowdies United States Jemal Johnson Jacksonville Armada
Week 2 Brazil PC Fort Lauderdale Strikers Brazil PC Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 3 The Gambia Sainey Nyassi FC Edmonton Honduras Sergio Peña Indy Eleven
Week 4 Brazil Maicon Santos Tampa Bay Rowdies Georgia (country) Zourab Tsiskaridze San Antonio Scorpions
Week 5 Guinea Alhassane Keita Jacksonville Armada Jamaica Omar Cummings San Antonio Scorpions
Week 6 United States Carlos Mendes New York Cosmos Argentina Bochy Hoyos Jacksonville Armada
Week 7 Turks and Caicos Islands Billy Forbes San Antonio Scorpions El Salvador Andrés Flores New York Cosmos
Week 8 Spain Raúl New York Cosmos Scotland Nicki Paterson Ottawa Fury
Week 9 United States Kyle Hyland Indy Eleven United States Lionel Brown Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 10 United States Victor Pineda Indy Eleven United States Brian Shriver Tampa Bay Rowdies
Week 11 Haiti Pascal Millien Jacksonville Armada United States Hagop Chirishian New York Cosmos
Week 12 Jamaica Lance Laing FC Edmonton Poland Wojciech Wojcik Indy Eleven
Week 13 Jamaica Omar Cummings San Antonio Scorpions Poland Wojciech Wojcik Indy Eleven
Week 14 Spain Nacho Novo Carolina RailHawks United States Jaime Chavez Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 15 Canada Carl Haworth Ottawa Fury United States Dylan Mares Indy Eleven
Week 16 Brazil Rafael Alves Ottawa Fury Brazil Pedro Mendes Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 17 Brazil Pedro Mendes Atlanta Silverbacks El Salvador Junior Burgos Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 18 Colombia Jaime Castrillón Jacksonville Armada Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 19 Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers United States Justin Davis Minnesota United
Week 20 Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 21 United States Zach Steinberger Indy Eleven Guatemala Marvin Ceballos Indy Eleven
Week 22 Colombia Rafael Castillo San Antonio Scorpions Brazil Pablo Campos Minnesota United
Week 23 Bosnia and Herzegovina Siniša Ubiparipović Ottawa Fury Brazil Pedro Mendes Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 24 United States Tom Heinemann Ottawa Fury Ghana Kalif Alhassan Minnesota United
Week 25 Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers United States Kris Tyrpak San Antonio Scorpions
Week 26 Brazil Pablo Campos Minnesota United United States Giuseppe Gentile San Antonio Scorpions
Week 27 Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers United States Brad Ring Indy Eleven
Week 28 El Salvador Richard Menjivar Tampa Bay Rowdies Haiti Mechack Jérôme Jacksonville Armada
Week 29 Spain Raúl New York Cosmos El Salvador Junior Burgos Atlanta Silverbacks

League awards

NASL Best XI[28]
Position Player Team
Goalkeeper France Romuald Peiser Ottawa Fury
Defense Brazil Rafael Alves Ottawa Fury
Defense United States Justin Davis Minnesota United
Defense United States Carlos Mendes New York Cosmos
Defense United States Kevin Venegas Minnesota United
Midfield Republic of Ireland Richie Ryan Ottawa Fury
Midfield Jamaica Lance Laing FC Edmonton
Midfield Brazil Ibson Minnesota United
Midfield Haiti James Marcelin Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Forward Brazil Stefano Pinho Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Forward United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United

References

  1. ^ "Jacksonville Armada FC Names José Luis Villarreal as Inaugural Head Coach". armadafc.com. June 14, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  2. ^ "Rowdies name Rongen new head coach". Tampa Bay Times. December 3, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  3. ^ "VILLARREAL TO DEPART ARMADA FC AT END OF NASL SPRING SEASON". Jacksonville Armada. May 22, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  4. ^ "Regan in as Interim Head Coach". Indy Eleven. June 2, 2015. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  5. ^ "Strikers announce technical staff changes". Fort Lauderdale Strikers. June 7, 2015. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
  6. ^ "Strikers name gunter kronsteiner head coach". Fort Lauderdale Strikers. June 30, 2015. Archived from the original on August 4, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  7. ^ "Rowdies Name Stuart Campbell Head Coach". rowdiessoccer.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  8. ^ "General Manager Dario Sala, Head Coach Guillermo Hoyos and Assistant Coaches Dismissed". armadafc.com. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  9. ^ "OOPS! SORRY, SOMETHING WENT WRONG". nasl.com. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  10. ^ "OOPS! SORRY, SOMETHING WENT WRONG". nasl.com. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  11. ^ "NASL Clubs To Compete For 'The Championship'". February 27, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "2015 NASL statistics". Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  13. ^ "Player of the Month New York Cosmos Goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer". North American Soccer League. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  14. ^ "Player of the Month New York Cosmos Forward Raúl". North American Soccer League. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  15. ^ "Player of the Month Ottawa Fury FC Goalkeeper Romuald Peiser". North American Soccer League. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  16. ^ "Player of the Month Minnesota United Forward Christian Ramirez". North American Soccer League. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  17. ^ "Player of the Month Fort Lauderdale Strikers Forward Stefano Pinho". North American Soccer League. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  18. ^ "Player of the Month Ottawa Fury FC Goalkeeper Romuald Peiser". North American Soccer League. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  19. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH - FORT LAUDERDALE FORWARD STEFANO PINHO". North American Soccer League. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. ^ "Fort Lauderdale Strikers Forward Stefano Pinho Claims NASL Golden Ball". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  21. ^ "Fort Lauderdale Strikers Forward Stefano Pinho Wins NASL Golden Boot Award". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  22. ^ "Ottawa Fury FC Goalkeeper Romuald Peiser Claims NASL Golden Glove Award". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  23. ^ "Ottawa Fury FC Head Coach Marc Dos Santos Named NASL Coach of the Year". nasl.com. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  24. ^ "Fans Vote Atlanta Silverbacks Midfielder JuniorBurgos' Freekick As NASL Goal of the Year". nasl.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  25. ^ "New York Cosmos Midfielder Leo Fernandes Named NASL Young Player of the Year". nasl.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  26. ^ "Ottawa Fury FC Defender Drew Beckie Named NASL Humanitarian of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  27. ^ "Ottawa Fury FC Wins 2015 Fair Play Award". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  28. ^ "North American Soccer League Announces 2015 Best XI". nasl.com. Retrieved November 13, 2015.