1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season

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American Indoor Soccer Association
Season1986–87
ChampionsLouisville Thunder
Matches played168
Goals scored1,534 (9.13 per match)
Top goalscorerRudy Pikuzinski (51)

The 1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season was the third season of the league. The Columbus Capitals and Kalamazoo Kangaroos did not return after the 1985–86 season. Four teams, including former NASL stalwarts, Tampa Bay Rowdies, joined the league in 1986–87. The Fort Wayne Flames, Memphis Storm and Toledo Pride were all newly formed expansion teams. The addition of Tampa Bay in particular, and Memphis to a lesser degree, marked the AISA's first clubs outside of the Midwest. Rudy Pikuzinski of Canton won the league scoring title en route to his first of three straight MVP awards, while Memphis boss Terry Nicholl took home Coach of the Year honors.

Just as in previous AISA seasons, Canton and Louisville proved to be the class of the league and faced each other in the finals for a third straight year. For the first time the championship series went the full five games, and in a clash of titans, the Thunder finally bested their rivals, three games to two. Alas, the Thunder's glory would be short lived, as Game 5 proved to be their final match ever. Ownership, no longer able to bear the financial losses, opted to shut the team down instead trying to defend their crown for 1987–88.[1]

League Standings[]

Northern Division[]

Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD PCT GB
1 Canton Invaders 42 31 11 255 165 +90 .738 —
2 Chicago Shoccers 42 26 16 232 200 +32 .619 5
3 Toledo Pride 42 14 28 179 210 −31 .333 17
4 Milwaukee Wave 42 12 30 148 222 −74 .286 19
Source: RSSSF

Southern Division[]

Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD PCT GB
1 Louisville Thunder 42 27 15 213 181 +32 .643 —
2 Memphis Storm 42 24 18 180 166 +14 .571 3
3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 42 21 21 170 172 −2 .500 6
4 Fort Wayne Flames 42 13 29 157 218 −61 .310 14
Source: RSSSF

All-Star Game[]

On February 21 the Louisville Thunder hosted the AISA All-Star Game. Instead of using the Thunder's home field of Broadbent Arena at the state fairgrounds, the match was played at the more intimate Louisville Gardens in downtown Louisville. In a departure from the previous season, both squads were composed of mixed rosters. In the past, the host team had faced all-stars from the rest of the league's teams. The Northern Division all-stars wore blue jerseys, while the Southern squad wore grey. Players on the winning side each received a $100 bonus. The Northern Division squad defeated their Southern counterparts by a score of 7–5. Louisville forward Zoran Savic (1 goal, 2 assists) and Canton goalie, Jamie Swanner (11 saves, 2 goals given), were named the game's offensive and defensive MVPs respectively.[2] Although neither game would come to pass, it was also announced that the 1988 All-Star game would be hosted by Tampa Bay, with the 1989 game being awarded to Milwaukee.[3]

Southern Division roster[]

Starters Pos Reserves
Victor Petroni, Louisville G Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay
Gregg Willin, Memphis
Paul Kato, Louisville 		D Tom Alioto, Fort Wayne
Peter Roe, Tampa Bay
Glenn Ervine, Tampa Bay
Chris Hellenkamp, Louisville M Tony Carbognani, Memphis
Mark Lugris, Fort Wayne
Steve Wegerle, Tampa Bay
Zoran Savic, Louisville 		F Jim Gabarra, Louisville
Tim Walters*, Tampa Bay

*Original selection Rubén Astigarraga of Tampa Bay was unable to play and was replaced by teammate Tim Walters.

Northern Division roster[]

Starters Pos Reserves
Jamie Swanner, Canton G Rick Schweizer, Milwaukee
Oscar Pisano, Canton
Martin Rancon, Chicago 		D Walt Schlothauer, Canton
Tim Tyma, Canton
John Dolinsky, Milwaukee
Don Tobin, Canton M Art Kramer, Canton
Ruben Stivan, Chicago
Carlos Salguero, Toledo
Salvador Valencia, Chicago 		F Elvis Comrie, Chicago
Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton

Match report[]

Northern Division7–5Southern Division
 report
Attendance: 2,473

Playoffs[]

First Round Semifinals Finals
1 Canton Invaders 4 5 –
4 Memphis Storm 4 4 3 4 Memphis Storm 3 3 –
5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 1 5 2 1 Canton Invaders 6 2 4 4 4
2 Louisville Thunder 5 3 5 2 6
2 Louisville Thunder 7 5 –
3 Chicago Shoccers 4 7 1 3 Chicago Shoccers 3 4 –
6 Toledo Pride 5 3 0

League Leaders[]

Scoring[]

Player Team GP G A Pts
Rudy Pikuzinski Canton 42 51 30 81
Zoran Savic Louisville 41 42 34 77
Salvador Valencia Chicago 40 47 28 75
Carlos Salguero Toledo 42 45 23 68
Elvis Comrie Chicago 40 37 31 68
Kia Zolgharnain Canton 42 34 31 66
Chris Hellenkamp Louisville 41 26 36 62
Steve Wegerle Tampa Bay 35 26 36 62
Jim Gabarra Louisville 40 36 23 59
Oscar Albuquerque Memphis 24 35 18 53

Goalkeeping[]

Player Team GP Min SA SV GA GAA W L
Yaro Dachniwsky Memphis 18 958 432 187 53 3.33 10 8
Jamie Swanner Canton 24 1402 600 312 84 3.59 19 4
Arnie Mausser Tampa Bay 35 2074 891 436 126 3.64 19 16
Victor Petroni Louisville 26 1392 671 339 94 4.05 14 8
Bill Naumovski Canton 20 1012 504 222 76 4.10 12 7

League Awards[]

All-AISA Teams[]

First Team Pos Second Team
Jamie Swanner, Canton G Arnie Mausser, Tampa Bay
Tim Tyma, Canton D Tomo Condric, Canton
Gregg Willin, Memphis D Martin Rincon, Chicago
Chris Hellenkamp, Louisville M Elvis Comrie, Chicago
Zoran Savic, Louisville F Salvador Valencia, Chicago
Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton F Carlos Salguero, Toledo

References[]

  1. ^ Lilley, Bill (February 8, 1988). "Whole league 'biting bullet'". Akron Beacon Journal. p. A1. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  2. ^ Younkin, Lou (February 22, 1987). "North team, Louisville Gardens are AISA all-star game winners". The Courier Journal. p. C1. Retrieved 14 June 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Younkin, Lou (February 20, 1987). "Smaller arena may enliven All-Star Game action". The Courier Journal. p. D6. Retrieved 14 June 2017 – via newspapers.com.

External links[]

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