2016 North American Soccer League season

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North American Soccer League
Season2016
ChampionsNew York Cosmos
Spring ChampionsIndy Eleven
Fall ChampionsNew York Cosmos
Matches played187
Goals scored441 (2.36 per match)
Top goalscorerChristian Ramirez (18)
Biggest home win5 goals:
NYC 6–1 CAR
(August 27)
Biggest away win4 goals:
MNU 0–4 MIA
(Aug 6)
Highest scoring7 goals:
IND 5–2 JAX
(August 3)
NYC 6–1 CAR
(August 27)
Longest winning run5 games:
FC Edmonton
(Jul 27 – Aug 20)
Longest unbeaten run13 games:
Indy Eleven
(Apr 2 – Jul 11)
Longest winless run10 games:
Puerto Rico
(Jul 30 – Sep 17)
Longest losing run5 games:
Jacksonville
(Jul 13 – Aug 3)
Highest attendance10,156
MIA 1–1 TBR
(April 9)
Lowest attendance418
FTL 1–0 FCE
(October 12)
Total attendance885,337
Average attendance4,734
← 2015
2017 →

The 2016 North American Soccer League season is the 49th season of Division II soccer in the United States and Canada, and the 6th season of the modern North American Soccer League.

Three expansion clubs joined the league, with Miami FC and Rayo OKC joining in the Spring season and Puerto Rico FC beginning competition in the Fall season. In December, 2015, the San Antonio Scorpions' home stadium, Toyota Field, was bought by the city of San Antonio for use by Spurs Sports & Entertainment to host a club in the USL, forcing the Scorpions to cease operations.[1] In January, 2016, the NASL suspended its operation of the Atlanta Silverbacks for the 2016 season and possibly beyond.[2] As a result, the Spring season was contested by 11 clubs and the Fall season by 12. The New York Cosmos are defending Soccer Bowl champions. A split season format was used for the 2016 season.

Teams, stadiums, and personnel[edit]

Stadiums and locations[edit]

Main article: List of NASL stadiums
class=notpageimage|
Locations of NASL clubs

Personnel and sponsorship[edit]

Team Head coach Captain Kit producer Shirt sponsor
Carolina RailHawks Northern Ireland Colin Clarke United States Nazmi Albadawi Adidas Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
FC Edmonton Canada Colin Miller Northern Ireland Albert Watson Adidas The Fath Group
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Brazil Caio Zanardi Haiti Jean Alexandre Inaria Guaraviton
Indy Eleven United States Tim Hankinson Republic of Ireland Colin Falvey Diadora Honda
Jacksonville Armada FC England Mark Lowry United States Matt Bahner Nike Winn-Dixie
Miami FC Italy Alessandro Nesta United States Jonathan Borrajo Macron
Minnesota United FC England Carl Craig United States Aaron Pitchkolan Inaria Atomic Data / Mall of America
New York Cosmos Venezuela Giovanni Savarese United States Carlos Mendes Under Armour Emirates
Ottawa Fury FC Scotland Paul Dalglish Canada Julian de Guzman Adidas Chartwells
Puerto Rico FC England Adrian Whitbread Brazil Cristiano Nike Claro
Rayo OKC Spain Gerard Nus Brazil Michel Kelme
Tampa Bay Rowdies Scotland Stuart Campbell England Tamika Mkandawire Nike Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Player transfers[edit]

Main article: List of North American Soccer League transfers 2016

Managerial changes[edit]

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Puerto Rico Expansion team England Adrian Whitbread August 24, 2015[3]
Miami Italy Alessandro Nesta August 31, 2015[4]
Ottawa Fury Canada Marc Dos Santos End of contract November 20, 2015 Pre-season Scotland Paul Dalglish November 20, 2015[5]
Jacksonville Armada United States Eric Dade (int.) End of interim period November 24, 2015 United States Tony Meola November 24, 2015[6]
Indy Eleven United States Tim Regan (int.) End of interim period December 2, 2015 United States Tim Hankinson December 2, 2015[7]
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Austria Günter Kronsteiner End of contract November 16, 2015 Brazil Caio Zanardi December 2, 2015[8]
Minnesota United United States Manny Lagos Promotion to general manager December 3, 2015 England Carl Craig December 3, 2015[9]
San Antonio Scorpions Canada Alen Marcina Fired November 1, 2015[10] Club defunct[11]
Rayo OKC Expansion team Canada Alen Marcina January 7, 2016[12]
Atlanta Silverbacks England Gary Smith Released January 11, 2016 Pre-season Club on hiatus[13]
Rayo OKC Canada Alen Marcina Mutual termination August 1, 2016 5th Spain Gerard Nus August 1, 2016[14]
Jacksonville Armada United States Tony Meola Fired August 7, 2016 11th England Mark Lowry (int.) August 7, 2016[15]

Spring season[edit]

Standings[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Indy Eleven (S) 10 4 6 0 15 8 +7 18 Playoffs
2 New York Cosmos 10 6 0 4 15 8 +7 18
3 FC Edmonton 10 5 2 3 9 7 +2 17
4 Minnesota United 10 5 1 4 16 12 +4 16
5 Tampa Bay Rowdies 10 4 4 2 11 9 +2 16
6 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 10 4 3 3 12 12 0 15
7 Carolina RailHawks 10 4 2 4 11 13 −2 14
8 Rayo OKC 10 3 3 4 11 12 −1 12
9 Ottawa Fury 10 2 3 5 9 14 −5 9
10 Jacksonville Armada 10 1 4 5 5 11 −6 7
11 Miami FC 10 1 4 5 7 15 −8 7
Source: NASL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) head-to-head record; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals scored
(S) Spring season champion

Results[edit]

Home \ Away CAR FCE FTL IND JAX MIA MNU NYC OTT OKC TBR
Carolina RailHawks — 1–3 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–0
Edmonton 1–0 — 2–1 0–2 2–1 2–0
Fort Lauderdale Strikers — 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–1
Indy Eleven 4–1 1–1 — 4–2 2–1 1–1
Jacksonville Armada 0–1 1–1 — 2–1 0–1 1–1
Miami 1–0 0–0 — 0–3 2–3 1–1
Minnesota United 3–0 2–0 3–1 — 1–0 0–2
New York Cosmos 1–0 2–0 — 3–0 1–0 2–1
Ottawa Fury 1–2 1–0 2–0 2–2 — 1–1
Rayo 2–3 0–0 1–2 1–2 1–0 —
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–3 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on May 21, 2016. Source: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fall season[edit]

Standings[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Cosmos (F) 22 14 5 3 44 21 +23 47 Playoffs
2 Indy Eleven 22 11 4 7 36 25 +11 37
3 FC Edmonton 22 10 6 6 16 14 +2 36
4 Rayo OKC 22 9 8 5 28 21 +7 35
5 Miami FC 22 9 6 7 31 27 +4 33
6 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 22 7 5 10 19 28 −9 26
7 Carolina RailHawks 22 7 5 10 25 35 −10 26
8 Minnesota United 22 6 7 9 25 25 0 25
9 Puerto Rico 22 5 9 8 19 31 −12 24
10 Tampa Bay Rowdies 22 5 8 9 29 32 −3 23
11 Jacksonville Armada 22 5 8 9 25 35 −10 23
12 Ottawa Fury 22 5 7 10 23 26 −3 22
Source: NASL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) head-to-head record; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals scored
(F) Fall season champion

Results[edit]

Home \ Away CAR FCE FTL IND JAX MIA MNU NYC OTT PRF OKC TBR
Carolina RailHawks — 1–0 3–0 3–2 1–0 3–3 1–0 0–2 0–0 2–2 0–1 4–1
Edmonton 1–0 — 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–2 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–0
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 0–1 1–0 — 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 3–1 2–0 0–2 1–4
Indy Eleven 3–0 1–0 3–0 — 5–2 2–1 1–0 3–0 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–1
Jacksonville Armada 2–2 0–0 1–1 0–0 — 3–2 0–0 2–4 0–2 2–1 1–1 3–2
Miami 1–0 1–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 — 1–1 2–3 2–1 0–1 0–1 2–2
Minnesota United 5–1 3–1 3–1 2–0 0–1 0–4 — 0–1 2–3 1–1 1–0 2–0
New York Cosmos 6–1 0–0 2–0 3–0 3–0 4–0 1–0 — 2–1 3–0 1–1 3–2
Ottawa Fury 2–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 — 1–2 0–1 2–0
Puerto Rico 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 3–3 0–3 0–0 1–2 0–0 — 1–0 0–0
Rayo 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–2 1–2 2–2 3–0 3–1 2–2 — 1–0
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–0 0–1 2–1 2–3 1–1 1–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 3–0 2–0 —
Updated to match(es) played on January 2016. Source: [2]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs[edit]

Combined standings[edit]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 New York Cosmos (C, X) 32 20 5 7 59 29 +30 65 Championship qualifiers
2 Indy Eleven 32 15 10 7 51 33 +18 55
3 FC Edmonton 32 15 8 9 25 21 +4 53
4 Rayo OKC 32 12 11 9 39 33 +6 47
5 Minnesota United 32 11 8 13 41 37 +4 41
6 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 32 11 8 13 31 40 −9 41
7 Miami FC 32 10 10 12 38 42 −4 40
8 Carolina RailHawks 32 11 7 14 36 48 −12 40
9 Tampa Bay Rowdies 32 9 12 11 40 41 −1 39
10 Ottawa Fury 32 7 10 15 32 40 −8 31
11 Jacksonville Armada 32 6 12 14 30 46 −16 30
12 Puerto Rico FC 22 5 9 8 19 31 −12 24
Source: NASL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) total goal differential; 3) total goals scored; 4) head-to-head record; 5) away goal differential; 6) away goals scored
(C) Champions; (X) Regular season champion

The Championship[edit]

Participants[edit]

Semifinals[edit]

Indy Eleven1–0FC Edmonton
Ubiparipović 63' Report
Report		 Diakité Yellow card 83'
Eckersley Yellow card 90+2'
Attendance: 9,702
Referee: Sorin Stoica
New York Cosmos2–1Rayo OKC
Arango 73' Yellow card 77'
Orozco 90'
Duk Yellow card 90+2'		 Report
Report		 Danso 37'
Velásquez Yellow card 42'
Kimura Yellow card 64'
Attendance: 5,023
Referee: Jose Carlos Rivero

Soccer Bowl 2016[edit]

Main article: Soccer Bowl 2016
New York Cosmos0–0 (a.e.t.)Indy Eleven
Arrieta Yellow card 116' Report
Report		 Ring Yellow card 72'
Falvey Yellow card 83'
Penalties
Arrieta soccer ball with check mark
Moffat soccer ball with check mark
Ayoze soccer ball with check mark
Richter soccer ball with check mark		 4–2 soccer ball with check mark Paterson
soccer ball with red X Zayed
soccer ball with red X Busch
soccer ball with check mark Vuković
Attendance: 2,150
Referee: Allen Chapman

Attendance[edit]

Club GP Total High Low Average Change
Minnesota United 16 137,161 9,460 6,101 8,573 -2.2%
Indy Eleven 16 134,339 9,356 6,132 8,396 -14.4%
Tampa Bay Rowdies 16 94,048 7,690 4,429 5,878 4.1%
Ottawa Fury 16 87,717 7,847 4,317 5,482 6.2%
Miami 16 86,833 10,156 1,229 5,427 N/A
Carolina RailHawks 16 80,923 8,086 3,093 5,058 11.4%
Puerto Rico 11 41,811 6,474 1,233 3,801 N/A
New York Cosmos 16 60,403 6,243 2,419 3,775 -25.4%
Jacksonville Armada 16 55,988 5,313 1,254 3,499 -55.9%
Rayo OKC 16 51,865 6,416 924 3,242 N/A
FC Edmonton 16 32,959 3,130 1,243 2,060 -28.7%
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 16 21,290 2,376 418 1,331 -70.2%
Total 187 885,337 10,156 418 4,734 -19.9%

Source: NASL

Highest attendances[edit]

Regular season

Rank Home team Score Away team Attendance Date Week Venue
1 Miami 1 – 1 Tampa Bay Rowdies 10,156 April 9 (April 9) 2 FIU Stadium
2 Miami 1 – 1 Minnesota United 10,012 September 24 (September 24) 24 FIU Stadium
3 Miami 1 – 1 Minnesota United 9,739 August 27 (August 27) 20 FIU Stadium
4 Minnesota United 2 – 0 Indy Eleven 9,460 July 16 (July 16) 14 National Sports Center
5 Minnesota United 0 – 1 Jacksonville Armada 9,402 October 1 (October 1) 25 National Sports Center

Statistical leaders[edit]

Awards[edit]

Monthly awards[edit]

Month NASL Player of the Month
Player Club Stats Ref
April United States Austin da Luz Carolina RailHawks 3G [18]
May Senegal Papé Diakité FC Edmonton 2G [19]
June Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven 3G [20]
July United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United 7G, 1A [21]
August United States Matt Van Oekel FC Edmonton 22SV, 0GA [22]
September Argentina Darío Cvitanich Miami 3G [23]

Weekly awards[edit]

Week NASL Player of the Week NASL Play of the Week
Player Club Player Club
Week 1 Venezuela Juan Arango New York Cosmos United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United
Week 2 United States Austin da Luz Carolina RailHawks United States Ben Speas Minnesota United
Week 3 Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven
Week 4 United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United
Week 5 Venezuela Yohandry Orozco New York Cosmos Colombia Jair Reinoso Indy Eleven
Week 6 Canada Nana Attakora Fort Lauderdale Strikers United States Jake Keegan FC Edmonton
Week 7 Senegal Papé Diakité FC Edmonton United States Kevin Venegas Minnesota United
Week 8 Honduras Ramón Núñez Fort Lauderdale Strikers Spain Ruben Bover New York Cosmos
Week 9 England Joe Cole Tampa Bay Rowdies United States Matt Bahner Jacksonville Armada
Week 10 Bulgaria Georgi Hristov Tampa Bay Rowdies United States Tyler Gibson Rayo OKC
Week 11 Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven
Week 12 United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United Puerto Rico Héctor Ramos Puerto Rico
Week 13 United States Nazmi Albadawi Carolina RailHawks United States Dylan Mares Indy Eleven
Week 14 Brazil Michel Rayo OKC England Joe Cole Tampa Bay Rowdies
Week 15 United States Jaime Chavez Miami United States J. C. Banks Minnesota United
Week 16 Zimbabwe Lucky Mkosana New York Cosmos Cuba Ariel Martínez Miami
Week 17 Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven United States Keith Savage Tampa Bay Rowdies
Week 18 Guinea Alhassane Keita Jacksonville Armada Puerto Rico Héctor Ramos Puerto Rico
Week 19 United States Matt Van Oekel FC Edmonton Italy Amauri Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 20 El Salvador Andrés Flores New York Cosmos United States Brad Ring Indy Eleven
Week 21 Northern Ireland Daryl Fordyce FC Edmonton Brazil Bruno Cardoso Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Week 22 Argentina Darío Cvitanich Miami France Romuald Peiser Ottawa Fury
Week 23 United States Matt Van Oekel FC Edmonton Puerto Rico Joseph Marrero Puerto Rico
Week 24 Bulgaria Georgi Hristov Tampa Bay Rowdies United States Trevor Spangenberg Puerto Rico
Week 25 Spain Ruben Bover New York Cosmos United States Sidney Rivera Puerto Rico
Week 26 Canada Ben Fisk FC Edmonton United States J. C. Banks Minnesota United
Week 27 Brazil Michel Rayo OKC United States Jaime Chavez Miami
Week 28 Venezuela Juan Arango New York Cosmos United States Duke Lacroix Indy Eleven

League awards[edit]

NASL Best XI[32]
Position Player Team
Goalkeeper United States Matt Van Oekel FC Edmonton
Defense Spain Ayoze New York Cosmos
Defense United States Justin Davis Minnesota United
Defense Northern Ireland Albert Watson FC Edmonton
Defense United States Carlos Mendes New York Cosmos
Midfield United States Nazmi Albadawi Carolina RailHawks
Midfield Venezuela Juan Arango New York Cosmos
Midfield England Joe Cole Tampa Bay Rowdies
Midfield Brazil Michel Rayo OKC
Forward United States Christian Ramirez Minnesota United
Forward Libya Éamon Zayed Indy Eleven

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Scorpions Soccer Club Thanks Fans for Supporting Soccer for a Cause". sascorpions.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "NASL Suspends Operation of Atlanta Silverbacks". nasl.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  3. ^ "Puerto Rico Football Club Announces Head Coach And Technical Director". nasl.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  4. ^ "Alessandro Nesta Becomes Miami FC's First Head Coach". nasl.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "Paul Dalglish Appointed Ottawa Fury FC Head Coach". nasl.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  6. ^ "Legendary U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame Goalkeeper Tony Meola Hired as Armada FC Head Coach and Technical Director". Jacksonville Armada FC. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  7. ^ "Tim Hankinson Takes Over Indy Eleven Head Coaching Position". nasl.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  8. ^ "Caio Zanardi Appointed Strikers Head Coach". nasl.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  9. ^ "Manny Lagos Becomes Minnesota's Sporting Director; Carl Craig Appointed Head Coach". nasl.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  10. ^ "SCORPIONS PART WAYS WITH HEAD COACH ALEN MARCINA". sascorpions.com. Archived from the original on November 3, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ "NASL Releases Statement on San Antonio Scorpions". nasl.com. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  12. ^ "Alen Marcina Named First Head Coach In Rayo OKC History". nasl.com. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  13. ^ "NASL Suspends Operation Of Atlanta Silverbacks". nasl.com. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  14. ^ "Alen Marcina Steps Down, Gerard Nus Named Rayo OKC Head Coach". Rayo OKC. Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  15. ^ "Armada FC Parts Ways With Head Coach/Technical Director Tony Meola, Assistant Coach Jim Rooney". Jacksonville Armada FC. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  16. ^ "NASL ANNOUNCES SCHEDULING DETAILS FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS". NASL.com. October 12, 2016.
  17. ^ a b "2016 NASL statistics". Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  18. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH RailHawks Midfielder Austin Da Luz". NASL. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  19. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH Eddies Defender Papé Diakité". NASL. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  20. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH Indy Forward Eamon Zayed". NASL. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  21. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH Minnesota forward Christian Ramirez". NASL. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  22. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH FC Edmonton's Matt VanOekel". NASL. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  23. ^ "PLAYER OF THE MONTH Miami forward Dario Cvitanich". NASL. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  24. ^ "New York Cosmos Midfielder Juan Arango Wins 2016 NASL Golden Ball". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  25. ^ "Minnesota United Forward Christian Ramirez Wins NASL Golden Boot Award". North American Soccer League. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  26. ^ "FC Edmonton Goalkeeper Matt VanOekel Wins NASL Golen Glove". North American Soccer League. November 7, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  27. ^ "Indy Elevens Tim Hankinson Named 2016 NASL Coach of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  28. ^ "Indy Eleven Forward Duke Lacroix's Individual Effort Earns 2016 Goal of the Year". nasl.com. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  29. ^ "FC Edmonton Defender Papé Diakité Named 2016 NASL Young Player of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  30. ^ "Miami FC Midfielder Michael Lahoud Named NASL Humanitarian of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 8, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  31. ^ "Carolina RailHawks Earn 2016 NASL Fair Play Award". North American Soccer League. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  32. ^ "North American Soccer League Announces 2016 Best XI". North American Soccer League. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.

External links[edit]

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