The 2016 North American Soccer League season is the 49th season of Division II soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 6th season of the modern

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. Three expansion clubs joined the league, with

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

and

Rayo OKC Rayo OKC, also known as Rayo Oklahoma City, was an American professional soccer team based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They joined the North American Soccer League (NASL) – the second tier of the American soccer pyramid – beginning ...

joining in the Spring season and

Puerto Rico FC Puerto Rico FC was a professional football club based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2015, the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team debuted in the 2016 fall seas ...

beginning competition in the Fall season. In December, 2015, the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadi ...

' home stadium,

Toyota Field Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...

, was bought by the city of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

for use by

Spurs Sports & Entertainment Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C. (SS&E) is an American sports and entertainment organization based in San Antonio, Texas. The company owns and operates several sporting franchises including the National Basketball Association (NBA) San Antoni ...

to host a club in the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

, forcing the Scorpions to cease operations. In January, 2016, the NASL suspended its operation of the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

for the 2016 season and possibly beyond. As a result, the Spring season was contested by 11 clubs and the Fall season by 12. The

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

are defending

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's ...

champions. A split season format was used for the 2016 season.

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations

Personnel and sponsorship

Player transfers

Managerial changes

Spring season

Standings

Results

Fall season

Standings

Results

Playoffs

Combined standings

The Championship

Participants

* (1)

(Fall season champion) * (2)

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

(Spring season champion) * (3)

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

* (4)

Semifinals

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Soccer Bowl 2016

Attendance

Source
NASL
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Highest attendances

Regular season

Statistical leaders

Top scorers

Source:

Top assists

Source:

Clean sheets

Source: NASL

Hat-tricks

Awards

Monthly awards

Weekly awards

League awards

* Golden Ball (MVP):

Juan Arango Juan Fernando Arango Sáenz (born 16 May 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Arango was considered by some in the sport as the greatest Venezuelan footballer of all time. He spent the be ...

(

) *Golden Boot: Christian Ramirez ( Minnesota United) * Golden Glove: Matt Van Oekel (

) * Coach of the Year:

Tim Hankinson Timothy Milledge Hankinson (February 18, 1955 – September 22, 2022) was an American soccer coach. He initially coached American college teams, before becoming head coach in Major League Soccer, as well as managing teams in Iceland, India, an ...

(

) * Goal of the Year: Duke Lacroix (

) * Young (U24) Player of the Year:

Papé Diakité Papé Abdoulaye Diakité (born 22 December 1992) is a Senegalese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), centre-back. Club career Trenčín Diakité made his debut for AS Trenčín against M ...

(

) * Humanitarian of the Year:

Michael Lahoud Michael Lahoud (born September 15, 1986) is a Sierra Leonean former footballer. He is a broadcaster for CBS Sports Golazo Network, and a former broadcaster for Austin FC. Club career College Born in Freetown, Lahoud moved from his country to A ...

(

) * Fair Play Award:

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:North American Soccer League 2016 Season North American Soccer League (2011–2017) seasons