1987–88 American Indoor Soccer Association season

August 2023 March 2026 American Indoor Soccer Association 1987–88 Canton Invaders3rd title Rudy Pikuzinski (24) 48 414 1986–87 1988–89 The 1987–88 American Indoor Soccer Association season was the fourth season for the league. Only four teams (Canton, Fort Wayne, Memphis and Milwaukee) returned from the previous year, which made for a very brief, 24-game season that ended in early February. The 1988 All-Star game had been scheduled for Tampa Bay,Younkin Lou Smaller arena may enliven All-Star Game action https://www.newspapers.com/image/110660064/?terms=All-Star%2BGame%2Baction The Courier Journal newspapers.com February 20, 1987 D6 14 June 2017 but with the Rowdies leaving the league to play outdoors in the American Soccer League, and three other clubs (Chicago, Toledo and league-champion Louisville) folding, the game was canceled altogether. Two expansion teams were set to join for the following season, Dayton and Jacksonville. Rather than have only a two-team battle in a championship playoff series, the league instead opted to stage a 12-match, unbalanced, round-robin tournament called the Challenge Cup SeriesLilley Bill Whole league ‘biting bullet’ February 8, 1988 Akron Beacon Journal https://www.newspapers.com/image/154970706 A1 June 12, 2017 to determine who took home the trophy for 1987–88. The two expansion teams were also invited to play in this unique season-ending event, despite never having previously faced AISA competition. This would also give league owners a chance to see if the two new teams were really ready for the AISA. The series commenced on February 14. As the six-week long tournament rolled on, the race for cup came down to the final game of the series on April 1, which happened to match league-leaders Canton and Fort Wayne.Lilley Bill Win puts Invaders even closer to Cup April 1, 1988 Akron Beacon Journal https://www.newspapers.com/image/155078954/ 1C June 12, 2017 Both teams carried 8–3 records into match. Since the winner would secure the title by one game, it became a de facto championship final. Canton held on for a 5–4 victory, and their third AISA title in four seasons.Lilley Bill Invaders up to the Challenge April 2, 1988 Akron Beacon Journal https://www.newspapers.com/image/155079203/?terms=Canton%2Binvaders 1C June 12, 2017 League Standings main WL percentage yes 1 MEM CTN MIL FW 16 8 104 94 Memphis Storm 12 12 108 97 Canton Invaders 11 13 103 111 Milwaukee Wave 9 15 99 112 Fort Wayne Flames green1 top complete RSSSF Challenge Cup main WL percentage yes 1 CTN FW MIL JAX MEM DAY 9 3 67 55 Canton Invaders 8 4 72 52 Fort Wayne Flames 6 6 52 53 Milwaukee Wave 6 6 53 58 Jacksonville Generals 4 8 44 53 Memphis Storm 3 9 46 63 Dayton Dynamo green1 top complete RSSSF de facto Challenge Cup final 1988 4 1 7:35 PM CST 4–5 report Fort Wayne Flames Bodenstein 35:19 O’Keefe 36:38 Prescott 57:16 Hellencamp 59:00 Canton Invaders Ru. Pikuzinski 13:51, 22:50 Skouras 19:31 Ra. Pikuzinski 23:55 (PP) Carrera 42:36 War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, Indiana 8,028 1987–88 AISA Challenge Cup Champions: Canton Invaders (8–4 record) League Leaders Scoring Player Team GP Games played G Goals A Assists Pts PointsRudy PikuzinskiCanton 23 24 18 42Martín VásquezMemphis 23 17 19 36George PastorMilwaukee 24 18 15 33Ted HantakMemphis 22 21 10 31Neil RidgewayFort Wayne 22 19 11 30Art KramerCanton 23 16 12 28 Steve FrickCanton 19 20 5 25Chris HellenkampFort Wayne 21 18 6 24 Dan O'KeefeFort Wayne 21 18 6 24Paul DiBernardoFort Wayne 22 18 5 23Carlos SalgueroFort Wayne 21 11 12 23 Goalkeeping Player Team GP Games played Min Minutes played, minimum 400 SA Shots against SV Saves GA Goals against GAA Goals against average W Won L LostManny SanchezMemphis 12 708 389 140 44 3.73 8 3Yaro DachniwskyMemphis 11 598 278 124 38 3.82 6 5Mark BerryMilwaukee 6 386 270 96 27 4.19 4 2Warren LipkaFort Wayne 14 804 418 207 58 4.33 7 6Bill NaumovskiCanton 16 882 380 152 65 4.42 8 7 League awards Most Valuable Player: Rudy Pikuzinski, Canton Coach of the Year: Terry Nicholl, Memphis Defender of the Year: Tim Tyma, Milwaukee Goalkeeper of the Year: Manny Sanchez, Memphis Rookie of the Year: Rod Castro, Memphis All-AISA Team Player Pos Position Team Manny SanchezG Memphis Tim TymaD Milwaukee Vince BeckD Memphis Chris HellenkampM Fort Wayne Ted HantakF Memphis Rudy PikuzinskiF Canton References External links Major Indoor Soccer League II (RSSSF) 1988 in American Soccer Category:1987 in American soccer leagues Category:1988 in American soccer leagues 1987-88