The 2024 NISA season is the sixth season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. The 2023 champions, Flower City Union, are not defending their title, after announcing their departure from the league during the off-season.
Teams Of the nine teams that played in the 2023 season, five return for 2024, two (Flower City Union and Chattanooga FC) are moving on to different leagues, and two, Albion San Diego and Gold Star FC, are on hiatus, with the aim to return in 2025.
The five teams are joined by four expansion clubs: Arizona Monsoon, Capo FC, Georgia Lions FC and Irvine Zeta. On April 3, NISA announced that the Georgia Lions FC had been taken over by new leadership and were being rebranded as Georgia FC to start the 2024 season.
Stadiums and locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Arizona Monsoon Glendale, AZ Matt O. Hanhila Field3,000 Capo FC San Juan Capistrano, CA JSerra Catholic High School Club de Lyon Daytona Beach, FL Daytona Stadium9,601 Georgia FC Atlanta, GA Atlanta Silverbacks Park5,000 Irvine Zeta Irvine, CA Championship Soccer Stadium5,500 Los Angeles Force Long Beach, CA Veterans Memorial Stadium11,600 Maryland Bobcats Boyds, MD Maryland SoccerPlex 4,000 Michigan Stars Washington, MI Romeo High School 4,000 Savannah Clovers Savannah, GA Memorial Stadium 5,000
Personnel and sponsorship Note: The league has signed a deal with Hummel to be the official kit manufacturer, but it still allows clubs to find their own provider. Team Head coach Captain(s) Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Arizona Monsoon Carlos Padilla Capelli — Capo FC New Balance DirecTV Club de Lyon Adidas — Georgia FC Irvine Zeta Tyler Silva Shinya Kadono Kelme — Los Angeles Force Xara — Maryland Bobcats Hummel Holiday Inn College Park Michigan Stars Enis Dokovic Adidas HTC Savannah Clovers Umbro Castro Wood Floors
Coaching changes +TeamOutgoing coachManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming coachDate of appointmentLos Angeles Force Matt MorseFiredDecember 8, 2023Pre-season Dekel KeinanDecember 8, 2023Club de Lyon Victor Balaguer Hector AlmandozMarch 4, 2024
Regular season The teams are divided in two conferences, playing an unbalanced schedule weighted on regional play. The season was scheduled to start on March 23, but was delayed until April 6 because the four expansion teams needed more time to prepare for the season.
Standings East Conference
West Conference
Results East Conference
West Conference
Playoffs In a format change from the previous seasons, the top two clubs in each conference will advance to their respective conference championship the weekend of October 4–6. The regular season head-to-head winner between conference champions will host the NISA championship the weekend of October 25–27. NISA announced that the Maryland Bobcats were ineligible for the playoffs due to noncompliance with league and USSF standards, despite having the best record in the league.
Player statistics
Top goalscorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Patrick OkonkwoGeorgia FC62 Darwin EspinalMaryland Bobcats5 Leon MaricMichigan Stars4 George AlmeidaIrvine Zeta4 Juan Manuel MartínezClub de Lyon Brandon ZambranoCapo FC7 Niels LellouchMichigan Stars3 Kevin HerreraGeorgia FC Praise MaduekweMichigan Stars Bryan OrtegaLos Angeles Force Michael SalazarLos Angeles Force Abdou Mbacke ThiamMaryland Bobcats13 10 players tied2
Top assists Rank Player Club Assists1 Edson AlvaradoIrvine Zeta2 Matias CruzClub de Lyon Jedidiah McCloudSavannah Clovers4 13 players tied1
Clean sheets RankPlayerClubClean sheets1 Mitch NorthIrvine Zeta42 Tatenda MkuruvaMichigan Stars33 Jacob BoyleMaryland Bobcats2 Seth TormanLos Angeles Force5 Elijah ClarkGeorgia FC1 Jack CrichtonSavannah Clovers Jordan MartinezCapo FC Nicholas NelsonGeorgia FC
Awards NISA Best XI GoalkeeperDefendersMidfieldersForwardsRef. Seth Torman, Los Angeles Force Luis Almeida, Maryland Bobcats FC Zack Hargreaves, Savannah Clovers FC Justin Jovel, Los Angeles Force Kyle Nelson, Savannah Clovers FC Edson Alvarado, Irvine Zeta FC Darwin Espinal, Maryland Bobcats FC Tyler Gabarra, Maryland Bobcats FC Josselin Possian Michael Salazar, George Almeida
End-of-season awards AwardWinner (club)Ref. Golden Glove Seth Torman, Los Angeles Force
See also National Independent Soccer Association
Notes
References
External links NISA official website