The 1986–87 American Indoor Soccer Association season was the third season of the league. The Columbus Capitals and Kalamazoo Kangaroos did not return after the 1985–86 season. Four teams, including former NASL stalwarts,

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

, joined the league in 1986–87. The Fort Wayne Flames,

Memphis Storm The Memphis Storm was an American soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee which existed from 1986 to 1994. They underwent several names changes including the Rogues, the Survivors, the United Express and finally the Jackals. They played in the A ...

and Toledo Pride were all newly formed expansion teams. The addition of Tampa Bay in particular, and Memphis to a lesser degree, marked the AISA's first clubs outside of the Midwest.

Rudy Pikuzinski Rudy Pikuzinski (born August 9, 1959) is a former U.S. soccer forward who spent most of his career playing indoor soccer. He was a three time American Indoor Soccer Association MVP and served as an assistant coach his last year as a player. Yo ...

of Canton won the league scoring title en route to his first of three straight MVP awards, while Memphis boss Terry Nicholl took home Coach of the Year honors. Just as in previous AISA seasons, Canton and Louisville proved to be the class of the league and faced each other in the finals for a third straight year. For the first time the championship series went the full five games, and in a clash of titans, the Thunder finally bested their rivals, three games to two. Alas, the Thunder's glory would be short lived, as Game 5 proved to be their final match ever. Ownership, no longer able to bear the financial losses, opted to shut the team down instead trying to defend their crown for 1987–88.

League standings

Northern Division

Southern Division

All-Star Game

On February 21 the Louisville Thunder hosted the AISA All-Star Game. Instead of using the Thunder's home field of Broadbent Arena at the state fairgrounds, the match was played at the more intimate

Louisville Gardens Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000-seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory. It celebrated its 100th anniversary as former city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years ...

in downtown Louisville. In a departure from the previous season, both squads were composed of mixed rosters. In the past, the host team had faced all-stars from the rest of the league's teams. The Northern Division all-stars wore blue jerseys, while the Southern squad wore grey. Players on the winning side each received a $100 bonus. The Northern Division squad defeated their Southern counterparts by a score of 7–5. Louisville forward Zoran Savic (1 goal, 2 assists) and Canton goalie, Jamie Swanner (11 saves, 2 goals given), were named the game's offensive and defensive MVPs respectively. Although neither game would come to pass, it was also announced that the 1988 All-Star game would be hosted by Tampa Bay, with the 1989 game being awarded to Milwaukee.

Southern Division roster

*Coach: Terry Nicholl, Memphis ''*Original selection Rubén Astigarraga of Tampa Bay was unable to play and was replaced by teammate Tim Walters.''

Northern Division roster

*Coach:

Trevor Dawkins Trevor Dawkins (born 7 October 1945) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He spent seven seasons in the Football League, five in South Africa, and seven in the United States, most in indoor league ...

, Canton

Match report

Playoffs

League leaders

Scoring

Goalkeeping

League awards

*Most Valuable Player:

, Canton *Coach of the Year: Terry Nicholl, Memphis *Defender of the Year: Tim Tyma, Canton *Goalkeeper of the Year: Jamie Swanner, Canton *Rookie of the Year: Paul Zimmerman, Chicago

All-AISA teams

References

External links

Major Indoor Soccer League II (RSSSF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Professional Soccer League 1986-87 1986 in American soccer leagues 1987 in American soccer leagues 1986-87