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Football league season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1986–87 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the ninth in league history and ended with the Dallas Sidekicks winning their first MISL title over the Tacoma Stars.
Season | 1986–87 |
---|---|
Champions | Dallas Sidekicks |
Matches played | 299 |
Top goalscorer | Tatu (73 goals) |
Average attendance | 8,714 |
← 1985–86 1987–88 → |
It was a topsy-turvy season. Attempts to stabilize the league's presence in New York by moving the league office and putting the league's newest franchise there were unsuccessful. The New York Express barely made it to the All-Star break. A stock sale had been a massive failure and results were equally bad on the field.[1] With the club's record at 3-23, management announced on February 16 that they would be unable to finish the season.[2]
As for matters on the field, league officials made plans to expand the schedule further despite losing the Pittsburgh Spirit the previous spring. Not only would each team play 52 games, the playoffs would be expanded to include two best-of seven rounds.[3] With all but one of the six preceding series going to a deciding game, Game 7 of the championship series would be played on June 20, the latest date in MISL history and six days after the conclusion of the NBA Finals. Games 3 and 6 at Dallas' Reunion Arena were sellouts, and the Tacoma Dome attracted crowds of 20,284 and 21,728 for Games 5 and 7, the two largest crowds in MISL playoff history.[4]
The San Diego Sockers' dominance ended this season, as long-term injuries to last year's playoff MVP Brian Quinn and other Sockers had the team uncharacteristically struggling.[5] They would finish eight games behind the Stars, who were led by Steve Zungul and owned the MISL's best regular-season record. Despite Quinn's return for the playoffs,[6] Tacoma defeated San Diego in Game 7 of their division final matchup.[7] It was the first indoor playoff series loss ever for the Sockers, ending a run of 15 straight series wins dating back to the 1981–82 NASL Indoor season.
In the end, the Sidekicks epitomized the MISL season. The club folded in June 1986,[8] yet a last-ditch effort by fans brought the club back to life within three weeks.[9] Tatu led the league in goals and points, and earned both the regular-season and playoff MVP awards. Dallas rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to beat the Baltimore Blast in the first round, and won Games 6 and 7 of the championship series in overtime.[10] Mark Karpun scored both overtime goals, and his Game 6 double overtime winner ended the longest game in MISL playoff history.[11]
Six days after the Sidekicks' victory, the MISL granted a conditional franchise to NBA Denver Nuggets owner Sidney Shlenker for the 1988-89 season.[12] When the planned "Denver Desperados" franchise had only 400 season tickets instead of the required 5,000 four months after the announcement, the franchise was revoked on November 5.[13]
The 1986–87 regular season schedule ran from November 13, 1986, to May 3, 1987. The schedule was lengthened to 52 games per team, the longest to date in MISL history.[14]
Playoff teams in bold.
Eastern Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland Force | 34 | 18 | .654 | -- | 252 | 218 | 20-6 | 14-12 |
Baltimore Blast | 33 | 19 | .635 | 1 | 239 | 201 | 20-6 | 13-13 |
Dallas Sidekicks | 28 | 24 | .538 | 6 | 209 | 197 | 15-11 | 13-13 |
Minnesota Strikers | 26 | 26 | .500 | 8 | 205 | 198 | 14-12 | 12-14 |
Chicago Sting | 23 | 29 | .442 | 11 | 263 | 265 | 15-11 | 8-18 |
New York Express | 3 | 23 | .115 | 18 | 97 | 159 | 2-11 | 1-12 |
Western Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tacoma Stars | 35 | 17 | .673 | -- | 249 | 211 | 17-9 | 18-8 |
Kansas City Comets | 28 | 24 | .538 | 7 | 271 | 253 | 18-8 | 10-16 |
San Diego Sockers | 27 | 25 | .519 | 8 | 214 | 200 | 16-10 | 11-15 |
Wichita Wings | 27 | 25 | .519 | 8 | 268 | 265 | 18-8 | 9-17 |
St. Louis Steamers | 19 | 33 | .365 | 16 | 195 | 224 | 13-13 | 6-20 |
Los Angeles Lazers | 16 | 36 | .308 | 19 | 183 | 254 | 12-14 | 4-22 |
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Championship Series | ||||||||||||
E1 | Cleveland Force | 3 | ||||||||||||
E4 | Minnesota Strikers | 2 | ||||||||||||
E1 | Cleveland Force | 1 | ||||||||||||
E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 4 | ||||||||||||
E2 | Baltimore Blast | 2 | ||||||||||||
E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 3 | ||||||||||||
E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 4 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Tacoma Stars | 3 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Tacoma Stars | 3 | ||||||||||||
W4 | Wichita Wings | 2 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Tacoma Stars | 4 | ||||||||||||
W3 | San Diego Sockers | 3 | ||||||||||||
W2 | Kansas City Comets | 2 | ||||||||||||
W3 | San Diego Sockers | 3 |
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Tacoma vs. Dallas | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Away | Home | Attendance | |
June 9 | Dallas 4 | Tacoma 10 | 11,496 | |
June 11 | Dallas 4 | Tacoma 7 | 14,643 | |
June 13 | Tacoma 3 | Dallas 5 | 16,824 | |
June 14 | Tacoma 3 | Dallas 6 | 13,597 | |
June 16 | Dallas 3 | Tacoma 5 | 20,284 | |
June 18 | Tacoma 4 | Dallas 5 | 16,824 | |
Mark Karpun scored at 20:30 of overtime | ||||
June 20 | Dallas 4 | Tacoma 3 | 21,728 | |
Mark Karpun scored at 9:23 of overtime | ||||
Dallas wins series 4-3 |
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tatu | Dallas Sidekicks | 51 | 73 | 38 | 111 |
Jan Goossens | Minnesota Strikers | 45 | 51 | 44 | 95 |
Kai Haaskivi | Cleveland Force | 49 | 34 | 55 | 89 |
Steve Zungul | Tacoma Stars | 51 | 42 | 47 | 89 |
Preki | Tacoma Stars | 51 | 41 | 47 | 88 |
Chico Borja | Wichita Wings | 46 | 51 | 36 | 87 |
Batata | Chicago Sting | 52 | 37 | 48 | 85 |
Godfrey Ingram | Tacoma Stars | 51 | 52 | 29 | 81 |
Dale Mitchell | Kansas City Comets | 48 | 51 | 24 | 75 |
Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 38 | 34 | 41 | 75 |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tino Lettieri | Minnesota Strikers | 35 | 2058 | 116 | 3.38 | 15 | 19 |
Krys Sobieski | Dallas Sidekicks | 43 | 2525 | 145 | 3.45 | 24 | 19 |
Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 24 | 1314 | 76 | 3.47 | 14 | 9 |
Zoltán Tóth | San Diego Sockers | 33 | 1875 | 110 | 3.52 | 17 | 13 |
Jim Gorsek | San Diego Sockers | 25 | 1265 | 82 | 3.89 | 10 | 12 |
Keith Van Eron | Baltimore Blast | 26 | 1390 | 91 | 3.93 | 15 | 6 |
Joe Papaleo | Tacoma Stars | 31 | 1808 | 120 | 3.98 | 22 | 9 |
Slobo Illjevski | St. Louis Steamers | 46 | 2631 | 176 | 4.01 | 16 | 28 |
Cris Vaccaro | Cleveland Force | 36 | 2012 | 116 | 4.02 | 20 | 9 |
P.J. Johns | Cleveland Force | 24 | 1406 | 95 | 4.05 | 14 | 8 |
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tatu | Dallas Sidekicks | 17 | 22 | 16 | 38 |
Steve Zungul | Tacoma Stars | 19 | 21 | 17 | 38 |
Preki | Tacoma Stars | 17 | 19 | 18 | 37 |
Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 10 | 19 | 12 | 31 |
Gary Heale | Tacoma Stars | 19 | 17 | 7 | 24 |
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 | Tacoma Stars | 9 | 535 | 32 | 3.59 | 5 | 4 |
Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 4 | 187 | 12 | 3.84 | 1 | 2 |
Krys Sobieski | Dallas Sidekicks | 16 | 989 | 70 | 4.25 | 11 | 5 |
Zoltán Tóth | San Diego Sockers | 11 | 544 | 39 | 4.30 | 5 | 5 |
Tino Lettieri | Minnesota Strikers | 5 | 302 | 23 | 4.56 | 2 | 3 |
First Team | Position | Second Team |
---|---|---|
Krys Sobieski, Dallas | G | Tino Lettieri, Minnesota |
Bruce Savage, Baltimore | D | Bernie James, Cleveland |
Fernando Clavijo, San Diego | D | Kevin Crow, San Diego |
Kai Haaskivi, Cleveland | M | Branko Segota, San Diego |
Tatu, Dallas | F | Jan Goossens, Kansas City |
Steve Zungul, Tacoma | F | Preki, Tacoma |
Club | Games | Total | Average |
---|---|---|---|
Cleveland Force | 26 | 366,887 | 14,111 |
Kansas City Comets | 26 | 323,622 | 12,447 |
Tacoma Stars | 26 | 269,974 | 10,384 |
Baltimore Blast | 26 | 258,333 | 9,936 |
San Diego Sockers | 26 | 253,444 | 9,748 |
Dallas Sidekicks | 26 | 224,536 | 8,636 |
Wichita Wings | 26 | 209,800 | 8,069 |
St. Louis Steamers | 26 | 182,984 | 7,038 |
Minnesota Strikers | 26 | 181,441 | 6,977 |
Chicago Sting | 26 | 152,861 | 5,879 |
New York Express | 13 | 67,752 | 5,212 |
Los Angeles Lazers | 26 | 113,831 | 4,376 |
OVERALL | 299 | 2,605,465 | 8,714 |
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