1998 USISL D-3 Pro League

The 1998 USISL D-3 Pro League was the 12th season of third-division soccer in the United States, and was the second season of now-defunct USISL D-3 Pro League. The champions were the Chicago Stingers who beat the New Hampshire Phantoms in the final.

USISL D-3 Pro League

Season	1998
Champions	Chicago Stingers
Relegated	Central Jersey Riptide Miami Breakers NYCD Alleycats Orlando Nighthawks Vermont Voltage
← 1997 1999 →

Changes from 1996

Before the season, Western Massachusetts, Northern Virginia, and Pensacola were added. Baltimore became Eastern Shore. Dallas became Texas. Vermont became the Voltage. Miami was promoted from PDSL.

Name Changes

• Vermont Wanderers rebranded as Vermont Voltage
• Baltimore Bays rebranded as Eastern Shore Sharks
• Dallas Toros rebranded as Texas Toros

New Clubs

Team Name	Metro Area	Location	Previous Affiliation
Miami Breakers	South Florida	Miami, FL	promoted from PDSL
Northern Virginia Royals	Northern Virginia	Manassas, VA	expansion
Pensacola Barracudas	Pensacola area	Pensacola, FL	expansion
Western Mass Pioneers	Springfield area	Ludlow, MA	expansion

Folding or Moving

No teams left the league nor folded.

Teams

Head coaching changes

Season Overview

Standings

Northeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Rhode Island Stingrays	18	11	0	0	7	39	33	+6	33	USISL Divisional Semifinals
2	New Hampshire Phantoms	18	10	2	0	6	36	24	+12	32
3	Western Mass Pioneers	18	10	0	1	7	45	34	+11	30
4	Cape Cod Crusaders	18	7	0	0	11	23	28	−5	21
5	Vermont Voltage	18	2	1	1	14	15	43	−28	6[lower-alpha 1]	Relegation to the 1999 PDSL

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. 1 point deduction

Mid-Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	South Jersey Barons	18	12	0	2	4	40	20	+20	36	USISL Divisional Semifinals
2	Reading Rage	18	10	0	0	8	41	29	+12	30
3	New Jersey Stallions	18	10	0	1	7	37	24	+13	30
4	Central Jersey Riptide	18	8	3	1	6	33	19	+14	27	USISL Divisional Semifinals and relegation to the 1999 PDSL
5	NYCD Alleycats	18	5	0	0	13	19	36	−17	15	Relegation to the 1999 PDSL

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Atlantic Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Delaware Wizards	18	13	1	2	2	43	16	+27	40	USISL Divisional Finals
2	Myrtle Beach Seadawgs	18	12	1	0	5	42	26	+16	37
3	Charlotte Eagles	18	10	1	1	6	47	31	+16	31	USISL Divisional Semifinals
4	Roanoke Wrath	18	10	0	2	6	36	19	+17	30
5	South Carolina Shamrocks	18	8	1	1	8	34	32	+2	25
6	Wilmington Hammerheads	18	8	0	0	10	33	34	−1	24
7	Northern Virginia Royals	18	5	1	0	12	28	46	−18	16
8	Eastern Shore Sharks	18	0	0	0	18	16	90	−74	0

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Southeast Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Miami Breakers	18	17	0	0	1	67	21	+46	51
2	Orlando Nighthawks	18	12	0	0	6	62	33	+29	36
3	Southwest Florida Manatees	18	8	0	1	9	34	57	−23	24
4	Pensacola Barracudas	18	4	1	1	12	21	57	−36	13
5	Tallahassee Tempest	18	2	0	0	16	12	41	−29	6

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

North Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Indiana Blast	18	15	0	0	3	57	24	+33	45
2	Chicago Stingers	18	13	0	1	4	37	16	+21	39
3	Rockford Raptors	28	9	1	2	16	31	25	+6	28
4	Cleveland Caps	18	9	1	0	8	33	41	−8	28

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

South Central Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Austin Lone Stars	18	13	0	1	4	46	20	+26	39
2	Texas Toros	18	12	1	0	5	44	24	+20	37
3	San Antonio Pumas	17	7	0	0	10	26	44	−18	21
4	Tulsa Roughnecks	18	6	1	0	11	33	44	−11	16[lower-alpha 1]
5	Houston Hurricanes	17	4	2	2	9	25	36	−11	14
6	Shreveport/Bossier Lions	18	4	0	0	14	24	50	−26	6[lower-alpha 2]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. 3 point deduction
2. 6 point deduction

West Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	SW	SL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arizona Sahuaros	18	14	0	0	4	67	28	+39	42
2	Chico Rooks	18	10	1	2	5	39	28	+11	31
3	Stanislaus County Cruisers	18	12	1	0	5	51	25	+26	37
4	Los Angeles Fireballs	18	5	1	1	11	21	37	−16	16
5	San Fernando Valley Golden Eagles	18	5	0	1	12	29	51	−22	15
6	Reno Rattlers	18	3	1	0	14	23	52	−29	10

Source: ^[1]

Playoffs

Divisional Semifinals

Higher seed/home team on the left.

Texas Toros v San Antonio Pumas

August 1, 1998	Texas Toros	1–0	San Antonio Pumas	Duncanville, Texas
				Stadium: Old Panther Field

Austin Lone Stars v Houston Hurricanes

August 1, 1998	Austin Lone Stars	4–2	Houston Hurricanes	Austin, Texas
	Pearce 38' Johnson 26:45', 62:34' Willmann 77:20'		Gongora 52:05', 62:34'	Stadium: House Park

Roanoke Wrath v South Carolina Shamrocks

August 14, 1998	Roanoke Wrath	5–2	South Carolina Shamrocks	Roanoke, Virginia
7:30 PM	Spooner 45' McSorley 45' Mcgovein		Lee-Yaw 28' Lebal	Stadium: Victory Stadium

Chicago Stingers v Rockford Raptors

August 14, 1998	Chicago Stingers	3–0	Rockford Raptors	Arlington Heights, Illinois
	Dunne 37' Hamnett 84', 90'	Report		Stadium: Forest View Park

Rhode Island Stingrays v Cape Cod Crusaders

August 15, 1998	Rhode Island Stingrays	5–2	Cape Cod Crusaders	East Providence, Rhode Island
7:00 PM				Stadium: Pierce Memorial Field

New Hampshire Phantoms v Western Mass Pioneers

August 15, 1998	New Hampshire Phantoms	2–1 (OT) (a.e.t.)	Western Mass Pioneers	Manchester, New Hampshire
				Stadium: Singer Family Park

South Jersey Barons v Central Jersey Riptide

August 15, 1998	South Jersey Barons	2–3 (OT) (a.e.t.)	Central Jersey Riptide	Ocean City, New Jersey
5:00 PM	Payne 2', 50' Miles	Report	Echeverry 55', 90' (pen.) Kalonji 92:20'	Stadium: Carey Stadium Attendance: 1,168 Referee: Matt Lawlor

Reading Rage v New Jersey Stallions

August 15, 1998	Reading Rage	5–2	New Jersey Stallions	Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
				Stadium: Fleetwood H.S. Stadium

Charlotte Eagles v Wilmington Hammerheads

August 15, 1998	Charlotte Eagles	4–0	Wilmington Hammerheads	Davidson, North Carolina
	Leib 9' Payne 42' Wellington 49' Webb	Report		Stadium: Richardson Stadium

Orlando Nighthawks v Southwest Florida Manatees

August 15, 1998	Orlando Nighthawks	6–2	Southwest Florida Manatees	Orlando, Florida
		Report		Stadium: Edgewater H.S. Stadium

Arizona Sahuaros v Los Angeles Fireballs

August 15, 1998	Arizona Sahuaros	3–0	Los Angeles Fireballs	Scottsdale, Arizona
	Muth 47' Calvo 75' Wright 79'	Report		Stadium: Scottsdale Stadium Attendance: 1,723

Stanislaus County Cruisers v Chico Rooks

August 15, 1998	Stanislaus County Cruisers	3–2	Chico Rooks	Modesto, California
	Cox 49' Owen 66' Nowacki 79' Pepe		Stuart  22'  Ternero 59' Hurd 76'	Stadium: Central Catholic High School Attendance: 2,140

Division Finals

• Austin defeated Texas 1-0
• Charlotte defeated Myrtle Beach, 8-3
• Delaware defeated Roanoke, 2-1
• New Hampshire defeated Rhode Island, 3-2
• Chicago defeated Indiana, 3-0
• Central Jersey defeated Reading, 3-0
• Arizona defeated Stanislaus County 2-1

Austin Lone Stars	1–0	Texas Toros
Jones 79'	Report

South Central Division Final

August 8, 1998

7:30 PM

House Park, Austin, Texas

---

Myrtle Beach Seadawgs	3–8	Charlotte Eagles
Walker 45' Eason 60:50', 63'	Report	Wellington 35', 53', 53', 75' Payne 39', 60' Swincharr 39' Sorzano 79:30'

Atlantic Division Final 1

August 20, 1998

7:30 PM

Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

---

Indiana Blast	0–3	Chicago Stingers
	Report	Carver 43:35' Richardson 68:50' Acres 83:50'

North Central Division Final

August 21, 1998

7:30 PM CDT

Kuntz Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana

Attendance: 3,218

---

Miami Breakers	0–1	Orlando Nighthawks
Storm  1'  33'	Report	Froehle 82' Elsherbini  89'

Southeast Division Final

August 22, 1998

7:30 PM

Flamingo Park Memorial Stadium, Miami Beach, Florida

---

Reading Rage	0–3	Central Jersey Riptide
	Report	Echeverry 0:45', 71' Kalonji 68'

Mid-Atlantic Division Final

August 22, 1998

7:30 PM

Central Catholic High School Stadium, Reading, Pennsylvania

---

Delaware Wizards	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Roanoke Wrath
Quinter 86'		Prillaman 74'
Penalties
Walker Hicks Ovalle	3–2	McSorley

Atlantic Division Final 2

August 22, 1998

7:30 PM

Randy White Alumni Field, New Castle, Delaware

Referee: Craig Lowery

---

Rhode Island Stingrays	2–3	New Hampshire Phantoms

Northeast Division Final

August 22, 1998

7:30 PM

Pierce Memorial Field, East Providence, Rhode Island

---

Arizona Sahuaros	2–1	Stanislaus County Cruisers
Pogman 59' Calvo 85'	Report	Cox 79'

West Division Final

August 22, 1998

7:30 PM

Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale, Arizona

Attendance: 1,000

Quarterfinals/Regional Finals

• New Hampshire defeated Central Jersey, 3-0
• Chicago defeated Delaware 1-0
• Orlando defeated Charlotte, 3-2
• Austin defeated Arizona 1-0

Arizona Sahuaros	0–1	Austin Lone Stars
		Jones 65'

August 28, 1998

Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale, Arizona

---

Chicago Stingers	1–0	Delaware Wizards
Carver	Report

August 29, 1998

4:30 PM

Forest View Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois

Attendance: 2,029

---

Charlotte Eagles	2–3 (OT)	Orlando Nighthawks
Wellington 13', 62'	Report	Levy 19' Froehle 92'

August 29, 1998

5:30 PM

Richardson Stadium, Davidson, North Carolina

---

New Hampshire Phantoms	3–0	Central Jersey Riptide
Tapia Ogbunamiri Williams	Report

East Regional Final

August 29, 1998

7:30 PM

Owl Stadium, Keene, New Hampshire

Attendance: 3,185^[2]

Semifinals

• Chicago defeated Orlando, 2-0
• New Hampshire defeated Austin, 3-2 (OT)

Chicago Stingers	2–0	Orlando Nighthawks
Richardson 70' Stoka 89'	Report	Bresk  9'

September 12, 1998

5:30 PM CDT

Del Valle Stadium, Del Valle, Texas

---

Austin Lone Stars	2–3 (OT)	New Hampshire Phantoms
Willmann 36' Gilliam  77' Johnson 79'	Report	Fleming 2:34' Schweitzer  34' Doenmez  37' Ogbunamiri 63' (pen.) Williams 99:49'

September 12, 1998

8:00 PM CDT

Del Valle Stadium

Attendance: Del Valle, Texas

Referee: 1,763 ^[3]

Championship

Chicago defeated New Hampshire, 3-2 (OT)

Austin Lone Stars	2–3	Orlando Nighthawks
Johnson 19' Willman 70'	Report	Chan 25' DeOlivera 53', 75'

Third Place Match

September 13, 1998

4:30 PM CDT

Del Valle Stadium, Del Valle, Texas

Attendance: 863

---

Chicago Stingers	3–2 (OT)	New Hampshire Phantoms
Hamnett 49' 94' Codd 71'	Report	Tapia 2' Murphy 10'

USISL D-3 Pro League Championship Game

September 13, 1998

7:00 PM CDT

Del Valle Stadium, Del Valle, Texas

Attendance: 897 ^[4]

Top goalscorers

Statistics

Honors

• Organization of the Year:^[5] Indiana Blast
• Executive of the Year: Gary Mack, Stanislaus County Cruisers
• Fair Play Award: Charlotte Eagles

References

Footnotes

A ^ : Deducted one point due to fielding ineligible players.^[6]

General References

1. United Soccer Leagues (RSSSF)
2. "1998 New Hampshire Phantoms Schedule". New Hampshire Soccer. Archived from the original on February 10, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. "1998 New Hampshire Phantoms Schedule". New Hampshire Soccer. Archived from the original on February 10, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
4. "1998 New Hampshire Phantoms Schedule". New Hampshire Soccer. Archived from the original on February 10, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
5. "Blast Named Organization of the Year". Indiana Blast. November 13, 1998. Archived from the original on February 2, 1999. Retrieved May 19, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
6. "The Year in American Soccer, 1998: USISL D3-Pro League (Division 3)". The American Soccer History Archives. April 11, 2010. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved October 17, 2011.