Football league season
| Season | 1986–87 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Louisville Thunder |
| Matches played | 168 |
| Goals scored | 1,534 (9.13 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Rudy Pikuzinski (51) |
| ← 1985–86 1987–88 → | |
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.
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 |
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 |
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. 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.
Southern Division roster
- Coach: Terry Nicholl, Memphis
| 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
- Coach: Trevor Dawkins, Canton
| 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 Division | 7–5 | Southern Division |
|---|---|---|
| report |
14:18, 38:17Playoffs
| 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
- Most Valuable Player: Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton
- Coach of the Year: Terry Nicholl, Memphis
- Defender of the Year: Tim Tyma, Canton
- Goalkeeper of the Year: Jamie Swanner, Canton
- Rookie of the Year: Paul Zimmerman, Chicago
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
- Lilley, Bill (February 8, 1988). "Whole league 'biting bullet'". Akron Beacon Journal. p. A1. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
- Younkin, Lou (February 22, 1987). "North team, Louisville Gardens are AISA all-star game winners". The Courier Journal. p. C1. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- Younkin, Lou (February 20, 1987). "Smaller arena may enliven All-Star Game action". The Courier Journal. p. D6. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via newspapers.com.