1987–88 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1987–88 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the tenth in league history and ended with the San Diego Sockers winning their sixth indoor title in seven years over the Cleveland Force.

Major Indoor Soccer League

Season	1987–88
Champions	San Diego Sockers (4th title)
Matches played	308
Top goalscorer	Hector Marinaro (58 goals)
Average attendance	8,439
← 1986–87 1988–89 →

Teams

Team	City/Area	Arena
Baltimore Blast	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Arena
Chicago Sting	Chicago, Illinois	Rosemont Horizon
Cleveland Force	Cleveland, Ohio	Richfield Coliseum
Dallas Sidekicks	Dallas, Texas	Reunion Arena
Kansas City Comets	Kansas City, Missouri	Kemper Arena
Los Angeles Lazers	Inglewood, California	The Forum
Minnesota Strikers	Bloomington, Minnesota	Met Center
San Diego Sockers	San Diego, California	San Diego Sports Arena
St. Louis Steamers	St. Louis, Missouri	St. Louis Arena
Tacoma Stars	Tacoma, Washington	Tacoma Dome
Wichita Wings	Wichita, Kansas	Kansas Coliseum

Map of clubs

Blast

Sting

Force

Sidekicks

Strikers

Comets

Lazers

Sockers

Steamers

Stars

Wings

Eastern Division Western Division

Regular Season Schedule

Main article: 1987-88 Major Indoor Soccer League regular season schedule

The 1987-88 regular season schedule ran from November 4, 1987, to April 17, 1988. The schedule was lengthened to 56 games per team, the longest to date in MISL history.^[1]

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

Eastern Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	GF	GA	Home	Road
Minnesota Strikers	31	25	.554	-	274	252	22-6	9-19
Cleveland Force	30	26	.536	1	242	219	20-8	10-18
Dallas Sidekicks	28	28	.500	3	200	204	22-6	6-22
Baltimore Blast	25	31	.446	6	235	249	18-10	7-21
Chicago Sting	24	32	.429	7	227	247	15-13	9-19

Western Division	W	L	Pct.	GB	GF	GA	Home	Road
San Diego Sockers	42	14	.750	-	277	189	23-5	19-9
Los Angeles Lazers	31	25	.554	11	291	266	17-11	14-14
Kansas City Comets	29	27	.518	13	294	290	19-9	10-18
Tacoma Stars	27	29	.482	15	259	285	21-7	6-22
Wichita Wings	23	33	.411	19	232	261	18-10	5-23
St. Louis Steamers	18	38	.321	24	214	280	12-16	6-22

Playoffs

Division Semifinals

Division Finals

Championship Series

E1

Minnesota Strikers

3

E4

Baltimore Blast

1

E1

Minnesota Strikers

1

E2

Cleveland Force

4

E2

Cleveland Force

3

E3

Dallas Sidekicks

1

E2

Cleveland Force

0

W1

San Diego Sockers

4

W1

San Diego Sockers

3

W4

Tacoma Stars

1

W1

San Diego Sockers

4

W3

Kansas City Comets

3

W2

Los Angeles Lazers

0

W3

Kansas City Comets

3

• QUARTER-FINALS:
  • Minnesota defeated Baltimore, 5–3, 4–2, 1–5, 9-4
  • Cleveland defeated Dallas, 3–2, 3–6, 5-4 (2OT), 5-2
  • Kansas City defeated Los Angeles, 9–6, 4–2, 7-5
  • San Diego defeated Tacoma, 6–2, 3-4 (OT), 7–2, 7-6
• SEMI-FINALS:
  • Cleveland defeated Minnesota, 7–3, 0–7, 5–4, 5–2, 7-2
  • San Diego defeated Kansas City, 4–5, 5–4, 6-7(OT), 3–7, 7–1, 6–1, 8-5
• CHAMPIONSHIP:
  • San Diego defeated Cleveland, 6-5(OT), 6–1, 3–2, 7-4

Scoring leaders

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
Erik Rasmussen	Wichita Wings	51	55	57	112
Preki	Tacoma Stars	56	53	58	111
Jan Goossens	Kansas City Comets	53	45	56	101
Chico Borja	Los Angeles Lazers	54	47	51	98
Dale Mitchell	Kansas City Comets	51	48	47	95
Branko Segota	San Diego Sockers	45	56	33	89
Thompson Usiyan	Los Angeles Lazers	51	52	36	88
Peter Ward	Tacoma Stars	52	47	41	88
Steve Zungul	Tacoma Stars	52	47	41	88
Hector Marinaro	Minnesota Strikers	56	58	23	81

All-MISL Teams

First Team	Position	Second Team
Zoltan Toth, San Diego	G	Krys Sobieski, Dallas
Kevin Crow, San Diego	D	Bruce Savage, Baltimore
Fernando Clavijo, San Diego	D	Chris Whyte, Los Angeles
Branko Segota, San Diego	M	Chico Borja, Los Angeles
Preki, Tacoma	F	Hector Marinaro, Minnesota
Erik Rasmussen, Wichita	F	Jan Goossens, Kansas City

League awards

Most Valuable Player: Erik Rasmussen, Wichita

Scoring Champion: Erik Rasmussen, Wichita

Pass Master: Preki, Tacoma

Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego

Rookie of the Year: David Doyle, Kansas City

Newcomer of the Year: Nanad Zigante, Wichita

Goalkeeper of the Year: Zoltan Toth, San Diego

Coach of the Year: Ron Newman, San Diego

Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Hugo Perez, San Diego

Championship Series Unsung Hero: George Fernandez, San Diego