| Season | 1986–87 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Louisville Thunder |
| Matches | 168 |
| Goals | 1,534 (9.13 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Rudy Pikuzinski (51) |
1987–88 → | |
The1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season was the third season of the league. TheColumbus Capitals andKalamazoo Kangaroos did not return after the 1985–86 season. Four teams, including formerNASL stalwarts,Tampa Bay Rowdies, joined the league in 1986–87. TheFort Wayne Flames,Memphis Storm andToledo 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 bossTerry 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 for1987–88.[1]
| 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 |
| 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 |
On February 21 the Louisville Thunder hosted the AISA All-Star Game. Instead of using the Thunder's home field ofBroadbent Arena at the state fairgrounds, the match was played at the more intimateLouisville 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 forwardZoran 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.[2] Although neither game would come to pass, it was also announced that the1988 All-Star game would be hosted by Tampa Bay, with the1989 game being awarded to Milwaukee.[3]
| 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 selectionRubén Astigarraga of Tampa Bay was unable to play and was replaced by teammate Tim Walters.
| 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 |
| Northern Division | 7–5 | Southern Division |
|---|---|---|
| report |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
