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 (USISL), 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 (plus expansion teams) 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 (Toronto Lynx and Hershey Wildcats) 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
California Jaguars Cape Cod Crusaders (now in PDL) Carolina Dynamo (joined A-League in 1997; now in PDL) Chicago Stingers Connecticut Wolves (joined A-League in 1997) Delaware Wizards El Paso Patriots (now in PDL) Hampton Roads Mariners Long Island Rough Riders (joined A-League in 1997; now in PDL) Milwaukee Rampage (joined A-League in 1997) Minnesota Thunder (joined A-League in 1997)
New Mexico Chiles New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers (joined A-League in 1997) New York/New Jersey Stallions Ohio Xoggz Raleigh Flyers (joined A-League in 1997) Reno Rattlers Richmond Kickers (joined A-League in 1997; now in USL Pro) Sacramento Scorpions South Carolina Shamrocks Tampa Bay Cyclones (became Jacksonville Cyclones and joined A-League in 1997)
Champions Regular Season: Carolina Dynamo (43 points, 14–3–1 record) Playoff Winners: California Jaguars (beat Richmond Kickers 2–1)
Regular season Regulation win = 3 points Shootout win (SW) = 1 point Loss (regulation or shootout) = 0 points
Eastern Conference
North Atlantic Division
South Atlantic Division
Western Conference
Central Division
Pacific Division
Playoffs
First round
Second round
Minnesota Thunder vs Milwaukee Rampage
Hampton Roads Mariners vs Carolina Dynamos
California Jaguars vs Sacramento Scorpions
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.
Group A
Group B
Semifinals
California Jaguars vs Minnesota Thunder
Richmond Kickers vs Long Island Rough Riders
Final
Points leaders RankScorerClubGoalsAssistsPoints1 Dan Stebbins Milwaukee Rampage 218502 Jamie Wellington New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers186423 Luis Murillo Tampa Bay Cyclones165374 Mike Gailey Carolina Dynamo148365 Ron Murphy Cape Cod Crusaders136326 Yari Allnut Carolina Dynamo 14331 Mike Saunders Connecticut Wolves 151318 Chugger Adair Carolina Dynamo 134309 Chad Carrithers Sacramento Scorpions 13329
Honors MVP: Dan Stebbins (Milwaukee Rampage) Points leader: Dan Stebbins (Milwaukee Rampage) Defender of the Year: Ezra Hendrickson Goalkeeper of the Year: Scott Garlick (Greensboro Dynamo) Rookie of the Year: Luis Marillo Coach of the Year: Alan Dicks Organization of the Year: Minnesota Thunder All-League Goalkeeper: Carmine Isacco Defenders: Ezra Hendrickson, Derick Brownell, Stuart Fitzsimmons Midfielders: Amos Magee, Travis Rinker, Oswaldo Ortiz, Yari Allnutt Forwards: Dan Stebbins, John Jones, Paul Young
External links United Soccer Leagues (RSSSF)
References