1989 National Pro Soccer Championship was the championship final for professional soccer in the U.S. in 1989. The match was contested on September 9, 1989. The WSL Champion,

San Diego Nomads Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club. History The Nomads wer ...

took on the ASL Champion,

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

in order to crown a national professional champion for the first time since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. The game was played at Spartan Stadium in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

The match-up

By most accounts it was considered a ''David vs Goliath'' match-up from the start. Fort Lauderdale was a fully professional squad with a mix of mostly international players. Several were former NASL all-stars, including 1982 goal scoring champion,

Ricardo Alonso Ricardo Alonso was a soccer player who began as a forward before moving to defender later in his career. Alonso spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League, four in Major Indoor Soccer League, at least three in the American Indoor Socc ...

. ASL teams allowed players with green card work status to count as US roster members. Conversely, San Diego was a defense-first, semi-pro team loaded with home-grown amateurs that included three 17-year-old, high schoolers. WSL teams were limited to a maximum of two non-US citizens per team on the field at any time. To make matters worse for the Nomads, because of late date of the match, NCAA rules prohibited six players, including

USMNT The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

defender

Marcelo Balboa Marcelo Balboa (born August 8, 1967) is an American former professional soccer who played as a defender in the 1990s for the United States national team, becoming its captain. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. After retirin ...

and starting goalie

Anton Nistl Anton Nistl is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper. He was the 1989 ISAA Goalkeeper of the Year and spent three seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance and one in the American Professional Soccer League. College Nistl attended UCLA where he played ...

from participating. Two loaners from the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

champion,

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

were also ruled out because the injury-conscious Sockers organization felt the match was too close to the start of the new MISL season. This left the Nomads scrambling to fill in all of the holes, particularly at the back.

Background

San Diego Nomads

The

qualified for the playoffs by virtue of winning the WSL South Division with 99 points. The point total also earned them the top seed and the right to host all WSL playoff rounds. The Nomads reached the league finals for third consecutive year by defeating the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

on July 23 in the semifinal match, 2–1. Three weeks later they dispatched the

San Francisco Bay Blackhawks San Francisco Bay Blackhawks were a professional soccer team which came into existence in 1989 as a team in the Western Soccer League (WSL). The Blackhawks spent time in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and the United States Interr ...

, 1–0, in the WSL finals, to claim their second WSL title in three years, and advance to the national championship game.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

The

qualified for the playoffs by virtue of a second place finish in the ASL Southern Division with 35 points. The point total earned them the number four seed. The Strikers upset the number one seeded Washington Stars in the semifinals, sweeping both matches on August 12 and 13 to advance to their second straight ASL finals. The following week they needed the 30-minute, mini-game tie breaker to beat the Boston Bolts, 2 matches to 1, in the championship finals, to claim the ASL title. The victory earned them the right to play the San Diego Nomads on September 9.

Game summary

Recap

The first half was one of end-to-end action, but also of missed opportunities, especially for San Diego. Despite the long odds, the Nomads repeatedly used the speed of their youthful squad to exploit their older opponents. At the 2:18 mark, Paul Wright had a sure goal headed off the line by Strikers captain

Victor Moreland Victor "Vic" Moreland (born 15 June 1957 in Belfast) is a retired professional footballer from Northern Ireland who began his career in Northern Ireland, spent two seasons in the Football League before moving to the United States. He then played ...

. The Nomads were repeatedly stopped in one-on-one looks at goal by USMNT veteran,

Arnie Mausser Arnold "Arnie" Mausser (born February 28, 1954) is an American former soccer goalkeeper who played with eight different NASL teams from 1975 to 1984. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Mausser may be considered one of the fines ...

. In 20th minute

Rene Ortiz Rene Ortiz (born April 23, 1969 in Anaheim, California) is a retired Mexican-American soccer player. He spent most of his playing career in indoor soccer with two seasons in the Western Soccer Alliance and one season in Major League Soccer. He cu ...

broke free, but was denied. Wright missed two more chances 22nd and 28th minute respectively. Ortiz and

Jerome Watson Jerome Watson (born September 28, 1974) is an American former U.S. soccer forward who spent time in the Western Soccer Alliance, American Professional Soccer League and A-League. Watson grew up in San Diego, California and attended La Jolla High ...

also missed other opportunities to give San Diego an early lead. In all, Mausser and Nomads goalie

Jeff Duback Jeff Duback is a retired U.S. soccer goalkeeper who played in the Western Soccer Alliance, American Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League. He also earned four caps with the United States men's national soccer team. Youth Duback ...

combined for 14 first-half saves. The match remained scoreless until the 74th minute when Watson scored from 8 yards for San Diego, by volleying in Thien Nguyen's free kick from the edge of the penalty area. Just over a minute later, forward

Eric Eichmann Eric Eichmann (born May 7, 1965) is an American former soccer player. He played professionally in Germany and the United States and later served as an assistant coach with the Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer. He also earned 29 caps and scor ...

leveled the match on a rebound shot from 18 yards for the Strikers. Ortiz narrowly missed returning San Diego to lead, as his 80th minute shot blew just wide of the far post from a tough angle. Ten minutes later

Troy Edwards Troy Edwards (born April 7, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for Louisiana Tech University, became o ...

put Fort Lauderdale ahead to stay thanks to a spectacular

Marcelo Carrera Marcelo Carrera (born 1 October 1962) is an Argentine retired footballer who played both indoor and outdoor soccer in the United States for the nearly a dozen teams. Player Carrera began his professional career when he signed with Once Unidos at ...

bicycle kick assist in the 85th minute. With the Nomads pressing to equalize, Carrera then notched a goal of his own in the 90th minute on an assist from Victor Moreland. For his efforts, Carrera earned

man-of-the-match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

honors. Fort Lauderdale players and coaches alike acknowledged the Nomads' speed advantage in post-match interviews. Likewise, San Diego players acknowledged their veteran opponents' composure in the face constant pressure. The game was televised live by

Pacific Sports Network NBC Sports Bay Area (sometimes abbreviated as NBCS Bay Area) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and the San Francisco Giants, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquart ...

with

JP Dellacamera John Paul "JP" Dellacamera (born January 11, 1952) is an American play-by-play sportscaster primarily for Major League Soccer with the Philadelphia Union, as well as major soccer tournaments and ice hockey. Commentary career Soccer In the 1980 ...

doing play-by-play, and

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

on color commentary. It was also broadcast in several other television markets on a tape-delayed basis.

Championship results

1989 U.S. Professional Soccer Champions:

Television:

''(live)'', and

Prime Ticket Prime Ticket may refer to: * Bally Sports West, a regional sports network that was known as Prime Ticket from 1985 to 1995 * Bally Sports SoCal Bally Sports SoCal is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint v ...

''(tape delayed)''
Announcers:

Statistics

References

External links

AMERICAN SOCCER LEAGUE III (RSSSF)

official match program
{{Football (soccer) chronology 1989 in American soccer 1989 in American soccer leagues 1989 in sports in California Soccer in California Sports in San Jose, California Soccer in Florida