Wikipedia

1996 USISL Select League

The 1996 USISL Select League season was the first season of a professional men's soccer league which featured teams from the United States. The league shared Division II status in the American soccer pyramid with the A-League, before the two leagues merged in 1997 as the USISL A-League.

USISL Select League
Season1996
Teams21
ChampionsCalifornia Jaguars
PremiersCarolina Dynamo
Matches189
Goals611 (3.23 per match)
Best PlayerUnited States Dan Stebbins
Top goalscorerUnited States Dan Stebbins
(21 goals)
Best goalkeeperUnited States Scott Garlick
← First

History

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The league had its origins in the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL), which was the de facto second tier of American soccer during the early 1990s, and until 1995 confined itself to organising regional leagues.

The USISL Pro League, which had been at the third tier of the pyramid in 1995, split into two leagues in 1996; the best teams joined the new USISL Select League, while the remainder (plus expansion teams) remained in the USISL Pro League, which retained its Division III status. Both the A-League and the new USISL Select League had Division II status in 1996.

In an attempt to counteract the fact that a number of top A-League players had left to join MLS in 1995 and 1996[1] six of the seven remaining A-League teams – Montreal Impact, Colorado Foxes, Seattle Sounders, Rochester Raging Rhinos, Vancouver 86ers and Atlanta Ruckus, plus two planned A-League expansion teams (Toronto Lynx and Hershey Wildcats) merged with the USISL Select League to form a consolidated Division II league before the 1997 season. The resulting merged league retained the A-League name,[2] and the USISL Select League name was abandoned.

USISL Select League teams

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Champions

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Regular season

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  • Regulation win = 3 points
  • Shootout win (SW) = 1 point
  • Loss (regulation or shootout) = 0 points

Eastern Conference

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North Atlantic Division

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Pos Team Pld W SW L GF GA GD Pts
1 Long Island Rough Riders 18 11 0 7 39 31 +8 33
2 Richmond Kickers 18 10 0 8 34 24 +10 28[a]
3 Connecticut Wolves 18 7 4 7 37 37 0 25
4 Delaware Wizards 18 5 1 12 20 29 −9 16
5 Cape Cod Crusaders 18 4 1 13 13 24 −11 9[b]
6 New York/New Jersey Stallions 18 2 0 16 19 52 −33 6
Source: [citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ↑ -2?
  2. ↑ -4?

South Atlantic Division

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Pos Team Pld W SW L GF GA GD Pts
1 Carolina Dynamo 18 14 1 3 37 15 +22 43
2 South Carolina Shamrocks 18 11 1 6 42 31 +11 34
3 Hampton Roads Mariners 18 9 4 5 32 15 +17 31
4 Tampa Bay Cyclones 18 9 1 8 40 32 +8 28
5 Raleigh Flyers 18 7 0 11 25 26 −1 21
Source: [citation needed]

Western Conference

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Central Division

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Pos Team Pld W SW L GF GA GD Pts
1 Milwaukee Rampage 18 9 6 3 36 19 +17 33
2 Minnesota Thunder 18 10 0 8 31 16 +15 30
3 New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers 18 7 2 9 31 36 −5 23
4 Ohio Xoggz 18 5 1 12 26 34 −8 16
5 Chicago Stingers 18 4 1 13 29 41 −12 13
Source: [citation needed]

Pacific Division

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Pos Team Pld W SW L GF GA GD Pts
1 California Jaguars 18 11 1 6 30 21 +9 34
2 Sacramento Scorpions 18 9 2 7 23 22 +1 29
3 El Paso Patriots 18 9 1 8 30 23 +7 28
4 New Mexico Chiles 18 9 0 9 24 24 0 27
5 Reno Rattlers 18 1 5 12 13 33 −20 8
Source: [citation needed]

Playoffs

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First round

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Second round

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Minnesota Thunder vs Milwaukee Rampage

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Hampton Roads Mariners vs Carolina Dynamos

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California Jaguars vs Sacramento Scorpions

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Long Island Rough Riders vs Delaware Wizards

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  • The game was suspended in the 39th minute due to lightning. Play resumed on August 24, 1996, at 2:00 PM.

Select Six Tournament

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The Select Six Tournament consisted of six teams. The Richmond Kickers participated as hosts. The Charleston Battery entered as the champion of the 1996 USISL Professional League. The other four teams came from the winners of the second round playoff games.

Group A

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Group B

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Semifinals

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California Jaguars vs Minnesota Thunder

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Richmond Kickers vs Long Island Rough Riders

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Final

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Points leaders

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Honors

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References

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  1. ↑ "The Year in American Soccer – 1995". Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "The Year in American Soccer – 1996". Archived from the original on August 5, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
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