2012 North American Soccer League season

The 2012 North American Soccer League season was the 45th season of Division II soccer in the United States and the second season of the revived North American Soccer League. It was contested by eight teams including one from Canada and one from Puerto Rico. The Montreal Impact were self-promoted to Major League Soccer as an expansion franchise and the expansion San Antonio Scorpions were added to the NASL. The NASL received full sanctioning from the United States Soccer Federation on March 3, 2012 at their annual meeting.^[2] The defending Soccer Bowl champions were the NSC Minnesota Stars, while the Carolina Railhawks were the defending North American Supporters' Trophy winners.

North American Soccer League

Season	2012
Champions	Tampa Bay Rowdies
North American Supporters' Trophy	San Antonio Scorpions
Champions League (CFU)	Puerto Rico Islanders (2012 CFU Club Championship 3rd place)
Matches played	112
Goals scored	294 (2.63 per match)
Top goalscorer	Pablo Campos (20 goals)
Biggest home win	SAS 8–0 CAR (July 28)
Biggest away win	SAS 0–4 PRI (April 15)
Highest scoring	CAR 4–4 ATL (April 14) FTL 5–3 ATL (July 28) SAS 8–0 CAR (July 28)
Longest winning run	4 matches: San Antonio (April 28 – May 19) Carolina (June 2 – June 23) Tampa Bay (June 16 – July 4)
Longest unbeaten run	9 matches: Minnesota (April 7 – June 2) San Antonio (April 21 – June 16)
Longest winless run	9 matches: Carolina (April 7 – May 19) Atlanta (April 7 – May 26) Minnesota (July 18 – September 8)
Longest losing run	5 matches: Atlanta (June 9 – July 3)
Highest attendance	13,151 PRI @ SAS (April 15)
Lowest attendance	520 EDM @ PRI (April 18)
Average attendance	3,810[1]
← 2011 2013 →

Personnel and sponsorship

Team	Head Coach	Captain	Shirt sponsor
Puerto Rico Islanders	Adrian Whitbread	Noah Delgado	Toyota
Carolina RailHawks	Colin Clarke	Kupono Low	BCBSA
FC Edmonton	Harry Sinkgraven	Chris Kooy	Sears Canada
Atlanta Silverbacks	Brian Haynes	Martyn Lancaster	Reto Sports
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Daryl Shore	Toni Ståhl	Joma
Minnesota Stars	Manny Lagos	Kyle Altman	Admiral
San Antonio Scorpions	Tim Hankinson	Kevin Harmse	Nike
Tampa Bay Rowdies	Ricky Hill	Frank Sanfilippo	Mainsail Suites / United World Soccer

Teams

Silverbacks

RailHawks

Edmonton

Strikers

Stars

Islanders

Scorpions

Rowdies

Locations of NASL clubs

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	San Antonio Scorpions (X)	28	13	8	7	46	27	+19	47	Playoff semifinals
2	Tampa Bay Rowdies (C)	28	12	9	7	37	30	+7	45
3	Puerto Rico Islanders	28	11	8	9	32	30	+2	41	Playoff quarterfinals
4	Carolina RailHawks	28	10	10	8	44	46	−2	40
5	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	28	9	9	10	40	46	−6	36
6	Minnesota United	28	8	11	9	34	33	+1	35
7	Atlanta Silverbacks	28	7	9	12	35	46	−11	30
8	FC Edmonton	28	5	10	13	26	36	−10	25

Source: NASL Standings
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (X) Commissioner's Cup (regular season champion)

Results

Abbreviation and Color Key: Atlanta Silverbacks – ATL • Carolina RailHawks FC – CAR • FC Edmonton – EDM • Fort Lauderdale Strikers – FTL Minnesota Stars FC – MIN • Puerto Rico Islanders – PRI • San Antonio Scorpions FC – SAS • Tampa Bay Rowdies – TAM Win  • Loss  • Draw  • Home
Club	Match
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Atlanta Silverbacks	SAS	CAR	TAM	MIN	MIN	EDM	PRI	TAM	FTL	EDM	SAS	CAR	PRI	SAS	CAR	MIN	PRI	EDM	FTL	FTL	TAM	MIN	CAR	EDM	TAM	FTL	SAS	PRI
	0–0	4–4	1–1	3–3	0–2	0–2	0–3	2–3	1–1	2–1	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–3	1–2	2–0	2–1	1–2	3–5	4–2	0–0	0–0	0–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	3–1	1–1
Carolina RailHawks	MIN	ATL	TAM	PRI	SAS	FTL	EDM	MIN	PRI	PRI	MIN	ATL	EDM	FTL	ATL	FTL	MIN	SAS	TAM	FTL	EDM	ATL	PRI	SAS	EDM	SAS	TAM	TAM
	0–0	4–4	1–1	1–3	0–1	3–3	0–3	1–2	1–1	2–1	5–1	2–1	2–0	1–2	2–1	3–3	1–0	0–8	3–3	0–1	3–2	1–0	3–1	0–1	2–2	2–1	1–1	0–0
FC Edmonton	FTL	TAM	PRI	MIN	CAR	ATL	SAS	SAS	ATL	FTL	FTL	CAR	PRI	SAS	PRI	TAM	ATL	TAM	MIN	SAS	PRI	CAR	MIN	ATL	MIN	CAR	TAM	FTL
	0–1	0–1	0–0	3–4	3–0	2–0	0–2	2–2	1–2	1–0	0–1	0–2	0–0	0–1	1–1	0–1	2–1	0–1	1–1	1–1	1–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–3	2–2
Fort Lauderdale Strikers	EDM	MIN	SAS	PRI	TAM	CAR	PRI	MIN	ATL	TAM	EDM	EDM	MIN	CAR	TAM	CAR	SAS	MIN	SAS	ATL	ATL	CAR	PRI	SAS	TAM	PRI	ATL	EDM
	1–0	0–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	3–3	0–2	1–3	1–1	3–1	0–1	1–0	1–2	2–1	1–3	3–3	2–2	2–1	0–1	5–3	2–4	1–0	0–0	2–1	0–3	1–1	0–1	2–2
Minnesota Stars FC	CAR	FTL	EDM	ATL	ATL	CAR	FTL	TAM	SAS	CAR	TAM	FTL	TAM	PRI	ATL	TAM	FTL	CAR	PRI	EDM	SAS	ATL	EDM	SAS	EDM	PRI	PRI	SAS
	0–0	0–0	4–3	3–3	2–0	2–1	3–1	0–0	0–0	1–5	1–2	2–1	0–2	4–0	0–2	2–1	1–2	0–1	0–1	1–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1
Puerto Rico Islanders	TAM	SAS	EDM	CAR	FTL	FTL	ATL	CAR	CAR	TAM	SAS	ATL	EDM	MIN	EDM	SAS	ATL	TAM	MIN	SAS	EDM	FTL	TAM	CAR	FTL	MIN	MIN	ATL
	1–0	4–0	0–0	3–1	2–3	2–0	3–0	1–1	1–2	2–0	0–2	2–1	0–0	0–4	1–1	1–0	1–2	0–2	1–0	2–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–3	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1
San Antonio Scorpions FC	ATL	PRI	FTL	CAR	TAM	TAM	EDM	EDM	MIN	ATL	PRI	TAM	ATL	EDM	PRI	FTL	FTL	CAR	PRI	EDM	MIN	TAM	FTL	MIN	CAR	CAR	ATL	MIN
	0–0	0–4	2–2	1–0	2–0	2–1	2–0	2–2	0–0	3–0	2–0	2–3	3–0	1–0	0–1	2–2	1–0	8–0	1–2	1–1	1–0	4–0	1–2	1–1	1–0	1–2	1–3	1–1
Tampa Bay Rowdies	PRI	EDM	CAR	ATL	FTL	SAS	SAS	ATL	MIN	FTL	PRI	MIN	SAS	MIN	FTL	MIN	EDM	PRI	EDM	CAR	ATL	SAS	PRI	FTL	ATL	EDM	CAR	CAR
	0–1	1–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–2	3–2	0–0	1–3	0–2	2–1	3–2	2–0	3–1	1–2	1–0	2–0	1–0	3–3	0–0	0–4	0–0	3–0	1–1	3–0	1–1	0–0

Final regular season results.^[3]

Playoffs

The six qualifying teams were seeded 1 through 6, with the top team in the standings receiving the number 1 seed.

The format of the playoffs consisted of quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. The quarterfinals were single games while the semifinals and final were each a two-game series with each team playing at home once and the team with the greater number of aggregate goals in both games winning the series.

The number 1 seed and the number 2 seed received byes while the number 3 seed hosted the number 6 seed and the number 4 seed hosted the number 5 seed in the quarterfinal.

For the semifinal, the number 1 seed was paired with the lower seeded team to qualify from the quarterfinal and the number 2 seed paired with the higher seeded team to qualify from the quarterfinal.

The winners of each semifinal met in the final, known as the Soccer Bowl. In the event of a draw in either quarterfinal game, a 30-minute extra time period was to be played (with the golden goal rule not in effect). If the teams were still locked in a draw following the extra time period, the winner was to be determined by a penalty shootout.

In each semifinal and in the final, if the teams are tied on the number of aggregate goals scored in the series at the conclusion of the second game, the teams were to play a 30-minute extra time period. As in the quarterfinal, the golden goal rule was not in effect. If the teams were still locked in a draw following the extra time period, the winner of the series was to be determined by a penalty shootout.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals							Final
						1	San Antonio Scorpions	0	1	1
	3	Puerto Rico Islanders	1			6	Minnesota Stars	0	2	2
	6	Minnesota Stars	2										6	Minnesota Stars	2	1	3
													2	Tampa Bay Rowdies	0	3	3
						2	Tampa Bay Rowdies	2	3	5
	4	Carolina RailHawks	3			4	Carolina RailHawks	1	3	4
	5	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	1

Quarterfinals

Carolina RailHawks v Fort Lauderdale Strikers

September 29, 2012 (2012-09-29)	Carolina RailHawks	3–1	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 pm EDT	Amir Lowery 34'  71' Ty Shipalane 52' 67' Floyd Franks  86'	Report	Conor Shanosky  58' Abe Thompson 61' Lance Laing  90+'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 2,534 Referee: Daniel Radford

Puerto Rico Islanders v Minnesota Stars

September 30, 2012 (2012-09-30)	Puerto Rico Islanders	1–2	Minnesota Stars	Bayamón, Puerto Rico
6:00 pm EDT	David Foley 79' Josh Hansen  81'	Report	Amani Walker 9' Miguel Ibarra 41' Justin Davis  90'	Stadium: Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium Attendance: 2,002 Referee: Kevin Terry, Jr.

Semifinals

Carolina RailHawks v Tampa Bay Rowdies

October 6, 2012 (2012-10-06)	Carolina RailHawks	1–2	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Cary, North Carolina
7:00 pm EDT	Brian Shriver 78' (pen.) Amir Lowery  86' Floyd Franks  89'	Report	Mike Ambersley 64'  90+' Andres Arango  77' Jeff Attinella  83' Dan Antoniuk 85'	Stadium: WakeMed Soccer Park Attendance: 3,183 Referee: Matthew Foerster

Tampa Bay Rowdies v Carolina RailHawks

October 13, 2012 (2012-10-13)	Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–3	Carolina RailHawks	St. Petersburg, Florida
7:30 pm EDT	Shane Hill 40' (pen.) Mike Ambersley 65' Luke Mulholland 84'  90+'	Report	Matt Luzunaris 14' Ty Shipalane 18' Gale Agbossoumonde  35' Nick Zimmerman 86' (pen.)	Stadium: Al Lang Stadium Attendance: 4,132 Referee: Robert Sibiga

Tampa Bay Rowdies win 5–4 on aggregate.

Minnesota Stars v San Antonio Scorpions

October 6, 2012 (2012-10-06)	Minnesota Stars	0–0	San Antonio Scorpions	Blaine, Minnesota
8:30 pm EDT	Simone Bracalello  21'	Report	Kevin Harmse  86'	Stadium: National Sports Center Attendance: 2,006 Referee: Marcos Deoliveira

San Antonio Scorpions v Minnesota Stars

October 14, 2012 (2012-10-14)	San Antonio Scorpions	1–2	Minnesota Stars	San Antonio, Texas
6:15 pm CDT	Walter Ramirez  17' Pablo Campos 25'  27' Kevin Harmse  54' Josue Soto  89'	Report	Kyle Altman  28' Neil Hlavaty  67' Blake Wagner 76' (o.g.) Simone Bracalello 83'	Stadium: Heroes Stadium Attendance: 6,249 Referee: Daniel Fitzgerald

Minnesota Stars win 2–1 on aggregate.

Soccer Bowl 2012

October 20, 2012 (2012-10-20)

8:30 pm EDT

Minnesota Stars	2–0	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Amani Walker 67' Kentaro Takada  84' Martin Nunez 90+'	Report	Mike Ambersley  48'

National Sports Center, Blaine, Minnesota

Attendance: 4,642

Referee: Kevin Terry, Jr.

October 27, 2012 (2012-10-27)

7:30 pm EDT

Tampa Bay Rowdies	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Minnesota Stars
Carl Cort 25'  58' Mike Ambersley  26' Keith Savage 51' Luke Mulholland  82' Dan Antoniuk 86'  90+' Shane Hill  90'	Report	Justin Davis  32' Simone Bracalello  45+' Lucas Rodríguez 52'
Penalties
Luke Mulholland Raphael Cox Fafà Picault Carl Cort	3–2	Neil Hlavaty Devin Del Do Kyle Altman Simone Bracalello Lucas Rodríguez

Al Lang Stadium, St. Petersburg, Florida

Attendance: 6,208

Referee: Alejandro Mariscal

Tied 3–3 on aggregate. Tampa Bay Rowdies win Soccer Bowl 2012, 3–2 on penalties.

Statistical leaders

Top scorers Rank Player Nation Club Goals 1 Pablo Campos BRA San Antonio Scorpions 20 2 Nick Zimmerman  USA Carolina RailHawks 15 3 Mark Anderson ENG Fort Lauderdale Strikers 11 4 Matt Horth  USA Atlanta Silverbacks 10 5 Nicholas Addlery JAM Puerto Rico Islanders 9 6 Andy Herron CRC Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8 7 Shaun Saiko CAN FC Edmonton 7 Amani Walker  USA Minnesota Stars 7 Dan Antoniuk  USA Tampa Bay Rowdies 7 10 Mike Ambersley  USA Tampa Bay Rowdies 6 Esteban Bayona COL San Antonio Scorpions 6 David Foley ENG Puerto Rico Islanders 6 Aly Hassan  USA Fort Lauderdale Strikers 6 Reinaldo Navia CHI Atlanta Silverbacks 6 Wálter Restrepo  USA Fort Lauderdale Strikers 6 Tsuyoshi Yoshitake JPN Tampa Bay Rowdies 6 Source:[4]

Top assists Rank Player Nation Club Assists 1 Mike Ambersley  USA Tampa Bay Rowdies 8 Wálter Restrepo  USA Fort Lauderdale Strikers 8 3 Mike Palacio  USA Carolina Railhawks 6 Walter Ramírez HON San Antonio Scorpions 6 Shaun Saiko CAN FC Edmonton 6 6 Pablo Campos BRA San Antonio Scorpions 5 Esteban Bayona COL San Antonio Scorpions 5 Jonathan Faña DOM Puerto Rico Islanders 5 Luke Mulholland ENG Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 Keith Savage  USA Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 Tiyi Shipalane RSA Carolina RailHawks 5 Abe Thompson  USA Fort Lauderdale Strikers 5 Amani Walker  USA Minnesota Stars 5 Source:[4]

Top goalkeepers

(Minimum of 1260 Minutes Played)

Rank	Goalkeeper	Club	MINS	SVS	GA	GAA
1	Daryl Sattler	San Antonio Scorpions	2151	66	19	0.795
2	Jeff Attinella	Tampa Bay Rowdies	2520	118	30	1.071
3	Richard Martin	Puerto Rico Islanders	2340	106	28	1.077
4	Matt Van Oekel	Minnesota Stars FC	2250	77	30	1.200
5	Lance Parker	FC Edmonton	1440	42	21	1.313
6	Matt Glaeser	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	2430	108	44	1.630
7	Ray Burse	Carolina RailHawks	2160	82	41	1.708
8	Dániel Illyés	Atlanta Silverbacks	1980	86	39	1.773

Source: North American Soccer League

Awards

Monthly awards

Month	NASL Player of the Month
	Player	Nation	Club	Link
April	Reinaldo Navia	CHL	Atlanta Silverbacks	5G
May	Shaun Saiko	CAN	FC Edmonton	5G 2A
June	Tsuyoshi Yoshitake	JPN	Tampa Bay Rowdies	4G 1A
July	Pablo Campos	BRA	San Antonio Scorpions	7G
August	Richard Martin	ENG	Puerto Rico Islanders	13 Saves
September	Matt Horth	USA	Atlanta Silverbacks	4G
October	Jeff Attinella	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies

Weekly awards

Week	Defensive Player of the Week			Offensive Player of the Week
	Player	Nat	Club	Player	Nat	Club
Week 1	Ray Burse	USA	Carolina RailHawks	Andy Herron	CRC	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 2	Richard Martin	ENG	Puerto Rico Islanders	Jonathan Faña	DOM	Puerto Rico Islanders
Week 3	Richard Martin	ENG	Puerto Rico Islanders	Andy Herron	CRC	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 4	Jeff Attinella	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Reinaldo Navia	CHL	Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 5	Cristiano Dias	BRA	Minnesota Stars	Shaun Saiko	CAN	FC Edmonton
Week 6	Paul Hamilton	CAN	FC Edmonton	Pablo Campos	BRA	San Antonio Scorpions
Week 7	Jonathan Greenfield	RSA	San Antonio Scorpions	Dan Antoniuk	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Week 8	Frank Sanfilippo	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Shaun Saiko	CAN	FC Edmonton
Week 9	Matt Van Oekel	USA	Minnesota Stars	Ciaran O'Brien	USA	Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 10	Lance Parker	USA	FC Edmonton	Pablo Campos	BRA	San Antonio Scorpions
Week 11	Jack Stewart	USA	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Tsuyoshi Yoshitake	JPN	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Week 12	Ray Burse	USA	Carolina RailHawks	Tsuyoshi Yoshitake	JPN	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Week 13	Jeff Attinella	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Mark Anderson	ENG	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 14	Daniel Illyes	HUN	Atlanta Silverbacks	Mike Palacio	USA	Carolina RailHawks
Week 15	Jeff Attinella	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Pablo Campos	BRA	San Antonio Scorpions
Week 16	Frank Sanfilippo	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Mark Anderson	ENG	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 17	Jeff Attinella	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Pablo Campos	BRA	San Antonio Scorpions
Week 18	Richard Martinez	PUR	Puerto Rico Islanders	Pedro Mendes	BRA	Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 19	Bryan Arguez	USA	FC Edmonton	Andy Herron	CRC	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 20	Conor Shanosky	USA	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Pablo Campos	BRA	San Antonio Scorpions
Week 21	Akira Fitzgerald	USA	Carolina Railhawks	Abe Thompson	USA	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 22	Frank Sanfilippo	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Matt Horth	USA	Atlanta Silverbacks
Week 23	Takuya Yamada	JPN	Tampa Bay Rowdies	Shaun Saiko	CAN	FC Edmonton
Week 24	Anthony Vázquez	PUR	Puerto Rico Islanders[5]	Tiyi Shipalane	RSA	Carolina Railhawks[6]
Week 25	Jeff Attinella	USA	Tampa Bay Rowdies[7]	Danny Barrera	USA	Atlanta Silverbacks[8]

League awards

• Golden Ball (MVP): Pablo Campos (San Antonio Scorpions) ^[9]
• Golden Boot: Pablo Campos (San Antonio Scorpions) ^[10]
• Golden Glove: Daryl Sattler (San Antonio Scorpions) ^[11]
• Coach of the Year: Ricky Hill (Tampa Bay Rowdies) ^[12]
• Play of the Year: Kevin Venegas (Minnesota Stars FC) ^[13]
• Fair Play Award: Tampa Bay Rowdies^[14]

NASL Best XI[15]
Position	Players	Team
Goalkeeper	Jeff Attinella	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Defense	Kyle Altman	Minnesota United FC
Defense	Ryan Cochrane	San Antonio Scorpions
Defense	Paul Hamilton	FC Edmonton
Defense	Takuya Yamada	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Midfield	Luke Mulholland	Tampa Bay Rowdies
Midfield	Walter Ramírez	San Antonio Scorpions
Midfield	Walter Restrepo	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Midfield	Nick Zimmerman	Carolina RailHawks
Forward	Mark Anderson	Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Forward	Pablo Campos	San Antonio Scorpions