1998 USISL A-League

The 1998 USISL A-League was an American Division II league run by the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues during the summer of 1998.

USISL A-League

Season	1998
Champions	Rochester Raging Rhinos (1st Title)
Premiers	Rochester Raging Rhinos (1st Title)
Matches played	392
Goals scored	1,292 (3.3 per match)
Best Player	Mark Baena, Seattle Sounders
Top goalscorer	Mark Baena, Seattle Sounders (24 goals)
Best goalkeeper	Pat Onstad, Rochester Raging Rhinos
← 1997 1999 →

Regular season

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SOW	SOL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Rochester Rhinos	28	23	1	1	3	72	15	+57	70
2	Montreal Impact	28	13	8	2	5	47	33	+14	47
3	Staten Island Vipers	28	15	1	1	11	46	37	+9	46
4	Long Island Rough Riders	28	14	3	1	10	46	35	+11	45
5	Worcester Wildfire	28	10	2	2	14	37	50	−13	32
6	Toronto Lynx	28	8	1	2	17	27	42	−15	25
7	Connecticut Wolves	28	2	5	3	18	32	57	−25	11

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SOW	SOL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Richmond Kickers	28	18	3	2	5	48	22	+26	57
2	Hershey Wildcats	28	17	2	1	8	51	31	+20	53
3	Hampton Roads Mariners	28	15	1	3	9	44	39	+5	46
4	Charleston Battery	28	11	1	1	15	37	40	−3	34
5	Jacksonville Cyclones	28	10	0	2	16	36	53	−17	30
6	Atlanta Ruckus	28	7	0	1	20	31	67	−36	21
7	Raleigh Flyers	28	5	0	2	21	31	66	−35	15

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SOW	SOL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Nashville Metros	28	18	2	1	7	70	31	+39	56
2	Minnesota Thunder	28	16	3	1	8	52	33	+19	51
3	Milwaukee Rampage	28	16	1	3	8	61	39	+22	49
4	New Orleans Storm	28	14	1	1	12	53	50	+3	43
5	Cincinnati Riverhawks	28	11	0	0	17	48	65	−17	33
6	El Paso Patriots	28	9	3	1	15	51	54	−3	30
7	Albuquerque Geckos	28	5	0	1	22	39	100	−61	15

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Pacific Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SOW	SOL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	San Diego Flash	28	20	1	1	6	58	23	+35	61
2	Seattle Sounders	28	17	1	0	10	63	28	+35	52
3	Orange County Zodiac	28	15	1	3	9	49	43	+6	46
4	Vancouver 86ers	28	13	2	1	12	55	42	+13	41
5	MLS Project 40	28	10	1	2	15	45	55	−10	31
6	San Francisco Bay Seals	28	9	1	5	13	31	47	−16	28
7	California Jaguars	28	6	0	1	21	32	95	−63	18

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Conference Quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

September 12, 1998
7:35 PM EST

Rochester Rhinos (NY)	3–0	Charleston Battery (SC)
Yari Allnutt 22:00' (Tanner, Tilley) Jimmy Glenn 35:10' (McKay) Mike Kirmse 81:20'	Report	44' Robert Rosario  66' Todd Miller

Frontier Field, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 9,673

September 12, 1998

Hershey Wildcats (PA)	1–1	Hampton Roads Mariners (VA)
Kyle Swords 49'		18' Greg Richards
Penalties
	4–3

Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 2,089

September 12, 1998

Montreal Impact (QC)	3–1	Staten Island Vipers (NY)
Giuliano Oliviero 3' Kevin Lamey 66' Kevin Wilson 90'		2' Marvin Oliver

Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 9,673

September 13, 1998

Richmond Kickers (VA)	0–0	Long Island Rough Riders (NY)
Penalties
	4–3

University of Richmond Stadium, Richmond, Virginia

Attendance: 1,798

Western Conference

September 12, 1998
7:30 PM (PDT)

San Diego Flash (CA)	3–1	Vancouver 86ers (BC)
Nate Hetherington 22', 74' Jamie Munro  41' Carlos Farias 51' Jerome Watson 90'	Report	19' Jason Jordan

Devore Stadium, Chula Vista, California

Attendance: 4,178

September 12, 1998

Nashville Metros (TN)	2–2	New Orleans Storm (LA)
Vince Martinez  35' Martin Reynders 41' 78' (pen.)		23' Ricardo Blanchard 53' (pen.) Gabe Gentile
Penalties
	2–4

Columbia/HCA Complex, Nashville, Tennessee

Attendance: 650

September 13, 1998

Seattle Sounders (WA)	2–1	Orange County Zodiac (CA)
Peter Hattrup 63' Brandon Prideaux  73' Dick McCormick 76' (pen.)	Report	22' Eddie Soto  60' Steve Patterson  67' Ken Hesse

Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington

Attendance: 4,371

Referee: Mohammed Sagakhaneh

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference semifinal 1

September 17, 1998

Hershey Wildcats (PA)	0–0	Richmond Kickers (VA)
Penalties
	3–2

Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 2,296

September 20, 1998

Richmond Kickers (VA)	2–4	Hershey Wildcats (PA)
Rob Johnson 82' Tony Williams 84'		15' Lee Tschantret 45' Don D'Ambra 81' Jamel Mitchell 90' Jakob Fenger

University of Richmond Stadium, Richmond, Virginia

Attendance: 1,800

The Hershey Wildcats advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Eastern Conference semifinal 2

September 20, 1998
7:30 PM EST

Montreal Impact (QC)	2–2	Rochester Rhinos (NY)
Elvis Thomas 42:29' Patrick Diotte 54:41' Nick De Santis  90'	Report	15:24' Darren Tilley 20:09',  46' Tommy Tanner  72' Nate Daligcon  86' Tim Hardy
Penalties
Giuliano Oliviero Nevio Pizzolitto Patrick Diotte Elvis Thomas Onandi Lowe	2–3	Carlos Zavala Doug Miller Patrick Diotte Scott Schweitzer Darren Tilley

Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec

Attendance: 4,360

September 23, 1998
7:35 PM EST

Rochester Rhinos (NY)	4–1	Montreal Impact (QC)
Tim Hardy  36' Lenin Steenkamp 44:02', 47:20' Scott Schweitzer 60:45' Yari Allnutt 67:50' Mike Kirmse  84'	Report	22:25' Elvis Thomas  24' John Limniatis  56' Nevio Pizzolitto  59' Nick De Santis

Frontier Field, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 7,529

Western Conference semifinal 1

September 18, 1998

Minnesota Thunder (MN)	2–1	Seattle Sounders (WA)
Stoian Mladenov 49' Amos Magee 73'	Report	2' Dick McCormick  28' Scott Jenkins 61' Peter Hattrup

National Sports Center, Blaine, Minnesota

Attendance: 2,084

September 20, 1998
5:00 PM (PDT)

Seattle Sounders (WA)	1–2	Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Dick McCormick  13', 84' Jason Annicchero  27' Scott Jenkins  30' David Hoggan  66' Neil Megson  84'	Report	19' Gerard Lagos  25' Don Gramenz  62' Morgan Zeba 73' (pen.) Kevin Anderson

Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington

Attendance: 3,579

Referee: Ricardo Valenzuela (USA)

The Minnesota Thunder advanced 4-2 on aggregate.

Western Conference semifinal 2

September 19, 1998

San Diego Flash (CA)	2–1	New Orleans Storm (LA)
Antonio Robles 18' Carlos Farias 73'		60' Glenn Benjamin

Devore Stadium, Chula Vista, California

Attendance: 4,043

September 21, 1998

New Orleans Storm (LA)	3–3	San Diego Flash (CA)
Gabe Gentile 46' Chris Veselka 61', 89' Colin Rocke  63' Andrew Restrepo  69'		7' Jerome Watson 53' Mauricio Alegre 75' Carlos Farias
Penalties
	2–3

Zephyr Field, Metairie, Louisiana

Attendance: 1,104

The San Diego Flash advance to the Western Conference championship.

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

September 26, 1998
8:00 PM EST

Rochester Rhinos (NY)	3–1	Hershey Wildcats (PA)
Jimmy Glenn 2:30',  27' Darren Tilley 60:20', 88:25' Yari Allnutt  41'	Report	18' Mike Williams 83:01' Lee Tschantret

Frontier Field, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 8,212

October 3, 1998
7:35 PM EST

Hershey Wildcats (PA)	0–1	Rochester Rhinos (NY)
	Report	74:16' Darren Tilley

Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Attendance: 1,847

The Rochester Rhinos advanced to the finals.

Western Conference

September 26, 1998

Minnesota Thunder (MN)	2–1	San Diego Flash (CA)
John Coughlin 22' Gabe Garcia 87'	Report	55' Daniel Sinouhi

National Sports Center, Blaine, Minnesota

Attendance: 2,743

September 30, 1998

San Diego Flash (CA)	1–2	Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Jerome Watson 68'	Report	18' Constantin Stănici 42' Morgan Zeba

Devore Stadium, Chula Vista, California

Attendance: 3,183

The Minnesota Thunder advanced to the final.

Final

October 17, 1998
7:00 PM EST

Rochester Rhinos (NY)	3–1	Minnesota Thunder (MN)
Darren Tilley 19:02', 22:55', 59:07' Scott Schweitzer  51' Tim Hardy  77'	Report	1' Morgan Zeba 33:09' (o.g.) Tim Hardy

Frontier Field, Rochester, New York

Attendance: 13,772

MVP: Darren Tilley

Points leaders

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Mark Baena	Seattle Sounders	24	5	53
2	Darren Tilley	Rochester Rhinos	21	6	48
3	Amos Magee	Minnesota Thunder	15	10	40
4	Kirk Wilson	El Paso Patriots	15	7	37
5	Mauro Biello	Montreal Impact	11	13	35
6	Mike Burke	Charleston Battery	16	2	34
	Gary Glasgow	New Orleans Storm	15	4	34
	Antonio Robles	San Diego Flash	15	4	34
9	Yari Allnutt	Rochester Rhinos	14	5	33
10	Jon Szczepanski	Milwaukee Rampage	8	14	30
	Jason Cairns	Cincinnati Riverhawks	8	14	30
12	Luis Labastida	Albuquerque Geckos	9	11	29
	John Smith	Nashville Metros	9	11	29
14	Patrick Beech	Seattle Sounders	12	4	28
	Steve Patterson	Orange County Zodiac	11	6	28
	Martin Reynders	Nashville Metros	11	6	28
17	Giuliano Oliviero	Montreal Impact	8	11	27
18	Gino DiFlorio	Cincinnati Riverhawks	12	2	26
	Jimmy Glenn	Rochester Rhinos	10	6	26

Honors

• MVP: Mark Baena
• Leading goal scorer: Mark Baena
• Leading goalkeeper: Pat Onstad
• Defender of the Year: Scott Schweitzer
• Rookie of the Year: Mike Burke
• Coach of the Year: Pat Ercoli
• First Team All League
  • Goalkeeper: Pat Onstad
  • Defenders: Gabe Eastman, Scott Schweitzer, Craig Demmin
  • Midfielders: Yari Allnutt, Mauro Biello, John Ball, Lee Tschantret
  • Forwards: Mark Baena, Darren Tilley, Amos Magee
• Second Team All League
  • Goalkeeper: Joe Cannon
  • Defenders: Carl Fletcher, Steve MacDonald, Omid Namazi
  • Midfielders: Kevin Anderson, Jason Cairns, Antonio Robles, Kirk Wilson
  • Forwards: Gary Glasgow, Mike Burke, Josh Wolff
• Organization of the Year: ^[1] Vancouver 86ers
• Executive of the Year: Jim Harwood, Milwaukee Rampage
• Fair Play Award: Rochester Raging Rhinos
• Key Grip Award: Matthew Ford, Hershey Wildcats