1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season

Statistics of the American Indoor Soccer Association in the 1986–87 season.

American Indoor Soccer Association
Season1986–87
ChampionsLouisville Thunder (1st title)
Matches played168
Goals scored1,534 (9.13 per match)
Top goalscorerRudy Pikuzinski (51)

Overview

The Columbus Capitals and Kalamazoo Kangaroos did not return after the 1985–86 season. Four teams, including former NASL stalwarts, Tampa Bay Rowdies, joined the league in 1986–87. The Fort Wayne Flames, Memphis Storm and Toledo Pride were all newly formed expansion teams. The addition of Tampa Bay in particular, and Memphis to a lesser degree, marked the AISA's first clubs outside of the Midwest. Rudy Pikuzinski of Canton won the league scoring title en route to his first of three straight MVP awards, while Memphis boss Terry Nicholl took home Coach of the Year honors.

Just as in previous AISA seasons, Canton and Louisville proved to be the class of the league and faced each other in the finals for a third straight year. For the first time the championship series went the full five games, and in a clash of titans, the Thunder finally bested their rivals, three games to two. Alas, the Thunder's glory would be short lived, as Game 5 proved to be their final match ever. Ownership, no longer able to bear the financial losses, opted to shut the team down instead trying to defend their crown for 1987–88.[1]

Regular season

G = Games, W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Winning Percentage, GB = Games Behind Leader, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against

 -Playoff qualifying teams.
Northern DivisionGWL%GBGFGAHomeRoad
Canton Invaders423111.73825516519-212-9
Chicago Shoccers422616.619523220016-510-11
Toledo Pride421428.333171792107-147-14
Milwaukee Wave421230.286191482225-167-14
Southern DivisionGWL%GBGFGAHomeRoad
Louisville Thunder422715.64321318114-713-8
Memphis Storm422418.571318016614-710-11
Tampa Bay Rowdies422121.500617017214-77-14
Fort Wayne Flames421329.310141572187-146-15

AISA League Leaders

Scoring

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

Player Team GP G A Pts
Rudy Pikuzinski Canton42513081
Zoran Savic Louisville41423477
Salvador Valencia Chicago40472875
Carlos Salguero Toledo42452368
Elvis Comrie Chicago40373168
Kia Zolgharnain Canton42343166
Chris Hellenkamp Louisville41263662
Steve Wegerle Tampa Bay35263662
Jim Gabarra Louisville40362359
Oscar Albuquerque Memphis24351853

Goalkeeping

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; Sho = Shots faced; Svs = Saves; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses

Player Team GP Min* Sho Svs GA GAA W L
Yaro DachniwskyMemphis18958432187533.33108
Jamie SwannerCanton241402600312843.59194
Arnie MausserTampa Bay3520748914361263.641916
Victor PetroniLouisville261392671339944.05148
Bill NaumovskiCanton201012504222764.10127

*(Minimum 400 minutes played to qualify)

All-Star game

On February 21 the Louisville Thunder hosted the AISA All-Star Game. Instead of using the Thunder's home field of Broadbent Arena at the state fairgrounds, the match was played at the more intimate Louisville Gardens in downtown Louisville. In a departure from the previous season, both squads were composed of mixed rosters. In the past, the host team had faced all-stars from the rest of the league's teams. The Northern Division all-stars wore blue jerseys, while the Southern squad wore grey. Players on the winning side each received a $100 bonus. The Northern Division squad defeated their Southern counterparts by a score of 7–5. Louisville forward Zoran Savic (1 goal, 2 assists) and Canton goalie, Jamie Swanner (11 saves, 2 goals given), were named the game's offensive and defensive MVPs respectively.[2] Although neither game would come to pass, it was also announced that the 1988 All-Star game would be hosted by Tampa Bay, with the 1989 game being awarded to Milwaukee.[3]

Southern Division roster

Starters  Position  Reserves
Victor Petroni, Louisville G Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay
Gregg Willin, Memphis D Tom Alioto, Fort Wayne • Peter Roe, Tampa Bay
Paul Kato, Louisville D Glenn Ervine, Tampa Bay
Chris Hellenkamp, Louisville M Tony Carbognani, Memphis • Mark Lugris, Fort Wayne
Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay F Jim Gabarra, Louisville
Zoran Savic, Louisville F *Tim Walters, Tampa Bay

*Original selection Rubén Astigarraga of Tampa Bay was unable to play and was replaced by teammate Tim Walters.

Northern Division roster

Starters  Position  Reserves
Jamie Swanner, Canton G Rick Schweizer, Milwaukee
Oscar Pisano, Canton D Walt Schlothauer, Canton • Tim Tyma, Canton
Martin Rancon, Chicago D John Dolinsky, Milwaukee
Don Tobin, Canton M Art Kramer, Canton • Ruben Stivan, Chicago
Carlos Salguero, Toledo F Elvis Comrie, Chicago
Salvador Valencia, Chicago F Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton

Match report

February 21, 1987 All-Stars Northern Division 7–5 Southern Division Louisville, Kentucky
8:05 PM (CST) Comrie  14:18'
Dolinsky  23:42'
Schlothauer  33:21' (pp)
Tobin  35:09'
Comrie  38:17'
Salguero  43:12'
Kramer  59:57'
report Wegerle  5:31'
Savic  21:37'
Gabarra  46:22' (pp)
Ervine  47:32'
Gabarra  52:27'
Stadium: Louisville Gardens
Attendance: 2,473

Playoffs

First Round

Lower seed Higher seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini Game notes
Toledo Pride-Chicago Shoccers5–4(OT)3–70–1Chicago wins series 2–1
Tampa Bay Rowdies-Memphis Storm1–45–42–3Memphis wins series 2–1

Semifinals

Lower seed Higher seed Game 1 Game 2 Mini Game notes
Chicago Shoccers-Louisville Thunder3–74–5Louisville wins series 2–0
Memphis Storm-Canton Invaders3–4(OT)3–5Canton wins series 2–0

Finals

Lower seed Higher seed Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 notes
Louisville Thunder-Canton Invaders5–63–25–4(OT)2–46–4Louisville wins series 3–2

All-AISA first team

  Position  Player
G Jamie Swanner, Canton
D Tim Tyma, Canton
D Gregg Willin, Memphis
M Chris Hellenkamp, Louisville
F Zoran Savic, Louisville
F Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton

All-AISA second team

  Position  Player
G Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay
D Tomo Condric, Canton
D Martin Rincon, Chicago
M Elvis Comrie, Chicago
F Salvador Valencia, Chicago
F Carlos Salguero, Toledo

Post season awards

References

  1. Lilley, Bill (February 8, 1988). "Whole league 'biting bullet'". Akron Beacon Journal. p. A1. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  2. Younkin, Lou (February 22, 1987). "North team, Louisville Gardens are AISA all-star game winners". The Courier Journal. p. C1. Retrieved 14 June 2017 via newspapers.com.
  3. Younkin, Lou (February 20, 1987). "Smaller arena may enliven All-Star Game action". The Courier Journal. p. D6. Retrieved 14 June 2017 via newspapers.com.
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