1997 A-League

The 1997 USISL A-League season.

Contents

Overview

At the end of the 1996 A-League season, the U.S. second division A-League collapsed. Five of the six teams in the A-League then joined the USISL which had three leagues in 1996, beginning with the third division USISL Select League.[1] With the collapse of the U.S. second division and the transfer of most of its teams to the USISL, the USISL reorganized its divisions to include the new teams. It moved most of the old second division USISL Select League, plus a few new teams, up to a second division level and merged the old A-League teams into this new U.S. second division which was renamed the USISL A-League.

Regular season

Northeast Division

Place Team GP W SW SL L GF GA GD Points
1 Montreal Impact 28 20 1 1 6 58 19 +39 61
2 Rochester Raging Rhinos 28 14 0 5 9 56 47 +9 42
3 Long Island Rough Riders 28 13 3 2 10 44 36 +8 42
4 Toronto Lynx 28 12 2 0 14 44 43 +1 38
5 Connecticut Wolves 28 8 4 1 15 31 45 -14 28
6 Worcester Wildfire 28 6 1 2 19 26 61 -35 19

Atlantic Division

Place Team GP W SW SL L GF GA GD Points
1 Hershey Wildcats 28 18 1 1 8 56 33 +23 55
2 Carolina Dynamo 28 16 2 2 8 63 33 +30 50
3 Richmond Kickers 28 15 0 2 11 41 35 +6 45
4 Charleston Battery 28 10 2 3 13 39 50 -11 32
5 Raleigh Flyers 28 8 4 3 13 34 52 -18 28
6 Jacksonville Cyclones 28 4 1 1 23 28 73 -45 13

Central Division

Place Team GP W SW SL L GF GA GD Points
1 New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers 28 13 3 2 10 45 42 +3 42
2 Nashville Metros 28 10 7 2 9 42 34 +8 37
3 Orlando Sundogs 28 12 0 4 12 39 40 -1 36
4 Milwaukee Rampage 28 11 3 2 12 33 36 -3 36
5 Minnesota Thunder 28 11 2 5 10 22 30 -8 35
6 Atlanta Ruckus 28 9 3 1 15 39 48 -9 30

Pacific Division

Place Team GP W SW SL L GF GA GD Points
1 California Jaguars 28 17 1 0 10 48 34 +14 52
2 Seattle Sounders 28 16 2 3 7 42 19 +33 50
3 Vancouver 86ers 28 15 1 1 11 50 29 +21 46
4 Colorado Foxes 28 15 1 2 10 55 49 +6 46
5 Orange County Zodiac 28 10 1 0 17 35 62 -27 31
6 El Paso Patriots 28 5 3 3 17 30 50 -20 18

Playoffs

Division Semi-finals

Northeast Semifinal 1

September 3, 1997
 Rochester Raging Rhinos (NY) 0-0 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) Frontier Field, Rochester, New York
Attendance: 5,160
  Penalties  
3 – 4
September 6, 1997
 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) 1-1 Rochester Raging Rhinos (NY) James M. Shuart Stadium, Hempstead, New York
Attendance: 4,361
Carlos Ledesma  63' (pen.) (Report)  8' Nate Daligcon
  Penalties  
Travis Rinker
Hector Wright
Daniel Leon		 3 – 1

Northeast Semifinal 2

September 5, 1997
8:00 PM (EST)
 Toronto Lynx (ON) 1-2 Montreal Impact (QC) Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario
Attendance: 1,254
Referee: Tony Camacho (Canada)
Terry St. Louis  13'
Peyvand Mossavat 31'
Martin Dugas 42'
Franco Spadafina  43'
Paul Stalteri 45'		 (Report)  8' Onandi Lowe
13' John Limniatis
 25' Onandi Lowe
 62' Mauro Biello
September 7, 1997
 Montreal Impact (QC) 4-0 Toronto Lynx (ON) Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec
Attendance: 4,138
Darren Tilley  17' (pen.)
 25'  26'
Bill Sedgewick  45'		 (Report)

Atlantic Semifinal 1

September 5, 1997
 Richmond Kickers (VA) 1-2 Carolina Dynamo (NC)
Attendance: 1,362
Rob Ukrop  63'  23' Robert Rosario
 31' Yari Allnutt
September 6, 1997
 Carolina Dynamo (NC) 1-4 Richmond Kickers (VA)
Attendance: 4,562
Keiran Breslin  32'  14' Dian Angulov
 72' Brian Kamler
 75' Mario Lone
 82' Mac Cozier
September 6, 1997
 Carolina Dynamo (NC) 0-0 Richmond Kickers (VA)
Attendance: 4,562
  Penalties  
3 – 1

Atlantic Semifinal 2

September 5, 1997
7:30 PM (EST)
 Charleston Battery (CA) 1-1 Hershey Wildcats (PA) Stoney Field, Charleston, South Carolina
Attendance: 2,024
Referee: Roger Sill
Juan Castillo 38'
Michael Anhaeuser 50'
Patrick Olalere  85'		 (Report)  78' Mark Waite
  Penalties  
1 – 3
September 7, 1997
6:00 PM (EST)
 Hershey Wildcats (PA) 1-1 Charleston Battery (CA) Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,104
Referee: Yanich Wejlak
Lee Tschantret  89' (Report) Juan Castillo
 75' Patrick Olalere
  Penalties  
0 – 1
September 7, 1997
8:55 PM (EST)
 Hershey Wildcats (PA) 0-0 Charleston Battery (CA) Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Attendance: 2,104
Referee: Yanich Wejlak
(Report)
  Penalties  
4 – 2

Central Semifinal 1

September 4, 1997
7:45 PM (EST)
 Orlando Sundogs (FL) 1-2 New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (LA) Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida
Referee: Robert Mann (USA)
Dylan Lewis  34'
Greg Brick  54'		 (Report)  12'  23' Stern John
September 7, 1997
6:00 PM (EST)
 New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (LA) 6-2 Orlando Sundogs (FL) Tad Gormley Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 653
Gabriel Gentile  2'
Stern John  10'  89'
Louis Smotherman  23'
Mickey Trotman  39'		 (Report)  29' Sebastian Barnes
 67' Sheldon Lee

Central Semifinal 2

September 4, 1997
 Nashville Metros (TN) 1-2 Milwaukee Rampage (WI)
Attendance: 550
Geltz  2'  81' Nick Igel
 85' Dave Marshall
September 7, 1997
 Milwaukee Rampage (WI) 0-3 Nashville Metros (TN)
Attendance: 1,229
 27' Travis Roy
 81'  83' Dan Stebbins

Pacific Semifinal 1

September 4, 1997
 Colorado Foxes (CO) 0-3 Seattle Sounders (WA) Mile High Greyhound Park, Commerce City, Colorado
Attendance: 786
Referee: Rudy Bettmann (USA)
Rivers Guthrie (Report) Vicente Figueroa
 20' Erik Storkson
 26' Michael Gailey
 84' (pen.) David Hoggan
September 6, 1997
 Seattle Sounders (WA) 2-0 Colorado Foxes (CO) Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington
Attendance: 6,927
Referee: Mohammad Zarrabi-Kashani (USA)
Henry Gutierrez
Vicente Figueroa
Vicente Figueroa  70'
Esmundo Rodriguez  89'		 (Report) Chad Ashton
87' Ray Tomlin
 88' Ray Tomlin

Pacific Semifinal 2

September 5, 1997
 Vancouver 86ers (BC) 4-1 California Jaguars (CA)
Attendance: 2,716
Domenic Mobilio  2' (pen.)
 54' (pen.)
Steve Kindel  35'		  86' Paul Holocher
September 7, 1997
 California Jaguars (CA) 2-2 Vancouver 86ers (BC)
Attendance: 1,859
Mark Baena  55'
Iverson  89'		  22' Steve Kindel
 73' Domenic Mobilio
  Penalties  
1 – 2

Division Finals

Northeast Division final

September 12, 1997
 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) 2-2 Montreal Impact (QC) James M. Shuart Stadium, Hempstead, New York
Attendance: 3,585
Hector Wright  4'
Flavio Ferri  55'		  5' Lloyd Barker
September 14, 1997
 Montreal Impact (QC) 2-0 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec
Attendance: 6,679
Mauro Biello  34'
Lyndon Hooper  77'
September 14, 1997
 Montreal Impact (QC) 0-0 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Quebec
Attendance: 6,679
  Penalties  
1 – 4

Atlantic Division final

September 12, 1997
 Charleston Battery (SC) 3-3 Carolina Dynamo (NC) Stoney Field, Charleston, South Carolina
Attendance: 1,422
Todd Miller  37'
Juan Castillo  52' (pen.)
Alvin Boisson  53'		  43' Danny Care
 54' John Ball
 81' Mike Saunders
  Penalties  
4 – 3
September 14, 1997
 Carolina Dynamo (NC) 2-1 Charleston Battery (SC)
Attendance: 1,506
Maher Atta  29'
Yari Allnutt  89'		  27' (pen.) Andy Schmetzer
September 14, 1997
 Carolina Dynamo (NC) 1-0 Charleston Battery (SC)
Attendance: 1,506
Ed Radwanski  12'

Central Division final

September 12, 1997
 Milwaukee Rampage (WI) 2-1 (OT) New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (LA)
Attendance: 2,818
Nick Igel  81'  92'  9' Ricardo Blanchard
September 14, 1997
 New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (LA) 3-4 Milwaukee Rampage (WI)
Attendance: 898
Stern John  64' (pen.)
Gabe Jones  67'
Mickey Trotman  78'		  51' (pen.) Jon Szczepanski
 78' (pen.)
 60' Dan Stebbins
 74' David Marshall

Pacific Division final

September 12, 1997
 Vancouver 86ers (BC) 3-0 Seattle Sounders (WA) Swangard Stadium, Vancouver, British Columbia
Attendance: 3,607
Referee: Rene Perott (Canada)
Craig Dalrymple
Domenic Mobilio  62'
Nico Berg  70'
Chris Clarke  86'		 (Report) Henry Gutierrez
Kieran Barton
Vicente Figueroa
September 14, 1997
 Seattle Sounders (WA) 0-0 OT Vancouver 86ers (BC) Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington
Neil Megson
Henry Gutierrez		 (Report) Chris Franks
Richie Sumner
  Penalties  
Bernie James
David Hoggan
Henry Gutierrez
Esmundo Rodriguez		 1 – 0 Domenic Mobilio
Ollie Heald
Jason Jordan
Paul Dailly
Chris Franks
September 14, 1997
 Seattle Sounders (WA) 1-1 OT Vancouver 86ers (BC) Memorial Stadium, Seattle, Washington
Erik Storkson  29' (Report)  7' Domenic Mobilio
  Penalties  
Bernie James
David Hoggan
Vincente Figueroa
Esmundo Rodriguez		 1 – 3 Domenic Mobilio
Ian Clarke
Steve Kindel
Doug Muirhead

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

September 19, 1997
 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) 1-2 Carolina Dynamo (NC) Hofstra Stadium Hempstead, New York
Attendance: 1,044
Laurence Piturro  71'  72' Brian Loftin
 89' (PK) Brian Loftin
September 21, 1997
6:00 PM EST
 Carolina Dynamo (NC) 2-0 Long Island Rough Riders (NY) A.J. Simeon Stadium High Point, North Carolina
Attendance: 2,105
Brian Loftin  84'
Laurence Piturro  86' (OG)

Western Conference

September 19, 1997
 Milwaukee Rampage (WI) 3-1 Vancouver 86ers (BC) Uihlein Soccer Park Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 2,888
Dan Stebbins  65'  82'  87'  51' Domenic Mobilio
September 21, 1997
5:00 PM
 Vancouver 86ers (BC) 1-0 Milwaukee Rampage (WI) Swangard Stadium Vancouver, British Columbia
Referee: 4,323
Domenic Mobilio  63' (pen.)
September 21, 1997
7:00 PM
 Vancouver 86ers (BC) 0-0 Milwaukee Rampage (WI) Swangard Stadium Vancouver, British Columbia
  Penalties  
0 – 3

Final

September 27, 1997
8:30 PM
 Milwaukee Rampage (WI) 1-1 (OT) Carolina Dynamo (NC) Uihlein Soccer Park Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Attendance: 6,381
Dan Stebbins  65'  80' Brian Loftin
  Penalties  
Jon Szczepanski
Dan Stebbins
Nicolas Igel		 3 – 0 Maher Atta
Yari Allnutt
Ed Radwanski

MVP: Carmine Isacco, Milwaukee Rampage

Points leaders

Rank Scorer Club Goals Assists Points
1 Doug Miller Rochester Rhinos 23 5 51
2 Mark Baena California Jaguars 20 4 44
3 Stern John New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers 16 5 37
4 Steve Patterson Colorado Foxes 16 3 35
5 Jamel Mitchell Nashville Metros 17 0 34
Jimmy Glenn Rochester Rhinos 13 8 34
7 Yari Allnutt Carolina Dynamo 12 9 33
Domenic Mobilio Vancouver 86ers 14 5 33
Darren Tilley Montreal Impact 13 7 33
Gustavo Leval Orange County Zodiac 16 1 33
11 Sebastian Barnes Orlando Sundogs 14 3 31
12 Garret Kusch Vancouver 86ers 10 10 30
13 Michael Galley Seattle Sounders 10 7 27
Rob Ukrop Richmond Kickers 12 3 27

Honors

References

  1. ^ The Year in American Soccer - 1996

External links

1995 · 1996 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004