The 1993 Vancouver 86ers season was the club's eighth year of existence (or 19th if counting the NASL Whitecaps), as well as their first as a Division 2 club in the franchise model of U.S.-based soccer leagues. After their 1992 CSL season, the CSL folded and the Whitecaps joined the American Professional Soccer League for the 1993 season. They continued the tradition of excellence from the CSL capturing the Commissioner’s Cup (regular season) but losing the playoff semifinal in a shootout to the Los Angeles Salsa.
The 86ers also changed their colours from yellow/red/blue to white/black/red and created a new logo of a soccer ball striking a goal net. They were familiar with the league's teams as two others were Canadian teams (Toronto Blizzard and the Montreal Supra resurrected as Montreal Impact), Vancouver lost a 1992 North American Club Championship series to the 1992 APSL Champion Colorado Foxes, and Vancouver had played preseason matches against Seattle Sounders, Los Angeles, and San Francisco based teams through the CSL years.
Schedule and results The competition was a single table on the league principle with a balanced schedule home and away where each of the seven teams plays the other six four times. The league`s regular season was played over twenty weeks, beginning April 30 and concluding September 12. The top four in the table qualified for a single-elimination tournament held in September. The league was a generally close competition, given the unique points system adopted all teams were still in the playoff race into early August or about 70% of the season. The unique rules includes 6pts for a win, 4pts for a shootout win, 2pts for a shootout loss, and bonus points for goals to a maximum of three. If the game was tied instead of following FIFA rules of two sudden death thirty-minute extra halves followed by penalty kicks, the APSL did two 7.5 minute extra halves followed by the NASL shootout. The shootout consisted of the player starting at midfield, goalkeeper in net, and five seconds for the player to score (essentially a timed five second break-away skills competition). In 1993 before the USSF chose MLS as Division 1, a couple teams had significant capital backing, had local TV and radio deals, and many of the players were U.S. national team hopefuls or Canadian internationals. Game day rosters had to have eleven of the eighteen as domestic players.
The 86ers were at the top of the table most of the year with a significant lead in the league table until the last six games. At the start of the season, until the sixth match versus Ft. Lauderdale, the team was without its coach, Bob Lenarduzzi, and six members of the Canada men's national soccer team as they were in the national team camp and playing 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying games. Due to Canada's loss to Mexico 1–2 in World Cup qualifying and subsequent second place final round finish, the 86ers were also missing players for the CONCACAF–OFC play-off versus Australia at the end of the season during the start of their swoon in league results. To save on travel costs, the teams played back-to-back on consecutive days, for example the games versus the Tampa Bay Rowdies were the day after Ft. Lauderdale Strikers games all season. At the end of the season the 86ers allowed a number of late goals extending games as draws were not officially recognized including in the playoff game where they were eliminated in an NASL style shootout.
Tables Points: Win: 6 Shoot out win: 4 Shoot out loss: 2 1 bonus point per goal scored in regulation, maximum of 3 per game PlaceTeamGPWLWNWEWSLNLELSGFGAGDPoints 1 Vancouver 86ers 24 15 9 11 2 2 8 0 1 43 35 +8 126 2 Colorado Foxes 24 15 9 12 0 3 6 3 0 40 34 +6 121 3 Tampa Bay Rowdies 24 12 12 10 2 0 10 1 1 53 47 +6 1184 Los Angeles Salsa2412128139034137 +41095 Toronto Blizzard 24101482011123541 −6976 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2491580111133952 −13947 Montreal Impact 24111390211112833 −590
Expanded table
Pre-season
Source
These games were sixty-minute exhibitions, not full ninety-minute contests.
APSL
Results by round
Post-season
Current roster
Goalkeeper stats No.Nat.PlayerTotalAPSLPlayoffs29Paul Dolan223112 351.424207011231.4354105122.000Cory Breure34 0.0003400.000
Note: Minutes played and saves statistics are incomplete (see notes below).
Player statistics No.Pos.Name Apps Minutes Goals Assists Shots Fouls GK Cory Breure(1)340 002 DF Rick Celebrini1310732 10 FW Nick Gilbert42671 003 DF Tom Kim6(3)7230 00 4MF Mark Watson8(1)7870 005 DF Steve MacDonald2119130 006 FW Geoff Aunger11(2)8563 00 8MF Jim Easton Jr.15(1)13302 0 09 FW John Catliff97442 0010 FW Domenic Mobilio16131711 00 11DF Ivor Evans2321284 1012 DF Jean-Paul Knezevic(2)490 00 DF Doug Morrill21300 0013 DF David Norman1311300 10 14MF Dale Mitchell13(5)127452 0015 MF Doug Muirhead17(5)17123 0016 DF Doug McKinty15(5)15720 00 DF Norm Odinga8(1)6330 00 17FW Carlo Corazzin23(1)19857 0020 FW Scott Munson5(1)4874 0021 FW Carl Valentine11(4)112912 0023 MF Mike Dodd1(2)2050 0024 DF Steve Millar53950 00 29GK Paul Dolan252216000 00 MF Guido Titotto21800 00 MF Scott Macey1900 00 FW Carlos Batista GK Rob Merkl(1) 1 —–Opponent Own goals––1–––––
External links
American Soccer History Archives – 1993
References