1995 A-League

Overview

The league had ended its 1994 season with seven teams and intended to expand to ten for the 1995 season with new franchises in Detroit and Atlanta. These plans were stymied when the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Los Angeles Salsa and Toronto Rockets all folded. This left the league with only four teams. The addition of the New York Centaurs and Atlanta Ruckus gave the league six teams and allowed it to compete for another season.

Training camps opened in March and the season began on May 5, 1995, when the Vancouver 86ers defeated the Atlanta Ruckus. By the time the regular season ended on September 10, 1995, the Montreal Impact had topped the chart. However, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Ruckus. Seattle defeated Vancouver in the first round, then defeated Atlanta in the final to take their first championship.

The league introduced a new scoring system for the regular season. As with previous years, no games ended in a tie. If the score was tied at the end of regulation, a penalty shootout would determine a winner. A win was worth three points, a shootout win two points, a shootout loss one point and a loss zero points.

Regular season

Playoffs

Bracket

Best-of-3 Best-of-3 | score-width=25 | RD1-seed1=1 | RD1-team1=Montreal Impact | RD1-score1-1=1*(1)* | RD1-score1-2=3 | RD1-score1-3=0*(1)* | RD1-seed2=4 | RD1-team2=Atlanta Ruckus | RD1-score2-1=1***(2)*** | RD1-score2-2=0 | RD1-score2-3=0***(3)*** | RD1-seed3= 2 | RD1-team3= Seattle Sounders | RD1-score3-1=1 | RD1-score3-2=0***(3)*** | RD1-score3-3= - | RD1-seed4=3 | RD1-team4=Vancouver 86ers | RD1-score4-1=0 | RD1-score4-2=0*(2)* | RD1-score4-3= - | RD2-seed1=4 | RD2-team1=Atlanta Ruckus | RD2-score1-1=1***(3)*** | RD2-score1-2=0 | RD2-score1-3=1*(1)* | RD2-seed2=2 | RD2-team2=Seattle Sounders | RD2-score2-1=1*(1)* | RD2-score2-2=3 | RD2-score2-3=1***(2)***

Semifinals 1

date = September 14, 1995 7:30 PM EST| team1 = Atlanta Ruckus (GA) | goals1 = Tom Wurdack Lenin Steenkamp | goals2 = Lloyd Barker | score = 1–1 | report = Report 1 Report 2| team2 = Montreal Impact (QC) | stadium = Adams Stadium, Atlanta ? Mo Suri Michael Araujo ? ? ? Lloyd Barker Tom Kouzmanis date = September 17, 1995 1:30 PM EST| team1 = Montreal Impact (QC) | goals1 = Paulinho Lloyd Barker Lyndon Hooper | goals2 = | score = 3–0 | report = Report 1 Report 2| team2 = Atlanta Ruckus (GA) | stadium = Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada date = September 20, 1995 7:30 PM EST| team1 = Montreal Impact (QC) | goals1 = | goals2 = | score = 0–0 | report = https://www.newspapers.com/image/424690315/?terms=Ruckus%2BImpact | team2 = Atlanta Ruckus (GA) | stadium = Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard, Montreal, Canada Patrick Diotte Tom Kouzmanis Lloyd Barker Cato Solberg Brian Moore Mo Suri John Doyle

The Atlanta Ruckus advance to the finals.

Semifinals 2

date = September 15, 1995 7:30 PM PST| team1 = Vancouver 86ers (BC) | goals1 = Nico Berg | goals2 = Gary Heale | score = 0–1 | report = http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/matches/95/playoff1.html | team2 = Seattle Sounders (WA) | stadium = Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, British Columbia date = September 17, 1995 4:05 PM PST| team1 = Seattle Sounders (WA) | goals1 = Dominic Kinnear Neil Megson | goals2 = Geoff Aunger | score = 0–0 | report = http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/matches/95/playoff2.html | team2 = Vancouver 86ers (BC) | stadium = Memorial Stadium, Seattle Neil Megson Shawn Medved Marco Rizi Gary Heale David Hoggan Jason Dunn Billy Crook Sipho Sibiya Carl Valentine Steve MacDonald Paul Dailly Martin Nash Doug McKinty Nico Berg

The Seattle Sounders advance to the finals.

Final

date = October 1, 1995 4:00 PM EST| team1 = Atlanta Ruckus (GA) | goals1 = Greg Sheen Lenin Steenkamp Bruce Murray Michael Araujo | goals2 = Jason Dunn | score = 1–1 | report = Report 1 Report 2| team2 = Seattle Sounders (WA) | stadium = Adams Stadium, Atlanta Michael Araujo John Doyle Peter Hattrup Shawn Medved Jason Farrell date = October 8, 1995 7:05 PM PST| team1 = Seattle Sounders (WA) | goals1 = Chance Fry Jason Dunn | goals2 = Michael Araujo| score = 3–0| report = Report 1 Report 2| team2 = Atlanta Ruckus (GA) | stadium = Memorial Stadium, Seattle date = October 12, 1995 7:05 PM PST| team1 = Seattle Sounders (WA) | goals1 = Jason Farrell | goals2 = Staale Soebye | score = 1–1 | report = http://seattlepitch.tripod.com/matches/95/final3.html | team2 = Atlanta Ruckus (GA) | stadium = Memorial Stadium, Seattle Peter Hattrup Neil Megson Dominic Kinnear Brian Moore Mo Suri John Doyle Lenin Steenkamp The Seattle Sounders win the A-League title.

Points leaders

Honors

• MVP: Peter Hattrup
• Leading goal scorer: Peter Hattrup
• Leading goalkeeper: Marcus Hahnemann
• Rookie of the Year: Giuliano Oliviero
• Coach of the Year: Lothar Osiander
• Defender of the Year: John Doyle
• Official of the Year: Esfandiar Baharmast
• First Team All League
  • Goalkeeper: Marcus Hahnemann
  • Defenders: Robin Fraser, John Doyle, Steve Trittschuh
  • Midfielders: Dan Calichman, Paul Dougherty, Geoff Aunger, Peter Hattrup, Giuliano Oliviero
  • Forwards: Lloyd Barker, Staale Soebye

References

References

1. "USL restructures Pro Divisions".
2. Dauber, Bill. (July 24, 1994). "Salsa to kick off home schedule". [[Orange County Register]].
3. (January 16, 1995). "For The Record – Soccer". The Seattle Times.
4. Stickney, Ron. "1996 Sounders Schedule and Results". seattlepitch.tripod.com.