1995 USISL Premier League season

The 1995 USISL Premier League season was the 1st season of the new "fourth level" of American soccer following the re-organization of the old United States Interregional Soccer League at the end of 1994. The season began in April 1995 and ended in August 1995.

USISL Premier League
Season1995
1996 →

Richmond Kickers finished the season as national champions, beating Cocoa Expos 3–1 in the USISL Premier League Championship game. San Francisco All-Blacks United finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 17 out of their 18 games, suffering just one loss, and finishing with a +42 goal difference.

The USISL Premier League format in 1995 was notable for not having tied games; instead, teams competed in a penalty shoot-out to decide a winner, with bonus points awarded as appropriate.

Teams

27 teams started the league this year. They all played in the USISL the year before, with the exception of six new teams.

Team Name Metro Area Location Notes
Michigan Ann Arbor Elites Detroit Metro area Ann Arbor, MI expansion team
Arizona Arizona Cotton Phoenix area Glendale, AZ
Arkansas Arkansas A’s Little Rock area Sherwood, AR
Texas Austin Lone Stars Austin, Texas Austin, TX
Alabama Birmingham Grasshoppers Birmingham area Birmingham, AL
Florida Cocoa Expos Space Coast area Cocoa, FL
Colorado Colorado Springs Stampede Colorado Springs area Colorado Springs, CO expansion team
South Carolina Columbia Heat Columbia area Columbia, SC
Iowa Des Moines Menace Des Moines area Des Moines, IA
Michigan Grand Rapids Explosion Grand Rapids area Grand Rapids, MI expansion team
California Inland Empire Panteras Inland Empire area San Bernardino, CA expansion team
Mississippi Jackson Chargers Jackson area Jackson, MS expansion team
California Montclair Standard Falcons Inland Empire area Montclair, CA
Tennessee Nashville Metros Nashville area Nashville, TN
California North Bay Breakers North Bay area Santa Rosa, CA
Oklahoma Oklahoma City Slickers Oklahoma City area Oklahoma City, OK
Florida Orlando Lions Central Florida area Orlando, FL
Washington (state) Puget Sound Hammers Puget Sound area Tacoma, WA expansion team
Virginia Richmond Kickers Richmond area Richmond, VA
Virginia Roanoke River Dawgs Roanoke area Roanoke, VA
California San Francisco All-Blacks United San Francisco area San Francisco, CA
California Shasta Scorchers Sacramento Valley area Redding, CA
Iowa Sioux City Breeze Sioux City area Sioux City, IA
Florida South Florida Future Gold Coast area Boca Raton, FL previously the South Florida Flamingos
Arizona Tucson Amigos Tucson area Tucson, AZ
Washington, D.C. Washington Mustangs National Capital area Washington, DC
Kansas Wichita Blue Wichita area Wichita, KS

Standings

Eastern Division
Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD BP Pts Qualification
1 Cocoa Expos 18 16 2 62 20 +42 42 138 Division champion
2 Richmond Kickers 18 15 3 47 21 +26 38 128 Qualified for playoff berth
3 Nashville Metros 18 12 6 47 34 +13 41 113
4 Jackson Chargers 18 13 5 43 26 +17 31 109
5 Birmingham Grasshoppers 18 10 8 45 46 −1 37 97
6 Washington Mustangs 18 7 11 30 42 −12 31 73
7 Roanoke River Dawgs 18 5 13 40 51 −11 29 59
8 Orlando Lions 18 4 14 41 63 −22 27 51
9 Columbia Heat 18 4 14 30 47 −17 21 45
10 South Florida Future 16 3 13 15 44 −29 16 34
Source: rsssf.com

Central Division
Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD BP Pts Qualification
1 Sioux City Breeze 18 11 7 55 37 +18 35 101 Division champion
2 Austin Lone Stars 18 10 8 57 30 +27 38 98 Qualified for playoff berth
3 Des Moines Menace 18 10 8 53 37 +16 37 97
4 Oklahoma City Slickers 18 7 11 28 51 −23 25 67
5 Wichita Blue 18 6 12 32 63 −31 29 65
6 Grand Rapids Explosion 18 3 15 30 71 −41 27 45
7 Ann Arbor Elites 18 4 14 22 54 −32 18 42
8 Arkansas A's 18 2 16 17 67 −50 17 29
Source: rsssf.com

Western Division
Pos Team Pld W L GF GA GD BP Pts Qualification
1 San Francisco All-Blacks United 18 17 1 46 24 +22 40 142 Division champion
2 Tucson Amigos 18 12 6 38 26 +12 30 102 Qualified for playoff berth
3 Colorado Springs Stampede 18 11 7 49 28 +21 36 102
4 North Bay Breakers 18 10 8 40 40 0 36 96
5 Puget Sound Hammers 18 10 8 35 28 +7 30 90
6 Arizona Cotton 18 7 11 35 50 −15 28 70
7 Montclair Falcons 18 6 12 29 42 −13 22 58
8 Inland Empire Panteras 18 5 13 24 56 −32 23 53
9 Shasta Scorchers 18 1 17 21 73 −52 20 26
Source: rsssf.com

Playoffs
Eastern Semifinals Eastern Finals
      
E1 FloridaCocoa Expos 3
E4 Mississippi Jackson Chargers 1
E1 Florida Cocoa Expos 3
E3 Alabama Birmingham Grasshoppers 1
E2 Tennessee Nashville Metros 2
E3 Alabama Birmingham Grasshoppers 3
Eastern Division Playoffs
Semifinals
Cocoa Expos3–1Jackson Chargers
  • Gill
  • Enders
  • Breslin
Report
  • Carver
Semifinals
Birmingham Grasshoppers3–2 (a.e.t.)Nashville Metros
Third Place Game
Nashville Metros4–3 (a.e.t.)Jackson Chargers
Division Final
Birmingham Grasshoppers1–3Cocoa Expos
Central Semifinals Central Finals
      
C1 Iowa Sioux City Breeze 7
C4 Oklahoma Oklahoma City Slickers 0
C1 Iowa Sioux City Breeze 0
C3 Iowa Des Moines Menace 1
C2 Texas Austin Lone Stars 2
C3 Iowa Des Moines Menace 3
Central Division Playoffs
Semifinals
Sioux City Breeze7–0Oklahoma City Slickers
  • Markham 0:19', 7:49', 52:11'
  • Adams 6', 29:15', 52:23'
  • Neiroda 52:35'
 Report
Semifinals
Des Moines Menace3–2 (a.e.t.)Austin Lone Stars
 Report
  • Presley 24:10'
  • Talley 89:38'
Third Place Game
Austin Lone Stars4–1Oklahoma City Slickers
Report
Division Final
Des Moines Menace1–0Sioux City Breeze
  • Crauer 17:18'
 Report
Attendance: 669
Western Semifinals Western Finals
      
W1 California San Francisco All-Blacks United 6
W2 Arizona Tucson Amigos 2
W1 California San Francisco All-Blacks United 1
W3 Colorado Colorado Springs Stampede 0
W3 Colorado Colorado Springs Stampede 2
W4 California North Bay Breakers 0
Western Division Playoffs
Semifinals
Colorado Springs Stampede2–0North Bay Breakers
Semifinals
San Francisco All-Blacks United6–2Tucson Amigos
Division Final
San Francisco All-Blacks United1–0Colorado Springs Stampede
PDL Semifinals PDL Finals
      
W1 California San Francisco All-Blacks United 0
H Virginia Richmond Kickers 1
H Virginia Richmond Kickers 3
E1 Florida Cocoa Expos 1
E1 Florida Cocoa Expos 3
C3 Iowa Des Moines Menace 1

Sizzlin' Four

Semifinals
Richmond Kickers (VA)0-0San Francisco United All Blacks (CA)
(Report)
Penalties
3-2 soccer ball with check mark Mike Carlson
soccer ball with check mark Albertin Montoya
soccer ball with red X
soccer ball with red X
soccer ball with red X
Cocoa Expos (FL)3-1Des Moines Menace (IA)

Runner-up
San Francisco United All Blacks (CA)4-1Des Moines Menace (IA)
Albertin Montoya (Report)

Final
Richmond Kickers (VA)3-1Cocoa Expos (FL)
Brian Kamler 10' 18'
Robert Ukrop 		(Report) Mark Phillips
Attendance: 5,231[1]
  • MVP: Brian Kamler

Points leaders
Rank Scorer Club GP Goals Assists Points
1 Gabe Jones Austin Lone Stars 15 20 8 48
2 Holger Schneidt Birmingham Grasshoppers 15 17 9 43
3 Jeff Dresser Grand Rapids Explosion 16 20 2 42
4 Brian Adams Sioux City Breeze 16 18 4 40
Eddie Enders Cocoa Expos 18 15 8 38
6 Toni Siikala Nashville Metros 15 15 4 34
7 Richard Sharpe Cocoa Expos 6 14 2 30
Adrian Gonzalez North Bay Breakers 16 13 0 26
8 Aaron Leventhal Des Moines Menace 15 10 4 24
9 Robert Ukrop Richmond Kickers 15 10 4 24
10 Sean Gibson Birmingham Grasshoppers ? 11 2 24

Honors
  • MVP: Robert Ukrop
  • Points leader: Gabe Jones, Austin Lone Stars (48 points)
  • Goals leader: Gabe Jones, Austin Lone Stars (20 goals)
  • Rookie of the Year: Eduardo Yoldi
  • Assist Leader: Holger Schneidt, Birmingham Grasshoppers (9 assists)
  • Goalkeeper of the Year: Alfredo Estrada
  • Coach of the Year: Blair Reed and Doug Mello
  • Organization of the Year: Richmond Kickers

References
  1. "1995 USISL Playoffs". Soccer America. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023.
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