1990–91 Major Soccer League season

The 1990–91 Major Soccer League season was the 13th and penultimate in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers winning their ninth NASL or MISL title in ten indoor seasons and fourth MISL title in a row.

Major Soccer League
Season1990–91
ChampionsSan Diego Sockers
(7th title)
Matches played208
Top goalscorerTatu (78 goals)
Average attendance6,600

Recap

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This was the first offseason in MISL history that did not have any franchise movement or collapse. After the season, however, the Kansas City Comets folded.[1] In a nod to the burgeoning nationwide interest in outdoor soccer after the 1990 World Cup, the league's name was changed on July 24. Also, Commissioner Earl Foreman was selected to chair the United States Soccer Federation's exploratory committee for a first-division outdoor league.[2]

Teams

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Team City/Area Arena
Baltimore Blast Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Arena
Cleveland Crunch Cleveland, Ohio Richfield Coliseum
Dallas Sidekicks Dallas, Texas Reunion Arena
Kansas City Comets Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena
San Diego Sockers San Diego, California San Diego Sports Arena
St. Louis Storm St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Arena
Tacoma Stars Tacoma, Washington Tacoma Dome
Wichita Wings Wichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum

Map of clubs

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  Eastern Division   Western Division

Regular Season Schedule

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The 1990–91 regular season schedule ran from October 19, 1990, to April 7, 1991. The 52 games per team was unchanged from the 1989–90 schedule.[3]

Final standings

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Playoff teams in bold.

Eastern Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
Cleveland Crunch 29 23 .558 -- 326 280 20-6 9-17
Kansas City Comets 26 26 .500 3 263 283 17-9 9-17
Wichita Wings 21 31 .408 8 257 308 17-9 4-22
Baltimore Blast 21 31 .408 8 298 315 15-11 6-20
Western Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road
San Diego Sockers 34 18 .654 -- 302 250 20-6 14-12
St. Louis Storm 32 20 .615 2 320 288 20-6 12-14
Tacoma Stars 25 27 .481 9 254 259 17-9 8-18
Dallas Sidekicks 20 32 .385 14 257 294 11-15 9-17

Playoffs

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Division Semifinals Division Finals Championship Series
         
E2 Kansas City Comets 2
E3 Wichita Wings 0
E1 Cleveland Crunch 4
E2 Kansas City Comets 3
E1 Cleveland Crunch 2
W1 San Diego Sockers 4
W2 St. Louis Storm 2
W3 Tacoma Stars 0
W1 San Diego Sockers 4
W2 St. Louis Storm 1

Division Semifinals

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Kansas City vs. Wichita
Date Away Home Attendance
April 12 Wichita 0 Kansas City 6 6,144
April 14 Kansas City 9 Wichita 8 4,737
Kansas City wins series 2-0
St. Louis vs. Tacoma
Date Away Home Attendance
April 9 Tacoma 2 St. Louis 9 5,832
April 11 St. Louis 3 Tacoma 4 2,760
Gary Heale scored at 1:30 of overtime
April 13 Tacoma 2 St. Louis 9 7,084
St. Louis wins series 2-1

Division Finals

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Cleveland vs. Kansas City
Date Away Home Attendance
April 18 Kansas City 2 Cleveland 7 5,357
April 20 Kansas City 5 Cleveland 7 10,021
April 24 Cleveland 6 Kansas City 7 4,639
Carl Valentine scored at 11:26 of overtime
April 26 Cleveland 5 Kansas City 4 9,451
April 28 Cleveland 4 Kansas City 5 3,889
Ted Eck scored at 4:27 of overtime
May 1 Kansas City 8 Cleveland 6 7,239
May 4 Kansas City 6 Cleveland 7 12,718
Cleveland wins series 4-3
San Diego vs. St. Louis
Date Away Home Attendance
April 18 St. Louis 6 San Diego 9 5,157
April 20 St. Louis 4 San Diego 5 8,534
Rod Castro scored at 3:58 of overtime
April 21 San Diego 4 St. Louis 5 5,751
April 25 San Diego 11 St. Louis 4 4,633
April 27 San Diego 7 St. Louis 4 6,032
San Diego wins series 4-1

Championship Series

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San Diego vs. Cleveland
Date Away Home Attendance
May 10 Cleveland 4 San Diego 8 7,785
May 12 Cleveland 4 San Diego 3 6,996
May 17 San Diego 6 Cleveland 5 14,571
May 19 San Diego 5 Cleveland 7 10,831
May 21 San Diego 6 Cleveland 1 12,102
May 23 Cleveland 6 San Diego 8 12,073
San Diego wins series 4-2

Scoring leaders

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

Player Team GP G A Pts
Tatu Dallas Sidekicks 51 78 66 144
Zoran Karic Cleveland Crunch 47 73 48 121
Preki St Louis Storm 52 68 53 121
Jan Goossens Kansas City Comets 41 53 58 111
Hector Marinaro Cleveland Crunch 45 63 44 107
Thompson Usiyan St Louis Storm 51 64 38 102
Dale Ervine Wichita Wings 52 62 30 92
Dale Mitchell Baltimore Blast 51 42 40 82
Domenic Mobolio Baltimore Blast 50 49 33 82
Brian Quinn San Diego Sockers 45 19 55 74

All-MISL Teams

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First Team   Position   Second Team
Victor Nogueira, San Diego G Cris Vaccaro, Tacoma
Kevin Crow, San Diego D Bernie James, Cleveland
Fernando Clavijo, St Louis D Ralph Black, Tacoma
Zoran Karic, Cleveland M Brian Quinn, San Diego
Tatu, Dallas F Thompson Usiyan, St Louis
Preki, St Louis F Jan Goossens, Kansas City

League awards

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Most Valuable Player: Victor Nogueira, San Diego

Scoring Champion: Tatu, Dallas

Pass Master: Tatu, Dallas

Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego

Rookie of the Year: David Banks, San Diego

Newcomer of the Year: Paul Peschisolido, Kansas City

Goalkeeper of the Year: Victor Nogueira, San Diego

Coach of the Year: Trevor Dawkins, Cleveland

Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Ben Collins, San Diego

Championship Series Unsung Hero: Glenn Carbonara, San Diego

Team Attendance Totals

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Club Games Total Average
St. Louis Storm 26 200,769 7,722
Baltimore Blast 26 193,223 7,432
San Diego Sockers 26 187,000 7,192
Kansas City Comets 26 184,678 7,103
Dallas Sidekicks 26 179,864 6,918
Wichita Wings 26 164,033 6,309
Tacoma Stars 26 142,523 5,482
Cleveland Crunch 26 120,630 4,640
OVERALL 208 1,372,720 6,600

References

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  1. ^ "Kansas City soccer team folds". Times-News (Hendersonville, North Carolina). July 17, 1991. p. 16. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  2. ^ MSL Official Guide 1990-91. 1990. p. 50.
  3. ^ MSL Official Guide 1990-91. 1990. pp. 189–192.

Griffin, John, ed. (1990). MSL Official Guide 1990-91. Overland Park, Kansas: Major Soccer League Communications Department.

Griffin, John, ed. (1991). MSL Official Guide 1991-92. Baltimore: Major Soccer League Communications Department.

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