1988–89_Major_Indoor_Soccer_League_season
1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League season
Football league season
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.
| Season | 1988–89 |
|---|---|
| Champions | San Diego Sockers (5th title) |
| Matches played | 168 |
| Top goalscorer | Preki (51 goals) |
| Average attendance | 7,805 |
← 1987–88 1989–90 → | |
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]
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]
| 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 |
| 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 | ||||
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 |
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 |
| 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 |
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
| 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 |
- 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 49.
- "It Was Twenty Years Ago Today..." Kenn Tomasch. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
- "MISL Lazers Reportedly Fold". Press-Courier. June 22, 1989. p. 11. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
- 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 50.
- 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. pp. 46–47.
- 1989-90 MISL Official Guide. 1989. p. 35.
- 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.