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.

History

The league had its origins in the United States Interregional Soccer League, 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 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 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 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, and the USISL Select League name was abandoned.

USISL Select League teams

Champions

Regular season

  • Regulation win = 3 points
  • Shootout win = 1 point
  • Loss = 0 points

Playoffs

Second round

Long Island Rough Riders vs Delaware Wizards

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

Select Six Tournament

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.

Honors

MVP: Dan Stebbins Points leader: Dan Stebbins Defender of the Year: Ezra HendricksonGoalkeeper of the Year: Scott Garlick Rookie of the Year: Luis MarilloCoach of the Year: Alan DicksOrganization of the Year: Minnesota ThunderAll-League