1988 American Soccer League

Last updated
American Soccer League
1988 season
Season1988
Champions Washington Diplomats
(1st title)
Premiers New Jersey Eagles
(1st title)
Top goalscorer Jorge Acosta
(14 goals)
← First season
1983 (2nd ASL)
1989

The 1988 American Soccer League was the first season of the third American Soccer League which took place during the summer of 1988.

Contents

History

The third American Soccer League owed its creation to several events in the early 1980s. In 1983, the second American Soccer League collapsed from over-expansion, runaway spending and a restricted fan base. A year later, the North American Soccer League collapsed for essentially the same reasons. In 1985, the West-coast based Western Soccer Alliance was created as a regional, financially austere league. This new league kept expenditures low while building its fan base. In 1987, the Lone Star Soccer Alliance began its first season, mimicking the WSA model with teams in or near Texas. On May 7, 1987, several team executives led by Clive Toye announced the creation of an east coast-based league using the WSA model. [1] This new league, named the American Soccer League, planned to begin its first season in 1988. Chuck Blazer was announced as the league's commissioner and Clive Toye was named its chairman. The league planned a twenty-game schedule with at least six teams having a $75,000 salary cap. [2] The league initially concentrated on the northeast, but in August 1987, plans expanded to include teams situated in Florida. [3] This was soon followed by announcements of the entry of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies. By October 1987, the list of teams was finalized with the addition of the Orlando Lions and Miami Sharks. The league now divided itself into two five-team divisions. On April 9, 1988, the American Soccer League began its first season when the New Jersey Eagles defeated the Miami Sharks, 2–1. When the regular season ended the first week of August, Eagles had topped the standings with forty-five points. Four teams made the playoffs, the top two from both the Northern and Southern Divisions. The Washington Diplomats which had the worst record of the four playoff teams, stunned the league by defeating first the New Jersey Eagles, then the Fort Lauderdale Strikers to win the first league championship.

League standings

Northern Division

PosTeamPldWLGFGAPts
1 New Jersey Eagles 20155392445
2 Maryland Bays 20128323136
3 Washington Stars 20119312833
4 Boston Bolts 20911313327
5 Albany Capitals 20713263521
Source: [ citation needed ]

Southern Division

PosTeamPldWLGFGAPts
1 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 20146462542
2 Washington Diplomats 201010273030
3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 201010232130
4 Orlando Lions 20812213124
5 Miami Sharks 20416244212
Source: [ citation needed ]

Playoffs

Bracket

Semifinals
Best-of-3
1988 ASL Championship
Best-of-3
          
1 New Jersey Eagles 1 11
4 Washington Diplomats 40 4
4 Washington Diplomats 43-
2 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3 2 -
2 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 56-
3 Maryland Bays 2 0 -

Semifinal 1

Maryland Bays (MD)2–5 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (FL)
Vernon Skinner Yellow card.svg 28'
Sylvanus Oriaikhi Soccerball shade.svg44'
Kurt Dasbach Soccerball shade.svg80'
Report Soccerball shade.svg17' Ray Hudson
Soccerball shade.svg65', 75', 85' Steve Kinsey
Soccerball shade.svg85' Ricardo Alonso
Byrd Stadium, Columbia, Maryland
Attendance: 1,808


Fort Lauderdale Strikers (FL)6–0 Maryland Bays (MD)
Steve Kinsey Soccerball shade.svg5', 46', 88'
Ken Fogarty Yellow card.svg 13'
Miljce Donev Soccerball shade.svg44'
Ray Hudson Soccerball shade.svg64'
Marcelo Carrera Soccerball shade.svg69'
Report Yellow card.svg 90' Sylvanus Oriaikhi

Fort Lauderdale advances two games to none.


Semifinal 2

Washington Diplomats (DC)4–1 New Jersey Eagles (NJ)
Duncan Reynard Soccerball shade.svg13'
Jean Harbor Soccerball shade.svg18', 65'
Leonel Suazo Soccerball shade.svg84'
Soccerball shade.svg78' Mario Chavez
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 2,346


New Jersey Eagles (NJ)1–0 Washington Diplomats (DC)
Ken Lolla Soccerball shade.svg64'


New Jersey Eagles (NJ)1–4 Washington Diplomats (DC)
Mario Chavez Soccerball shade.svg2'Soccerball shade.svg11' Jean Harbor
Soccerball shade.svg13', 26' Marco Casas-Cordero
Soccerball shade.svg20' Fernando Iturbe

Washington advances two games to one.


ASL Championship Final

Higher seedSeriesLower seedGame 1Game 2Mini-gameAttendance
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2–0 Washington Diplomats 3–42–3xAugust 21 • RFK Stadium • 5,745
August 27 • Lockhart Stadium • 4,257

Game 1

Washington Diplomats (DC)4–3 Fort Lauderdale Strikers (FL)
Michael Brady Soccerball shade.svg17:26', 21:43'
Joaquin Canales Soccerball shade.svg54:29' (Harbor, Simmons)
Ronald Simmons Soccerball shade.svg89:30' (pen.)
Report Ricardo Alonso Soccerball shade.svg56:50' (Carrera, Hudson)
Mark Schwartz Soccerball shade.svg57:11' (Hudson)
Thomas Rongen Soccerball shade.svg86:36'
RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 5,745


Game 2

Fort Lauderdale Strikers (FL)2–3 Washington Diplomats (DC)
Ricardo Alonso Soccerball shade.svg27:57', 33:20' (Carrera) Report Leonel Suazo Soccerball shade.svg29:40' (Canales)
Keith Trehy Soccerball shade.svg30:50'
Michael Brady Soccerball shade.svg35:30' (Hong)

Points leaders

RankScorerClubGoalsAssistsPoints
1 Jorge Acosta New Jersey Eagles 14432
2 Steve Kinsey Fort Lauderdale Strikers 10323
3 Teófilo Cubillas Fort Lauderdale Strikers 7517
4Mark Lamb Orlando Lions 8117
5Scott Snyder Washington Stars 8117
6Maicol Antelo New Jersey Eagles 6416
7Roger Chavez New Jersey Eagles 5616
8 Marcelo Carrera Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4816
9 Mirko Castillo Fort Lauderdale Strikers 5515
10Guillermo Pizzaro Miami Sharks 6214
11Andy Bing Boston Bolts 5414
11Russ Downing Albany Capitals 4614
11 Leonel Suazo Washington Diplomats 6113
11 Mike Sweeney Boston Bolts 5313
11Kurt Manal Boston Bolts 5313

1988 ASL All-Star game

The ASL All-Star game was hosted by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers at Lockhart Stadium. Players that were unable to play due to injury, as well as any Strikers selected to the squad were replaced, since the All-Stars' opponent was the Strikers. George Best also suited up for the Strikers in the match. [4] The match ended in a 3–3 draw after 90 minutes, and moved directly to a penalty shootout. Both teams converted four of five attempts, and in an unusual move agreed to end it there with the consent of the referees.

All-Star selections

All-Stars  Position  Alternates
Winston DuBose, Tampa Bay G Alan Rough, Orlando
Troy Edwards, Miami D Ross Irwin, Boston
Brian Ainscough, New JerseyD-
Lou Karbiener, Orlando D -
George Lidster, Washington StarsD-
Steve Powell, Albany [5] (injured) M Dirceu Guimarães, Miami • Andy Harrison, Albany
Sonny Askew, Washington StarsM Ray Hudson, Fort Lauderdale
Rob Ryerson, MarylandM Teofilo Cubillas, Fort Lauderdale
Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay F Joaquin Canales, Washington Diplomats
Elvis Comrie, MarylandF-
Jorge Acosta, New JerseyF-
Lincoln Phillips, MarylandCoach John Kerr, Washington Stars (assistant coach)

Match summary

Fort Lauderdale Strikers 3–3ASL All-Stars
Miljce Donev Soccerball shade.svg14:00' (Cubillas, Carrera)
Ray Hudson Soccerball shade.svg36:00' (Carrera)
Marcelo Carrera Soccerball shade.svg44:28' (Hudson)
Report 1
Report 2
Report 3
Dirceu Guimarães Soccerball shade.svg53:00' (pen.)
Dirceu Guimarães Soccerball shade.svg57:10' (Alonso)
Elvis Comrie Soccerball shade.svg60:00' (Acosta, Canales)
Penalties
? Soccerball shad check.svg
? Soccerball shad check.svg
? Soccerball shade cross.svg
? Soccerball shad check.svg
? Soccerball shad check.svg
4–4Soccerball shade cross.svg Steve Wegerle
Soccerball shad check.svg ?
Soccerball shad check.svg Elvis Comrie
Soccerball shad check.svg ?
Soccerball shad check.svg Dirceu Guimarães
Lockhart Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Attendance: 3,179
Referee: Ed Bellion

See also

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References

  1. NEW SOCCER LEAGUE SETS NEWS CONFERENCE The Record (New Jersey) - Thursday, May 7, 1987
  2. NEW LOCAL SOCCER FRANCHISE WILL WATCH EXPENSES The Record (New Jersey) - Friday, May 8, 1987
  3. ASL TO DISCUSS EXPANSION TO FLORIDA Sun-Sentinel - Wednesday, August 19, 1987
  4. "1988 ASL All-Star Game At A Glance". Palm Beach Post. June 16, 1988. p. 7C. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  5. Lazzarino, Chris (June 16, 1988). "1988 All-Stars rally in second half to tie Strikers". Sun Sentinel. p. 7C. Retrieved March 10, 2018.