1995 USISL Pro League explained

The 1995 USISL Professional League was the higher of the two outdoor men's leagues run by the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues during the summer of 1995.

Overview

From its beginnings in 1986 as a semi-professional indoor league in the American Southwest, the USISL had grown over the last decade. In 1989, the league added a summer, outdoor competition which had grown in popularity as the indoor league slowly shrank. By 1994, the outdoor season included 69 teams with various levels of professionalism. In 1995, the USISL decided to split the summer schedule into two different leagues, the Professional and the Premier Leagues. The Professional League was fully professional while the Premier League continued to allow amateur and semi-professional teams to compete.

Regular season

• Regulation win = 6 points
• Shootout win (SW) = 4 points
• Shootout loss (SL) = 2 points
• Regulation loss = 0 points
• Bonus points (BP): An additional one point per goal up to a maximum of three points per game.

Northeast Division

Capital Conference

Midwest Division

West Conference

Western Division

South Conference

Northwest Division

Playoffs

Northeast Division

First round

Second round

• According to the available records, the Delaware Wizards defeated the Cape Cod Crusaders 5-4 (SO).

Final

The New York Fever advanced.

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Atlantic Division

Final

• The teams played a mini-game to decide who advanced after finishing the series tied at one game apiece.

The Myrtle Beach Boyz advanced.

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Midwest Division

First round

• The game was suspended late in the match due to darkness. On August 10th, the league announced the Xoggz and Thoroughbreds would finish their game on August 11th. The team which won would then immediately play the Milwaukee Rampage in the first game of the second round series. The Thoroughbreds, facing the requirement to make short-notice travel plans in order to play the last few minutes of the suspended game, then play their "home game" in Columbus in the event they won, chose to forfeit instead.

Second round

• The Midwest Division second round matchups featured two-game series. All other divisions had single elimination matchups.

The Minnesota Thunder advanced to the Midwest Division final.

The Milwaukee Rampage advanced.

Final

The Minnesota Thunder advanced.

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Southeast Division

Final

The Tampa Bay Cyclones advanced.

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South Central Division

Final

The New Mexico Chiles advanced to the Sizzlin' Nine Tournament.

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Western Division

Second round

Final

The Monterey Bay Jaguars advanced.

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Northwest Division

Final

The Hawaii Tsunami advanced.

Sizzlin' Nine Championship

The Sizzlin' Nine Championship was a three-group round robin tournament featuring nine teams. The Long Island Rough Riders received a bye into the Sizzlin' Nine Championship. The other eight teams were the seven divisional champions and the divisional finals runner-up with the highest total points during the regular season. Each of the three groups played at a single location. The top four teams then advanced to the playoff semifinals.

Group 2

• When the game ended in a tie, the referee chose to go directly to penalty kicks because the field had no lights and it was difficult to see.

Group 3

Semi-finals

Points leaders

Rank	Scorer	Club	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Flavio Ferri		19	29	8	66
2	Rito Delgado	El Paso Patriots	18	26	11	61
3	Paul Young	Charleston Battery	19	23	9	55
4	Giovanni Savarese	Long Island Rough Riders	20	23	8	54
5	Darren Eales	Hampton Roads Mariners	19	24	4	52
6	Ivailo Ilarionov		15	18	14	50
7	Billy Thompson	Hawaii Tsunami	14	21	7	49
8	Duane Robinson	New Jersey Imperials	17	21	5	47
9	Manny Lagos	Minnesota Thunder	17	19	7	45
10	John van Buskirk	Louisville Thoroughbreds	19	21	3	44

Honors

• MVP: Giovanni Savarese
• Points leader: Flavio Ferri, San Antonio Pumas (66 points)
• Goals leader: Flavio Ferri, San Antonio Pumas (29 goals)
• Assists leader: Wayne Lobring, Louisville Thoroughbreds (18 assists)
• Defender of the Year: Troy Edwards
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Jim Adams
• Rookie of the Year: Wellijohn Dominiciano Jr.,
• Coach of the Year: Buzz Lagos
• Organization of the Year: Tampa Bay Cyclones

External links

• United Soccer Leagues (RSSSF)
• The Year in American Soccer – 1995
• 1995 USISL Awards
• 1995 USISL Standings