1987–88 American Indoor Soccer Association season

Statistics of the American Indoor Soccer Association in season 1987–88.

American Indoor Soccer Association
Season1987–88
ChampionsCanton Invaders (3rd title)
Matches played48
Goals scored414 (8.63 per match)
Top goalscorerRudy Pikuzinski (24)

Overview

Only four teams (Canton, Fort Wayne, Memphis and Milwaukee) returned from the previous year, which made for a very brief, 24-game season that ended in early February. The 1988 All-Star game had been scheduled for Tampa Bay,[1] but with the Rowdies leaving the league to play outdoors in the American Soccer League, and three other clubs (Chicago, Toledo and league-champion Louisville) folding, the game was canceled altogether.

Two expansion teams were set to join for the following season, Dayton and Jacksonville. Rather than have only a two-team battle in a championship playoff series, the league instead opted to stage a 12-match, unbalanced, round-robin tournament called the Challenge Cup Series[2] to determine who took home the trophy for 1987–88. The two expansion teams were also invited to play in this unique season-ending event, despite never having previously faced AISA competition. This would also give league owners a chance to see if the two new teams were really ready for the AISA. The series commenced on February 14. As the six-week long tournament rolled on, the race for cup came down to the final game of the series on April 1, which happened to match league-leaders Canton and Fort Wayne.[3] Both teams carried 8–3 records into match. Since the winner would secure the title by one game, it became a de facto championship final. Canton held on for a 5–4 victory, and their third AISA title in four seasons.[4]

Regular season

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

 -Regular season champions.
TeamGWL%GBGFGAHomeRoad
Memphis Storm24168.667–104949-37-5
Canton Invaders241212.5004108977-55-7
Milwaukee Wave241113.45851031118-43-9
Fort Wayne Flames24915.3757991125-74-8

AISA League Leaders

Scoring

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

Player Team GP G A Pts
Rudy Pikuzinski Canton23241842
Martín Vásquez Memphis23171936
George Pastor Milwaukee24181533
Ted Hantak Memphis22211031
Neil Ridgeway Fort Wayne22191130
Art Kramer Canton23161228
Steve Frick Canton1920525
Chris Hellenkamp Fort Wayne2118624
Dan O'Keefe Fort Wayne2118624
Paul DiBernardo Fort Wayne2218523
Carlos Salguero Fort Wayne21111223

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
Manny SanchezMemphis12708389140443.7383
Yaro DachniwskyMemphis11598278124383.8265
Mark BerryMilwaukee638627096274.1942
Warren LipkaFort Wayne14804418207584.3376
Bill NaumovskiCanton16882380152654.4287

*(Minimum 400 minutes played to qualify)

Challenge Cup standings

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

 -Challenge Cup champions.
TeamGWL%GBGFGAHomeRoad
Canton Invaders1293.750–67556-03-3
Fort Wayne Flames1284.667172525-13-3
Milwaukee Wave1266.500352534-22-4
Jacksonville Generals1266.500353584-22-4
Memphis Storm1248.333544534-20-6
Dayton Dynamo1239.250646633-30-6

de facto Challenge Cup final
Fort Wayne Flames4–5Canton Invaders
Bodenstein  35:19'
O’Keefe  36:38'
Prescott  57:16'
Hellencamp  59:00'		 report Ru Pikuzinski  13:51'
Skouras  19:31'
Ru Pikuzinski  22:50'
Ra Pikuzinski  23:55' (pp)
Carrera  42:36'
Attendance: 8,028

1987–88 AISA Challenge Cup Champions: Canton Invaders (8–4 record)

All-AISA first team
  Position  Player
G Manny Sanchez, Memphis
D Tim Tyma, Milwaukee
D Vince Beck, Memphis
M Chris Hellenkamp, Fort Wayne
F Ted Hantak, Memphis
F Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton

Post season awards
  • Most Valuable Player: Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton
  • Coach of the year: Terry Nicholl, Memphis
  • Defender of the year: Tim Tyma, Milwaukee
  • Goalkeeper of the year: Manny Sanchez, Memphis
  • Rookie of the year: Rod Castro, Memphis

References
  1. 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.
  2. Lilley, Bill (February 8, 1988). "Whole league 'biting bullet'". Akron Beacon Journal. p. A1. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  3. Lilley, Bill (April 1, 1988). "Win puts Invaders even closer to Cup". Akron Beacon Journal. p. 1C. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  4. Lilley, Bill (April 2, 1988). "Invaders up to the Challenge". Akron Beacon Journal. p. 1C. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
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