2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season

National Independent Soccer Association
Season2019–20 season
DatesFall: August 31 – November 10, 2019
Spring: February 29 – March 12, 2020 (play suspended)
Matches played27
Goals scored92 (3.41 per match)
Top goalscorerJack McInerney
(8 goals)
Biggest home winMiami FC 8–1 Philadelphia Fury
(September 15, 2019)
Biggest away winAtlanta SC 1–3 Stumptown Athletic
(September 14, 2019)
Highest scoringMiami FC 8–1 Philadelphia Fury
(September 15, 2019)
Highest attendance5,723
Oakland Roots SC 1–1 Los Angeles Force
(October 19, 2019)
Lowest attendance112
Atlanta SC 1–3 Stumptown Athletic
(September 14, 2019)
Total attendanceFall: 29,893
Spring: 15,912
Overall: 45,805
Average attendanceFall: 1,495
Spring: 2,273
Overall: 1,696

The 2019–20 NISA season was the inaugural season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition.[1] The regular season was split into two halves, fall and spring, with playoffs at the end. The fall season, named "NISA Showcase", featured seven teams, with the East and West champions earning berths into the 2020 playoffs.[2] The spring season featured eight teams, and switches to a single table format, the top 3 teams joining California United Strikers in the playoffs.

The spring season was suspended on March 12, for 30 days, due to the coronavirus pandemic.[3] The suspension was then extended in accordance with CDC guidelines[4] and eventually made permanent on April 27, 2020.[5]

Teams

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Locations of announced clubs
  • Full season club
  • Spring expansion club
  • Fall-only club

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Atlanta SC[A] Alpharetta, Georgia St. Francis High School
Lupo Field at Life University 		—
—
California United Strikers FC Irvine, California Championship Stadium 5,000
Chattanooga FC[B] Chattanooga, Tennessee Finley Stadium 20,668
Detroit City FC[B] Hamtramck, Michigan Keyworth Stadium 7,933
Los Angeles Force Whittier, California Rio Hondo College[C]
Jesse Owens Stadium[D] 		1,000
5,000
Miami FC[E] Miami, Florida Buccaneer Field
Riccardo Silva Stadium 		1,500
23,500
Michigan Stars FC[B] Pontiac, Michigan Ultimate Soccer Arena 5,000
Oakland Roots SC Oakland, California Laney College 5,500
Philadelphia Fury[F] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Franklin Field 52,958
San Diego 1904 FC San Diego, California SDCCU Stadium[C]
Lincoln High School[D] 		70,561
3,700
Stumptown Athletic Matthews, North Carolina CSA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex
Sportsplex at Matthews 		1,200
5,000

Personnel and sponsorship

Note: The league signed a deal with Hummel to be the official kit manufacturer, but it still allowed clubs to find their own provider.[9]
Team Head coach Captain(s) Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
California United Strikers FC United States Don Ebert United States Xavier Fuerte United States Nike Taco Bell
Chattanooga FC United States Peter Fuller Spain Juan Hernandez Denmark Hummel Volkswagen
Detroit City FC England Trevor James Republic of Ireland Stephen Carroll Germany Adidas Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers
Los Angeles Force Brazil Thales Peterson United States Joshua Culwell Denmark Hummel —
Michigan Stars FC Germany Alexander Strehmel United States Kyle Nuel Denmark Hummel HTC
Oakland Roots SC United States Jordan Ferrell[a] Canada Nana Attakora United States Nike Oaklandish
San Diego 1904 FC France Alexandre Gontran United States Ozzie Ramos United States Nike —
Stumptown Athletic United States Mark Steffens United States Tate Robertson Denmark Hummel —
Only played the Fall Season
Atlanta SC Brazil Roberto Neves Filho Sierra Leone Sheriff Suma Denmark Hummel —
Miami FC Scotland Paul Dalglish United States Dylan Mares Italy Macron —
Philadelphia Fury United States Cris Vaccaro United States Ian McGrath Denmark Hummel —
  1. ^ Ferrell was named head coach on December 3, replacing Paul Bravo.

Fall season

Miami FC and California United Strikers FC played seven matches while the rest of the league played only six. To accommodate for this, the Miami FC home match against Oakland Roots SC did not count in the standings for Miami and the second California United Strikers FC home match against San Diego 1904 FC did not count in the standings for Cal United.

Standings

East Coast standings

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Miami FC (O) 6 4 2 0 19 6 +13 14 East Coast Championship
2 Stumptown Athletic 6 4 0 2 13 7 +6 12
3 Atlanta SC 6 2 2 2 13 10 +3 8
4 Philadelphia Fury 6 0 0 6 1 23 −22 0 Withdrew[a]
Source: NISAofficial.com
(O) Play-off winners
Notes:
  1. ^ Philadelphia Fury withdrew after one match and forfeited their remaining matches

West Coast standings

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Los Angeles Force 6 3 2 1 8 7 +1 11 West Coast Championship
2 California United Strikers FC (O) 6 2 3 1 13 9 +4 9
3 San Diego 1904 FC 6 2 0 4 9 15 −6 6
4 Oakland Roots SC 6 0 3 3 10 13 −3 3
Source: NISAofficial.com
(O) Play-off winners

Results

Home \ Away ATL MIA PHI STU CAL LAF OAK SDI ATL MIA PHI STU CAL LAF OAK SDI
Atlanta SC — 2–2 3–0[F] 1–3 —
Miami FC 2–2 — 8–1 2–1 3–2 —
Philadelphia Fury 0–3[F] 0–3[F] — 0–3[F] —
Stumptown Athletic 3–2 0–2 3–0[F] — —
California United Strikers FC — 3–0 1–1 3–0 — 4–1
Los Angeles Force 2–2 — 1–0 2–0 —
Oakland Roots SC 3–3 1–1 — —
San Diego 1904 FC 3–1 1–2 4–3 — —
Updated to match(es) played on November 2, 2019. Source: NISAOfficial.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

The top two eastern teams will meet in the East Coast Championship while the top two western teams will meet in the West Coast Championship. Each champion will earn an automatic berth into the Spring 2020 playoffs.

Miami FC3–0Stumptown Athletic
 Report
MyCujoo Broadcast
Attendance: 1,309
Los Angeles Force2–2 (a.e.t.)California United Strikers FC
 Report
MyCujoo Broadcast
Penalties
 3–5
Attendance: 2,826
Referee: William Randy Hoffman

Spring season

The 2020 Spring season began on February 28 and featured eight teams (five teams that also played in the Fall season, plus three new entries). It consisted of a single table instead of the conferences used during Fall. The top three teams would have qualified for the Playoffs, together with California United Strikers, already qualified because of their Fall season West Championship win.[10]

The spring season was suspended on March 12, for 30 days, due to the coronavirus pandemic.[11] The suspension was then extended in accordance with CDC guidelines[12] and eventually made permanent on April 27, 2020.[13]

Standings

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Oakland Roots SC 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4 Playoffs
2 California United Strikers FC (Q) 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4
3 Detroit City FC 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
4 Stumptown Athletic 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2
5 San Diego 1904 FC 2 0 2 0 2 2 0 2
6 Chattanooga FC 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
7 Los Angeles Force 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1
8 Michigan Stars FC 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
Updated to match(es) played on March 8, 2020. Source: NISAofficial.com
(Q) Qualified for the phase indicated

Results

Home \ Away CAL CHA DET LAF MIC OAK SAN STU
California United Strikers FC — — — — 1–0 — — —
Chattanooga FC — — — — — — — —
Detroit City FC — — — — — — — —
Los Angeles Force — — 0–2 — — — — 1–1
Michigan Stars FC — — — — — — — —
Oakland Roots SC — 1–1 — — 2–1 — — —
San Diego 1904 FC 0–0 — — — — — — —
Stumptown Athletic — — — — — — 2–2 —
Updated to match(es) played on March 6, 2020. Source: NISAOfficial.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Notes

  1. ^ Played in the Fall season, but withdrew before the Spring season.
  2. ^ a b c Did not play in the Fall season, but were approved in time to join the 2020 Spring season.[6]
  3. ^ a b Fall season
  4. ^ a b Spring season
  5. ^ Played in the Fall season, but withdrew before the Spring season, after joining the USL Championship.[7]
  6. ^ a b c d e f Philadelphia Fury withdrew from the NISA Showcase after the season started. They forfeited all remaining games which were recorded as a 3–0 losses.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Litterer, Dave (October 23, 2003). "The Year in American Soccer – 1986". The American Soccer Archives. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
  2. ^ "NISA announces Fall '19 schedule". nisaofficial.com. July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "NISA announces suspension of season for 30 days". nisaofficial.com. March 12, 2020.
  4. ^ "NISA Extends Suspension in Accordance With CDC Guidelines". www.nisaofficial.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "NISA Official Update". www.nisasoccer.com. April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  6. ^ "Chattanooga FC, Detroit City FC, Michigan Stars FC approved to play in Spring 2020 competition". NisaOfficial.com. NISA. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "Ottawa Fury FC Announce Relocation, Sale of Franchise Rights to The Miami FC". uslchampionship.com. USL. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  8. ^ "Fury to refrain from play for balance of NISA Showcase". NisaOfficial.com. NISA. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  9. ^ "NISA announces kit sponsorship deal". Twitter.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "NISA announces Spring season home openers". nisaofficial.com. January 16, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  11. ^ "NISA announces suspension of season for 30 days". nisaofficial.com. March 12, 2020.
  12. ^ "NISA Extends Suspension in Accordance With CDC Guidelines". www.nisaofficial.com. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "NISA Official Update". www.nisasoccer.com. April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.