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 The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are not linked by the system of pro ...

with the

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

, before the two leagues merged in 1997 as the

USISL A-League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

History

The league had its origins in the

United States Interregional Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

(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 The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

, 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

, 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 The Colorado Foxes were a professional soccer team, based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League, and later in the A-League, between 1990 and 1997. The Foxes won two APSL titles, in 1992 and 1993. In 1 ...

, Seattle Sounders,

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos t ...

Vancouver 86ers Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

and

Atlanta Ruckus Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 l ...

, plus two planned A-League expansion teams (

Toronto Lynx Toronto Lynx was a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1997, the team last played in the 2014 season of the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes ...

and

Hershey Wildcats Hershey Wildcats were a professional soccer team, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, that played in the USL A-League between 1997 and 2001. The team was owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. The team played in Hersheyp ...

) merged with the USISL Select League to form a consolidated Division II league before the

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

season. The resulting merged league retained the A-League name, and the USISL Select League name was abandoned.

USISL Select League teams

California Jaguars California Jaguars were an American soccer team that played in Salinas, California at the Salinas Sports Complex. They joined the USISL in 1995 as the Monterey Bay Jaguars, but changed the name a year later. They played in the A-League in 199 ...

Cape Cod Crusaders Cape Cod Crusaders were an American soccer team based in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1994, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2008, when t ...

(now in PDL) *

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. T ...

(joined A-League in 1997; now in PDL) *

Chicago Stingers (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Connecticut Wolves The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Soc ...

(joined A-League in 1997) *

Delaware Wizards The Delaware Wizards were a professional soccer club based in Wilmington and New Castle, Delaware. The team played their first game in 1993 and their last in 2000. They played in the USISL. They were considered DC United's farm team but ended ...

El Paso Patriots El Paso Patriots was an American soccer team based in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1989, the team played in the Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Mid South Division of the Southe ...

(now in PDL) *

Hampton Roads Mariners Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Ham ...

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at H ...

(joined A-League in 1997; now in PDL) *

Milwaukee Rampage The Milwaukee Rampage are a former defunct professional American soccer team, that was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which played in the A-League. History Founded in 1993 by Milwaukee area businessmen Dan Doucette and Jim Hock, the Rampage pl ...

(joined A-League in 1997) *

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its h ...

(joined A-League in 1997) *

New Mexico Chiles The New Mexico Chiles were an American soccer club established in 1990 which competed in the American Professional Soccer League. In 1991, the team merged with the New Mexico Roadrunners and moved to the USISL until its disestablishment in 1996. ...

New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(joined A-League in 1997) * New York/New Jersey Stallions *

Ohio Xoggz The Columbus Xoggz (known as the Ohio Xoggz in their final season) were an American soccer team that played in Columbus, Ohio. The team played their games at Dublin Coffman High School. History The Xoggz were founded ahead of the 1994 United ...

* Raleigh Flyers (joined A-League in 1997) *

Reno Rattlers The Reno Rattlers were an American soccer team based in Reno, Nevada from 1994 to 1998. The club began in the USISL and moved to the USL Second Division in 1995. The team moved up to the USISL Select League in 1996, but returned to the Pro League ...

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL-1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

(joined A-League in 1997; now in USL Pro) *

Sacramento Scorpions The Sacramento Scorpions was a USISL American soccer team that played in Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize ...

South Carolina Shamrocks The South Carolina Shamrocks were an United States, American soccer team that played in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Shamrocks played the 1998 and 1999 seasons at Greer, SC, Greer City Stadium, then called Shamrock Stadium. Year-by-year Coac ...

Tampa Bay Cyclones Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Count ...

(became ''Jacksonville Cylones'' and joined A-League in 1997)

Champions

*Regular Season:

(43 points, 14–3–1 record) *Playoff Winners:

(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 The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

entered as the champion of the

1996 USISL Professional League The 1996 USISL Professional League was the second highest of the three outdoor men's leagues run by the United Systems of Independent Soccer Leagues during the summer of 1996. Overview This season, the USISL introduced several changes. First, the ...

. 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

Honors

* MVP:

Dan Stebbins Dan Stebbins is a retired U.S. soccer forward who played three seasons in Major League Soccer and was the 1996 USISL league leading scorer and MVP. Youth Stebbins graduated from Rufus King High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He played collegi ...

* Points leader:

* Defender of the Year:

Ezra Hendrickson Ezra Hendrickson (born 16 January 1972) is a Vincentian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire. Born in Layou, Hendrickson moved with his family to the United Sta ...

* Goalkeeper of the Year:

Scott Garlick Scott Garlick (born May 29, 1972 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper who played 10 seasons in Major League Soccer from 1997 to 2006. Garlick went on trial to Waterford United in 1994. Initially for a month he stayed f ...

* Rookie of the Year: Luis Marillo * Coach of the Year:

Alan Dicks Alan Dicks (born 29 August 1934) is an English retired footballer and football manager. He managed Bristol City for thirteen years and managed clubs in four countries on three continents. Born in London, he signed for Chelsea at the age of ...

* Organization of the Year:

* All-League **Goalkeeper:

Carmine Isacco Carmine Isacco (born September 20, 1970) is a Canadian soccer coach and retired player. He is currently the head coach for the York Lions varsity men's soccer team of the OUA. Playing career College years In 1989, Isacco entered the Universit ...

**Defenders:

, Derick Crownell, Stuart Fitzsimmons **Midfielders:

Amos Magee Amos Hart Magee (born September 7, 1971) is the Director of Player Personnel for Minnesota United FC. As a player, he is the Wesleyan University Cardinals all-time leading scorer, won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 1993 Maccabiah Games ...

Travis Rinker Travis Rinker (born May 4, 1968, in Huntington, New York) is an American retired professional soccer player. Playing career Rinker was named USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league ...

, Oswaldo Ortiz,

Yari Allnutt Yari Allnutt (born February 17, 1970) is an American retired soccer player who played professionally in Mexico and the United States, including the American Professional Soccer League and Major League Soccer. He earned five caps with the United ...

**Forwards:

, John Jones,

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

External links

United Soccer Leagues (RSSSF)

References

{{USSF D2 soccer seasons A-League (1995–2004) seasons 2