The 1990–91 Major Soccer League season was the 13th and penultimate in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers winning their ninth NASL or MISL title in ten indoor seasons and fourth MISL title in a row.
Recap This was the first offseason in MISL history that did not have any franchise movement or collapse. After the season, however, the Kansas City Comets folded. In a nod to the burgeoning nationwide interest in outdoor soccer after the 1990 World Cup, the league's name was changed on July 24. Also, Commissioner Earl Foreman was selected to chair the United States Soccer Federation's exploratory committee for a first-division outdoor league.
Teams TeamCity/AreaArenaBaltimore BlastBaltimore, Maryland Baltimore ArenaCleveland CrunchCleveland, Ohio Richfield ColiseumDallas SidekicksDallas, Texas Reunion ArenaKansas City CometsKansas City, Missouri Kemper ArenaSan Diego SockersSan Diego, California San Diego Sports ArenaSt. Louis StormSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis ArenaTacoma Stars Tacoma, Washington Tacoma DomeWichita WingsWichita, Kansas Kansas Coliseum
Map of clubs
Regular Season Schedule
The 1990–91 regular season schedule ran from October 19, 1990, to April 7, 1991. The 52 games per team was unchanged from the 1989–90 schedule.
Final standings Playoff teams in bold. Eastern Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road Cleveland Crunch 2923.558--32628020-69-17 Kansas City Comets 2626.500326328317-99-17 Wichita Wings 2131.408825730817-94-22 Baltimore Blast 2131.408829831515-116-20
Western Division W L Pct. GB GF GA Home Road San Diego Sockers3418.654--30225020-614-12 St. Louis Storm3220.615232028820-612-14 Tacoma Stars2527.481925425917-98-18 Dallas Sidekicks2032.3851425729411-159-17
Playoffs
Division Semifinals Kansas City vs. Wichita Date Away Home Attendance April 12 Wichita 0 Kansas City 6 6,144 April 14 Kansas City 9 Wichita 8 4,737 Kansas City wins series 2-0 St. Louis vs. Tacoma Date Away Home Attendance April 9 Tacoma 2 St. Louis 9 5,832 April 11 St. Louis 3 Tacoma 4 2,760 Gary Heale scored at 1:30 of overtime April 13 Tacoma 2 St. Louis 9 7,084 St. Louis wins series 2-1
Division Finals Cleveland vs. Kansas City Date Away Home Attendance April 18 Kansas City 2 Cleveland 7 5,357 April 20 Kansas City 5 Cleveland 7 10,021 April 24 Cleveland 6 Kansas City 7 4,639 Carl Valentine scored at 11:26 of overtime April 26 Cleveland 5 Kansas City 4 9,451 April 28 Cleveland 4 Kansas City 5 3,889 Ted Eck scored at 4:27 of overtime May 1 Kansas City 8 Cleveland 6 7,239 May 4 Kansas City 6 Cleveland 7 12,718 Cleveland wins series 4-3 San Diego vs. St. Louis Date Away Home Attendance April 18 St. Louis 6 San Diego 9 5,157 April 20 St. Louis 4 San Diego 5 8,534 Rod Castro scored at 3:58 of overtime April 21 San Diego 4 St. Louis 5 5,751 April 25 San Diego 11 St. Louis 4 4,633 April 27 San Diego 7 St. Louis 4 6,032San Diego wins series 4-1
Championship Series San Diego vs. Cleveland Date Away Home Attendance May 10 Cleveland 4 San Diego 8 7,785 May 12 Cleveland 4 San Diego 3 6,996 May 17 San Diego 6 Cleveland 5 14,571 May 19 San Diego 5 Cleveland 7 10,831 May 21 San Diego 6 Cleveland 1 12,102 May 23 Cleveland 6 San Diego 8 12,073 San Diego wins series 4-2
Scoring leaders
GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points Player Team GP G A Pts Tatu Dallas Sidekicks 51 78 66 144 Zoran Karic Cleveland Crunch 47 73 48 121 Preki St Louis Storm 52 68 53 121 Jan Goossens Kansas City Comets 41 53 58 111 Hector Marinaro Cleveland Crunch 45 63 44 107 Thompson Usiyan St Louis Storm 51 64 38 102 Dale Ervine Wichita Wings 52 62 30 92 Dale Mitchell Baltimore Blast 51 42 40 82 Domenic Mobilio Baltimore Blast 50 49 33 82 Brian Quinn San Diego Sockers 45 19 55 74
All-MISL Teams First Team Position Second Team Victor Nogueira, San Diego G Cris Vaccaro, Tacoma Kevin Crow, San Diego D Bernie James, Cleveland Fernando Clavijo, St Louis D Ralph Black, Tacoma Zoran Karic, Cleveland M Brian Quinn, San Diego Tatu, Dallas F Thompson Usiyan, St Louis Preki, St Louis F Jan Goossens, Kansas City
League awards Most Valuable Player: Victor Nogueira, San Diego
Scoring Champion: Tatu, Dallas
Pass Master: Tatu, Dallas
Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego
Rookie of the Year: David Banks, San Diego
Newcomer of the Year: Paul Peschisolido, Kansas City
Goalkeeper of the Year: Victor Nogueira, San Diego
Coach of the Year: Trevor Dawkins, Cleveland
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Ben Collins, San Diego
Championship Series Unsung Hero: Glenn Carbonara, San Diego
Team Attendance Totals ClubGamesTotalAverageSt. Louis Storm26200,7697,722Baltimore Blast26193,2237,432San Diego Sockers26187,0007,192Kansas City Comets26184,6787,103Dallas Sidekicks26179,8646,918Wichita Wings26164,0336,309Tacoma Stars26142,5235,482Cleveland Crunch26120,6304,640OVERALL2081,372,7206,600
References
External links 1990-91 summary at The MISL: A Look Back 1991 page - Dallas Sidekicks Memorial Archive The Year in American Soccer - 1991