1996 A-League
Statistics of A-League in season 1996.
Regular season
- Win = 3 points
- Shootout win (SW) = 1 point
- Loss = 0 points
| Place | Team | GP | W | SW | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal Impact | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 40 | 18 | +22 | 55 |
| 2 | Colorado Foxes | 27 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 55 | 33 | +22 | 44 |
| 3 | Seattle Sounders | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 35 | 25 | +10 | 40 |
| 4 | Rochester Rhinos | 27 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 36 |
| 5 | Vancouver 86ers | 27 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 38 | 38 | +0 | 33 |
| 6 | New York Fever | 27 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 30 | 40 | -10 | 21 |
| 7 | Atlanta Ruckus | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 14 | 60 | -46 | 9 |
A significant number of postponed matches over the 1996 season by the Atlanta Ruckus, who underwent a change in ownership, ultimately forced the A-League to shorten the other teams' schedules by one match, reducing the total games played from 28 to 27. Atlanta's league position, in last place and already eliminated from the playoff contention, was not affected by the decision announced Sept. 4, 1996. The Ruckus played a total of 22 games.[1]
Each team had their head-to-head schedule with Atlanta shortened by one, maintaining a balanced head-to-head competition against each other. The 1996 regular season ended on September 14th with the top four regular season teams advancing to the playoffs.
Playoffs
Semifinal 1
September 19, 1996 |
| Montreal Impact (QB) | 2-3 | Rochester Rhinos (NY) |
|---|---|---|
Jason DeVos  51'Lloyd Barker 56' |
4' Lenin Steenkamp 5' Doug Miller 70' Gustavo Villagra |
Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada Attendance: 3,691 |
September 21, 1996 |
| Rochester Rhinos (NY) | 0-3 | Montreal Impact (QB) |
|---|---|---|
| 56' Onandi Lowe 57' Eddy Berdusco 89' Mauro Biello |
Frontier Field, Rochester, New York Attendance: 14,806 |
September 25, 1996 |
| Montreal Impact (QB) | 1-2 | Rochester Rhinos (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Mauro Biello 14' |
55' Rene Rivas (pen.) Rene Rivas |
Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada Attendance: 3,317 |
Semifinal 2
September 19, 1996 7:00 PM MST |
| Colorado Foxes (CO) | 0-1 | Seattle Sounders (WA) |
|---|---|---|
| (Report) | Niall Thompson 69' |
Mile High Greyhound Park Denver, Colorado Attendance: 2,134 |
September 22, 1996 |
| Seattle Sounders (WA) | 0-2 | Colorado Foxes (CO) |
|---|---|---|
Niall Thompson  49'Wade Webber 73' |
(Report) | 31' Henrik Fig 32' Chris Sarver 51' Jerome Watson 76' Henrik Fig |
Memorial Stadium Seattle, Washington Attendance: 3,102 |
September 25, 1996 7:00 PM MST |
| Colorado Foxes (CO) | 0-3 | Seattle Sounders (WA) |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Farrell 27' Niall Thompson 63'Niall Thompson 70' |
Mile High Greyhound Park Denver, Colorado Attendance: 1,927 |
Final
October 6, 1996 4:00 PM PST |
| Seattle Sounders (WA) | 2-0 | Rochester Rhinos (NY) |
|---|---|---|
| Niall Thompson 10' Joey Leonetti 25' Joey Leonetti 85'Niall Thompson  87' |
(Report) | 27' Tommy Tanner 53' Yogi McKay 87' Rene Rivas |
Points leaders
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolde Harris | Colorado Foxes | 17 | 8 | 42 |
| 2 | Doug Miller | Rochester Rhinos | 18 | 2 | 38 |
| 3 | Domenic Mobilio | Vancouver 86ers | 14 | 4 | 32 |
| 4 | Lenin Steenkamp | Atlanta Ruckus | 9 | 5 | 23 |
| 5 | Carsten Siersbaek | Colorado Foxes | 7 | 8 | 22 |
| 6 | Eddy Berdusco | Montreal Impact | 8 | 3 | 19 |
| Lloyd Barker | Montreal Impact | 6 | 7 | 19 | |
| 8 | Jason Farrell | Seattle Sounders | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| 9 | Mauro Biello | Montreal Impact | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| Walter Boyd | Colorado Foxes | 5 | 5 | 15 | |
| Anthony McCreath | Colorado Foxes | 5 | 5 | 15 | |
| Hector Marinaro | Rochester Rhinos | 4 | 7 | 15 | |
| 13 | Chance Fry | Seattle Sounders | 6 | 2 | 14 |
| Jorge Acosta | New York Fever | 5 | 4 | 14 |
Honors
- MVP: Wolde Harris
- Leading goal scorer: Doug Miller
- Leading goalkeeper: Paolo Ceccarelli
- Rookie of the Year: Wolde Harris
- Coach of the Year: Lorne Donaldson
- Defender of the Year: John Limniatis
- Official of the Year: Kevin Skinner
- First Team All League
- Goalkeeper: Paolo Ceccarelli
- Defenders: John Limniatis, Wade Webber, Carlos Llamosa, Rene Rivas
- Midfielders: Nick DeSantis, Martin Nash, Anthony McCreath
- Forwards: Wolde Harris, Domenic Mobilio, Doug Miller
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External links
- ↑ Pursel, Brad (September 4, 1996). "A-League September Schedule". A-League.