1996 USISL Premier League season

USISL Premier League
Season 1996
← 1995
1997 →

The 1996 USISL Premier League season was its second. The season began in April 1996 and ended in August 1996.

Central Coast Roadrunners won the championship, defeating the San Francisco Bay Seals 3–2. Spokane Shadow won the regular season title, winning 14 games to 2 losses.

Changes from 1995 season

Name changes

New teams

12 teams were added for the season.

Team Area Location Previous affiliation
Bellingham Orcas Northwest Washington area Bellingham, WA expansion
Central Coast Roadrunners Central West Coast area San Luis Obispo, CA expansion
Florida Strikers Greater Miami area Fort Lauderdale, FL from USISL Pro
Lexington Bluegrass Bandits Lexington area Lexington, KY from USISL Pro
Miami Tango Greater Miami area Miami, FL expansion
Mid-Michigan Bucks Flint/Tri-Cities area Saginaw, MI expansion
Omaha Flames Omaha-Council Bluffs area Omaha, NE expansion
San Diego Top Guns San Diego area San Diego, CA from USISL Pro
Southern California Gunners Inland Empire area San Bernardino, CA expansion
Spokane Shadow Spokane area Spokane, WA expansion
West Florida Fury Emerald Coast area Pensacola, FL expansion
Willamette Valley Firebirds Corvallis area Corvallis, OR former Portland Firebirds of the USISL Pro League

Teams leaving

Five teams folded after the 1995 season:

Standings

Central Conference

Northern Division

Pos Team Pld W PKW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Lexington Bluegrass Bandits 14 9 1 4 32 18 +14 28 Division champion
2 Michigan Madness 14 8 1 5 24 28 −4 25 Team qualified for playoff berth
3 Detroit Dynamite 14 7 1 6 34 19 +15 22
4 Mid-Michigan Bucks 14 7 1 6 24 18 +6 22 Team qualified for playoff berth
5 Kalamazoo Kingdom 14 5 0 9 18 22 −4 15
6 Grand Rapids Explosion 7 0 0 7 6 21 −15 0
Source:
Notes:
  1. Detroit, Kalamazoo, Lexington, and Michigan were all penalized 3 points.
  2. Grand Rapids did not have a home stadium this year, and played only road games.

Southern Division

Pos Team Pld W PKW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Austin Lone Stars 14 10 0 4 41 17 +24 30 Division champion
2 Omaha Flames 14 8 0 6 39 22 +17 24 Team qualified for playoff berth
3 Sioux City Breeze 13 7 2 4 26 23 +3 23
4 Des Moines Menace 14 7 0 7 22 21 +1 21
5 Oklahoma City Heat 14 7 0 7 22 26 −4 21
6 Wichita Blue 13 5 0 8 18 33 −15 15
Source:
Notes:
  1. The game between Sioux City and Wichita was postponed and could not be rescheduled before end of the season. The game was cancelled because it had no effect on the playoffs.
  2. Sioux City was penalized 6 points.

Eastern Conference

Northern Division

Pos Team Pld W PKW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Roanoke River Dawgs 14 10 0 4 48 28 +20 30 Division champion
2 Jackson Chargers 14 7 1 6 34 24 +10 22 Team qualified for playoff berth
3 Nashville Metros 14 5 2 7 34 26 +8 17
4 Birmingham Grasshoppers 14 4 0 10 20 33 −13 12
Source:
Notes:
  1. Jackson was penalized 3 points.
  2. Nashville was penalized 6 points.

Southern Division

Pos Team Pld W PKW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Cocoa Expos 14 9 1 4 45 22 +23 28 Bye into semifinals as defending champion.
2 Orlando Lions 14 8 1 5 25 28 −3 25
3 Florida Strikers 14 6 1 7 31 33 −2 19 Team qualified for playoff berth
4 West Florida Fury 14 5 0 9 29 36 −7 15
5 Miami Tango 14 4 0 10 29 37 −8 12
6 South Florida Future 14 0 0 14 17 63 −46 0
Source:
Notes:
  1. Cocoa, Florida, and Orlando were all penalized 3 points.

Western Conference

Northern Division

Pos Team Pld W PKW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Spokane Shadow 14 11 1 2 34 17 +17 34 Division champion
2 San Francisco Bay Seals 14 10 0 4 35 15 +20 30 Team qualified for playoff berth
3 Colorado Springs Stampede 14 8 1 5 20 12 +8 25
4 Puget Sound Hammers 14 8 0 6 31 23 +8 24 Team qualified for playoff berth
5 Willamette Valley Firebirds 14 5 0 9 21 31 −10 15
6 Bellingham Orcas 14 3 0 11 17 50 −33 9
Source:
Notes:
  1. Colorado Springs and Spokane were both penalized 3 points.

Southern Division

Pos Team Pld W PKW L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Central Coast Roadrunners 14 11 1 2 38 16 +22 34 Division champion
2 San Diego Top Guns 14 8 1 5 28 22 +6 25 Team qualified for playoff berth
3 Arizona Phoenix 14 7 0 7 32 31 +1 21
4 Tucson Amigos 14 7 0 7 24 29 −5 21
5 Fontana Falcons 14 5 0 9 31 32 −1 15
6 Southern California Gunners 14 3 0 11 19 28 −9 9
Source:
Notes:
  1. Central Coast and San Diego were both penalized 3 points

Playoffs

Format

Central Coast received a bye to the PDL Semifinals as the defending champion.
The top four teams from every division except the Southwest earn playoff spots. With Central Coast already receiving a bye, the top two teams from the Southwest Division will play each other, however if Central Coast is in the top two, then the third place team receives a playoff spot. The Division winners would then face each other in the Conference finals.

Divisional brackets

Division Semifinals Division Finals Finals
                 
NC1 Michigan Madness
NC4 Mid-Michigan Bucks 0
NC1 Mid-Michigan Bucks (AET/PSO) 0 (1)
North Central Division
NC3 Kalamazoo Kingdom 0 (0)
NC2 Detroit Dynamite 0
NC3 Kalamazoo Kingdom (AET) 1
 
 
C1 Lincoln Brigade 0
C4 Des Moines Menace 4
C4 Des Moines Menace 6
Central Division
C2 Omaha Flames 0
C2 Omaha Flames 5
C3 Sioux City Breeze 3

Central Conference Playoffs

North Division Playoffs
Semifinals
Michigan Madness 2–3 (OT) Mid-Michigan Bucks
Semifinals
Kalamazoo Kingdom 4–5 (a.e.t.) Lexington Bluegrass Bandits
Report
Attendance: 1,142
North Division Final
Lexington Bluegrass Bandits 0–1 (OT) Mid-Michigan Bucks
South Division Playoffs
Semifinals
Austin Lone Stars 1–0 (OT) Des Moines Menace
Tranquility Park
Omaha, Nebraska
Semifinals
Omaha Flames 3–1 Sioux City Breeze
  • Lekics 29:10'
  • Torres 53:52' (pen.)
  • Anderson 88:59'
Report
  • Reid 85:16'
Tranquility Park
Omaha, Nebraska
South Division Final
Omaha Flames 3–2 (OT) Austin Lone Stars
  • Torres 37:32'
  • Adams 46'
  • Madeley Red card 60'
  • Bustos gold-colored soccer ball 99'
Report
Tranquility Park
Omaha, Nebraska
Division Semifinals Division Finals Finals
SE1 Cocoa Expos 3
SE1 Cocoa Expos 5 SE3 West Florida Fury 1
SE4 Miami Tango 2 SE1 Cocoa Expos 2
MS2 Jackson Chargers 1
MS1 Cincinnati Riverhawks 0
SE2 South Florida Future 0 MS2 Jackson Chargers 3
SE3 West Florida Fury 4

Eastern Conference Playoffs

Eastern Conference Play In
Play-In
Roanoke River Dawgs 1–2 (OT) Nashville Metros
  • Spooner 35'
Report
  • Hoey 83'
  • Schenke gold-colored soccer ball 99'
Attendance: 1,010
Play-In
West Florida Fury 3–4 (a.e.t.) Florida Strikers

Pensacola Florida
Semifinal
Florida Strikers 0–1 Nashville Metros
The Sports Club
Jackson, Mississippi
Eastern Conference Final
Jackson Chargers 3–2 (OT) Nashville Metros
  • Bennett 23'
  • Demmin 47'
  • Trottman gold-colored soccer ball 98:50'
Report
The Sports Club
Jackson, Mississippi
Division Semifinals Division Finals Western Finals
                 
NW1 Spokane Shadow 2
NW4 Puget Sound Hammers 1
NW1 Spokane Shadow 2
Northwest Division
NW2 Yakima Reds 0
NW2 Yakima Reds 1
NW3 Cascade Surge 0
NW1 Spokane Shadow 0
SW1 San Gabriel Valley Highlanders 1
SW1 San Gabriel Valley Highlanders bye
 
SW1 San Gabriel Valley Highlanders 2
Southwest Division
SW2 Tucson Amigos 1
SW2 Tucson Amigos bye
 

Western Conference Playoffs

South Division Playoffs
Semifinals
San Diego Top Guns 3–1 Arizona Phoenix
Semifinals
Central Coast Roadrunners 7–0 Tucson Amigos
South Division Final
Central Coast Roadrunners 3–2 San Diego Top Guns
Report
Attendance: 1,100
North Division Playoffs
Semifinals
Spokane Shadow 2–1 Puget Sound Hammers
  • Seely 63'
  • Higgins 83'
Attendance: 1,712
Semifinals
San Francisco Bay Seals 2–1 Colorado Springs Stampede
North Division Final
Spokane Shadow 2–3 San Francisco Bay Seals
Report Part 1 Report Part 2
Attendance: 1,408
Referee: Neil Pinski

Premier Six Tournament

Six teams entered the Premier Six Tournament in Cocoa, Florida the weekend of August 16–18. Each of the five division playoff champions qualified for the tournament, along with the host Cocoa Expos. The teams were seeded in this order, based on their regular season points:

  • 1. Central Coast Roadrunners
  • 2. San Francisco Bay Seals
  • 3. Cocoa Expos
  • 4. Omaha Flames
  • 5. Jackson Chargers
  • 6. Mid-Michigan Bucks.

The Central Coast Roadrunners played the bottom two seeds (Jackson and Mid-Michigan). The San Francisco Seals played the #4 and #6 seeds (Omaha and Mid-Michigan). The Cocoa Expos played and #4 and #5 seeds (Omaha and Jackson).

Qualification to the finals

In order to determine the two teams to qualify for the finals, the league used the following point system during the Premier Six Tournament:

  • Win = 3 points
  • Shootout win = 2 points
  • Shootout loss = 1 point
  • Bonus points: Each team scoring three or more goals in regulation or overtime received one extra point.
Place Team W SW SL L BP PTS
1 Central Coast Roadrunners 2 0 0 0 1 7
2 San Francisco Bay Seals 1 0 1 0 1 5
3 Cocoa Expos 1 0 0 1 1 4
4 Omaha Flames 0 1 0 1 0 2
5 Jackson Chargers 1 0 0 1 0 2
6 Mid-Michigan Bucks 0 0 0 2 0 0

Friday

San Francisco Bay Seals (CA) 2-2 OT Omaha Flames (NE)
Penalties
 1-2
Central Coast Roadrunners (CA) 3-0 Mid-Michigan Bucks (MI)
Bryan Taylor
Cocoa Expos (FL) 0-1 Jackson Chargers (MS)
50' Sheldon Bennett

Saturday

Central Coast Roadrunners (CA) 2-1 OT Jackson Chargers (MS)
42' Dwyane Demmin
San Francisco Bay Seals (CA) 4-0 Mid-Michigan Bucks (MI)
Cocoa Expos (FL) 4-1 Omaha Flames (NE)

Final

Central Coast Roadrunners (CA) 1-0 San Francisco Bay Seals (CA)
Bryan Taylor 48'
Cocoa Expo Sports Center, Cocoa, Florida

Honors