1985–86 American Indoor Soccer Association season
The 1985–86 American Indoor Soccer Association season was the second season for the league. The only change in teams from the inaugural season was that Chicago changed its name from the Vultures to the Shoccers. Zoran Savic of Louisville won the scoring title, but Canton’s Kia Zolgharnain netted the most goals with 52. League assists leader, Don Tobin, also of Canton was voted MVP, while his coach Trevor Dawkins took home Coach of the Year honors.
| Season | 1985–86 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Canton Invaders 2nd title |
| Matches played | 120 |
| Goals scored | 1,255 (10.46 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kia Zolgharnain (52) |
← 1984–85 1986–87 → | |
Canton and Louisville finished top of the table, well ahead the rest of the league. Both swept their semifinal opponents, to again face each other in the finals. In the championship round, the Thunder proved to be no match for the Invaders and were themselves swept in three games.[1]
League Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canton Invaders | 40 | 33 | 7 | 243 | 149 | +94 | .825 | — |
| 2 | Louisville Thunder | 40 | 31 | 9 | 251 | 185 | +66 | .775 | 2 |
| 3 | Kalamazoo Kangaroos | 40 | 17 | 23 | 176 | 179 | −3 | .425 | 16 |
| 4 | Chicago Shoccers | 40 | 15 | 25 | 196 | 225 | −29 | .375 | 18 |
| 5 | Columbus Capitals | 40 | 13 | 27 | 200 | 270 | −70 | .325 | 20 |
| 6 | Milwaukee Wave | 40 | 11 | 29 | 189 | 247 | −58 | .275 | 22 |
All-Star Game
On February 5 the defending champion, Canton Invaders, hosted the first ever AISA All-Star Game at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. The Invaders faced a team of all-stars from the rest of the league’s teams. This gave the hosts a distinct advantage, because unlike their opponent, they had been playing together all season. This was never more evident than in the fact that Canton scored the final seven goals of the match to pull away, 9–4. Canton forward Ian Anderson (1 goal, 2 assists) was named the game’s MVP.[2] Additionally the league announced that Toledo would join the league next season along with three to five others teams.[3][4]
All-Star selections
- Head Coach: Keith Tozer, Louisville[5]
- Asst. Coach: Chris Bartels, Kalamazoo
| Starters | Pos | Reserves |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Petroni, Kalamazoo | G | Rick Schweizer, Louisville |
| Hayden Knight, Chicago Tom Alioto, Louisville |
D | Keith Tozer, Louisville Dave Huson, Chicago Paul Kato, Kalamazoo |
| Rubén Astigarraga, Columbus | M | Peter Knezic, Milwaukee Lesh Shkreli, Columbus Neil Ridgeway, Kalamazoo |
| Zoran Savic, Louisville Ross Ongaro, Milwaukee |
F | Gary Amlong, Louisville Gerald Celestin, Columbus Janusz Kieca, Chicago |
Canton Invaders’ All-Stars
The following Canton players were also selected by their peers as all-stars, but because of the match format, played for the host team.[6]
| Pos | Player |
|---|---|
| G | Bill Naumovski, Canton |
| D | Oscar Pisano, Canton |
| D | Walt Schlothauer, Canton |
| M | Don Tobin, Canton |
| F | Kia Zolgharnain, Canton |
| F | Art Kramer, Canton |
Match report
| Canton Invaders | 9–4 | AISA All-Stars |
|---|---|---|
|
[7] |
Playoffs
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Canton Invaders | 14 | 5 | 3 | – | – | |||||||||||
| 4 | Chicago Shoccers | 7 | 3 | 2 | – | – | |||||||||||
| 1 | Canton Invaders | 6 | 7 | 10 | – | – | |||||||||||
| 2 | Louisville Thunder | 3 | 3 | 5 | – | – | |||||||||||
| 2 | Louisville Thunder | 2 | 4 | 4 | – | – | |||||||||||
| 3 | Kalamazoo Kangaroos | 1 | 3 | 3 | – | – | |||||||||||
League Leaders
Scoring
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoran Savic | Canton | 40 | 51 | 30 | 81 |
| Ross Ongaro | Milwaukee | 40 | 40 | 33 | 73 |
| Kia Zolgharnain | Canton | 37 | 52 | 15 | 67 |
| Peter Knezic | Milwaukee | 38 | 31 | 31 | 62 |
| Chris Hellenkamp | Louisville | 38 | 37 | 24 | 61 |
| Ted Powers | Kalamazoo | 40 | 42 | 17 | 59 |
| Lesh Shkreli | Columbus | 40 | 29 | 30 | 59 |
| Don Tobin | Canton | 30 | 19 | 39 | 58 |
| Art Kramer | Canton | 35 | 33 | 24 | 57 |
| Mike Fall | Louisville | 38 | 18 | 38 | 56 |
Goalkeeping
| Player | Team | GP | Min | SA | SV | GA | GAA | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Swanner | Canton | 25 | 1485 | 785 | 407 | 88 | 3.55 | 20 | 3 |
| Bill Naumovski | Canton | 16 | 971 | 418 | 217 | 59 | 3.64 | 13 | 3 |
| A. J. Lachowecki | Louisville | 16 | 881 | 462 | 230 | 57 | 3.88 | 12 | 3 |
| Victor Petroni | Kalamazoo | 33 | 1979 | 1075 | 606 | 135 | 4.09 | 14 | 8 |
| Jose Garcia | Chicago | 22 | 1085 | 620 | 345 | 86 | 4.75 | 8 | 12 |
League awards
- Most Valuable Player: Don Tobin, Canton
- Coach of the Year: Trevor Dawkins, Canton
- Defender of the Year: Oscar Pisano, Canton
- Goalkeeper of the Year: Victor Petroni, Kalamazoo
- Rookie of the Year: Jamie Swanner, Canton
All-AISA Teams
| First Team | Pos | Second Team |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Petroni, Kalamazoo | G | Jamie Swanner, Canton |
| Tim Tyma, Canton | D | Martin Rincon, Chicago |
| Oscar Pisano, Canton | D | Saeed Bakhtiari, Louisville |
| Don Tobin, Canton | M | Peter Knezic, Milwaukee |
| Zoran Savic, Louisville | F | Chris Hellenkamp, Louisville |
| Kia Zolgharnain, Canton | F | Ross Ongaro, Milwaukee |
References
- Younkin, Lou (April 26, 1986). "Invaders' rally ends Thunder's hopes, 10-5". The Courier-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
- Pluto, Terry (February 6, 1986). "Invaders give rest of league a hard time". Akron Beacon Journal. p. B1. Retrieved June 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- "Thunder players to lead AISA All-Stars". The Courier Journal. February 5, 1986. p. D2. Retrieved June 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- "Canton beat All-Stars; AISA expands". The Courier Journal. February 6, 1986. p. C4. Retrieved June 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- "1985-86 AISA All-Star team". Chicago Tribune. February 5, 1986. p. D6. Retrieved June 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- "AISA to announce expansion club". Akron Beacon Journal. February 5, 1986. p. C1. Retrieved June 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- "CANTON 9, AISA ALL-STARS 4". Milwaukee Sentinel. February 6, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2022 – via NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.