The 1996 USISL Premier League season was its second. The season began in April 1996 and ended in August 1996.
Quick Facts Season ...
USISL Premier LeagueSeason | 1996 |
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Central Coast Roadrunners won the championship, defeating the San Francisco Bay Seals 3–2. Spokane Shadow won the regular season title, winning 14 games to 2 losses.
New teams
12 teams were added for the season.
More information Team, Area ...
Team |
Area |
Location |
Previous affiliation |
Bellingham Orcas |
Northwest Washington area |
Bellingham, WA |
expansion |
Central Coast Roadrunners |
Central West Coast area |
San Luis Obispo, CA |
expansion |
Florida Strikers |
Greater Miami area |
Fort Lauderdale, FL |
from USISL Pro |
Lexington Bluegrass Bandits |
Lexington area |
Lexington, KY |
from USISL Pro |
Miami Tango |
Greater Miami area |
Miami, FL |
expansion |
Mid-Michigan Bucks |
Flint/Tri-Cities area |
Saginaw, MI |
expansion |
Omaha Flames |
Omaha-Council Bluffs area |
Omaha, NE |
expansion |
San Diego Top Guns |
San Diego area |
San Diego, CA |
from USISL Pro |
Southern California Gunners |
Inland Empire area |
San Bernardino, CA |
expansion |
Spokane Shadow |
Spokane area |
Spokane, WA |
expansion |
West Florida Fury |
Emerald Coast area |
Pensacola, FL |
expansion |
Willamette Valley Firebirds |
Corvallis area |
Corvallis, OR |
former Portland Firebirds of the USISL Pro League |
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Teams leaving
Five teams folded after the 1995 season:
Central Conference
Northern Division
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Detroit, Kalamazoo, Lexington, and Michigan were all penalized 3 points.
Grand Rapids did not have a home stadium this year, and played only road games.
Southern Division
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The game between Sioux City and Wichita was postponed and could not be rescheduled before end of the season. The game was cancelled because it had no effect on the playoffs.
Sioux City was penalized 6 points.
Eastern Conference
Northern Division
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Jackson was penalized 3 points.
Nashville was penalized 6 points.
Southern Division
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Cocoa, Florida, and Orlando were all penalized 3 points.
Western Conference
Northern Division
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Colorado Springs and Spokane were both penalized 3 points.
Southern Division
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Central Coast and San Diego were both penalized 3 points
Central Coast received a bye to the PDL Semifinals as the defending champion.
The top four teams from every division except the Southwest earn playoff spots. With Central Coast already receiving a bye, the top two teams from the Southwest Division will play each other, however if Central Coast is in the top two, then the third place team receives a playoff spot. The Division winners would then face each other in the Conference finals.
Central Conference Playoffs
More information Michigan Madness, 2–3 (OT) ...
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More information Kalamazoo Kingdom, 4–5 (a.e.t.) ...
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More information Lexington Bluegrass Bandits, 0–1 (OT) ...
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More information Austin Lone Stars, 1–0 (OT) ...
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More information Omaha Flames, 3–1 ...
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More information Omaha Flames, 3–2 (OT) ...
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Eastern Conference Playoffs
More information Roanoke River Dawgs, 1–2 (OT) ...
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More information West Florida Fury, 3–4 (a.e.t.) ...
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More information Florida Strikers, 0–1 ...
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More information Jackson Chargers, 3–2 (OT) ...
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Western Conference Playoffs
More information San Diego Top Guns, 3–1 ...
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More information Central Coast Roadrunners, 7–0 ...
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More information Central Coast Roadrunners, 3–2 ...
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More information Spokane Shadow, 2–1 ...
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More information San Francisco Bay Seals, 2–1 ...
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More information Spokane Shadow, 2–3 ...
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Six teams entered the Premier Six Tournament in Cocoa, Florida the weekend of August 16–18. Each of the five division playoff champions qualified for the tournament, along with the host Cocoa Expos. The teams were seeded in this order, based on their regular season points:
- 1. Central Coast Roadrunners
- 2. San Francisco Bay Seals
- 3. Cocoa Expos
- 4. Omaha Flames
- 5. Jackson Chargers
- 6. Mid-Michigan Bucks.
The Central Coast Roadrunners played the bottom two seeds (Jackson and Mid-Michigan). The San Francisco Seals played the #4 and #6 seeds (Omaha and Mid-Michigan). The Cocoa Expos played and #4 and #5 seeds (Omaha and Jackson).
Qualification to the finals
In order to determine the two teams to qualify for the finals, the league used the following point system during the Premier Six Tournament:
- Win = 3 points
- Shootout win = 2 points
- Shootout loss = 1 point
- Bonus points: Each team scoring three or more goals in regulation or overtime received one extra point.
More information Place, Team ...
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Friday
More information San Francisco Bay Seals (CA), 2-2 OT ...
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More information Central Coast Roadrunners (CA), 3-0 ...
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More information Cocoa Expos (FL), 0-1 ...
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Saturday
More information Central Coast Roadrunners (CA), 2-1 OT ...
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More information San Francisco Bay Seals (CA), 4-0 ...
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More information Cocoa Expos (FL), 4-1 ...
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More information Central Coast Roadrunners (CA), 1-0 ...
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