# 2008–09 National Indoor Soccer League season

The 2008–09 National Indoor Soccer League is the inaugural season for the league and the 31st anniversary of professional Division 1 indoor soccer in the United States. The members of the NISL's first season are the Baltimore Blast, the Massachusetts Twisters, the Monterrey La Raza, the Philadelphia KiXX, and the Rockford Rampage. The Orlando Sharks were supposed to play, but due to scheduling conflicts with the Amway Arena the Twisters took the Sharks' spot for the season.
The league kicked off on November 15, 2008, with the Philadelphia KiXX defeating the Massachusetts Twisters 34-11 and the Baltimore Blast defeating the Rockford Rampage 14–4. The regular season concluded March 29, 2009.
Each team played eighteen games, nine home and nine away. La Raza also played, and won, the Copa América against PASL-Pro and PASL-Premier teams.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena |
| Baltimore Blast | Baltimore, Maryland | 1st Mariner Arena |
| Massachusetts Twisters | West Springfield, Massachusetts | Eastern States Coliseum |
| Monterrey La Raza | Monterrey, Mexico | Arena Monterrey |
| Philadelphia KiXX | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wachovia Spectrum |
| Rockford Rampage | Rockford, Illinois | Rockford MetroCentre |

## Final standings

Blue indicates bye into the NISL Championship Green indicates playoff berth clinched
| Club | Club | GP | W | L | Pct. | GB | PF | PA | PD | Home | Road |
| 1 | Baltimore Blast | 18 | 14 | 4 | .777 | - | 277 | 144 | +133 | 8-1 | 6-3 |
| 2 | Rockford Rampage | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 248 | 168 | +80 | 7-2 | 3-6 |
| 3 | Monterrey La Raza | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 275 | 218 | +57 | 7-2 | 3-6 |
| 4 | Philadelphia KiXX | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 251 | 184 | +67 | 7-2 | 3-6 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Twisters | 18 | 1 | 17 | .056 | 13.0 | 127 | 464 | -337 | 1-8 | 0-9 |

## Playoffs
### Game 1

Friday, 10:35PM EST, April 3, 2009 at Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Nuevo León
| Seed | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| 2 | Rockford Rampage | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 13 |
| 3 | Monterrey La Raza | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 16 |

### Game 2

Sunday, 5:35PM EST, April 5, 2009 at Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, Illinois
| Seed | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| 3 | Monterrey La Raza | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | Rockford Rampage | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 |

### Game 3

* (Sudden death golden goal game)
Sunday, April 5, 2009, at Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, Illinois (Immediately followed game two)
| Seed | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| 3 | Monterrey La Raza | 0 | X | X | X | X |
| 2 | Rockford Rampage | 2 | X | X | X | 2 |

### Championship

Saturday, 7:35PM EST, April 11, 2009 at 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland
| Seed | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| 2 | Rockford Rampage | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 1 | Baltimore Blast | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 13 |

### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Byron Alvarez | Monterrey La Raza | 18 | 22 | 11 | 56 |
| Matthew Stewart | Rockford Rampage | 16 | 22 | 7 | 53 |
| Pat Morris | Philadelphia Kixx | 18 | 17 | 11 | 51 |
| Ricardinho Cavalcante | Philadelphia Kixx | 17 | 13 | 22 | 49 |
| Machel Millwood | Baltimore Blast | 15 | 18 | 12 | 48 |
| Hewerthon Moreira | Philadelphia Kixx | 9 | 17 | 9 | 47 |
| Mark Ughy | Monterrey La Raza | 18 | 19 | 9 | 47 |
| Giuliano Celenza | Baltimore Blast | 16 | 19 | 7 | 45 |
| Anthony Maher | Philadelphia Kixx | 15 | 15 | 13 | 43 |
| Bato Radoncic | Rockford Rampage | 18 | 17 | 4 | 39 |

## Player of the Week

| Week | Date | Player | Pos. | Team |
| 1 | 11/17/08 | Hewerton Moreira | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| 2 | 12/1/08 | Matthew Stewart | M | Rockford Rampage |
| 3 | 12/8/08 | Anthony Maher | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| 4 | 12/15/08 | Robbie Aristodemo | M | Baltimore Blast |
| 5 | 12/22/08 | Machel Millwood | F | Baltimore Blast |
| 6 | 12/29/08 | Ivan Medina | F | Monterrey La Raza |
| 7 | 1/5/09 | Carlos Garcia | F | Baltimore Blast |
| 8 | 1/12/09 | Ptah Myers | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| 9 | 1/19/09 | Jose Luiz Birche | D | Monterrey La Raza |
| 10 | 1/26/09 | Hewerton Moreira | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| 11 | 2/2/09 | Ivan Medina | F | Monterrey La Raza |
| 12 | 2/9/09 | Ricardinho | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| 13 | 2/16/09 | Adrian Bumbut | F | Baltimore Blast |
| 14 | 2/23/09 | Machel Millwood | F | Baltimore Blast |
| 15 | 3/2/09 | Ricardinho | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| 17 | 3/9/09 | Jamar Beasley | F | Rockford Rampage |
| 18 | 3/16/09 | Byron Alvarez | F | Monterrey La Raza |
| 19 | 3/23/09 | Jamar Beasley | M | Rockford Rampage |
| 20 | 3/30/09 | Mark Ughy | F | Monterrey La Raza |

## Players of the Month

December :
| Players | Pos. | Team |
| Hewerton Moreira | F | Philadelphia KiXX |
| Phat Morris | D | Philadelphia KiXX |
| Sagu | GK | Baltimore Blast |
| January ||||
| Players | Pos. | Team |
| Bato Radoncic | F | Rockford Rampage |
| Genoni Martinez | D | Monterrey La RaZa |
| Peter Pappas | GK | Philadelphia KiXX |
| February ||||
| Players | Pos. | Team |
| Machel Millwood | F | Baltimore Blast |
| PJ Wakefield | D | Baltimore Blast |
| Pete Pappas | GK | Philadelphia KiXX |

## End of Year Awards

| Person | Pos. | Team |
| MVP | Byron Alvarez | Monterrey La Raza |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Pat Morris | Philadelphia KiXX |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Sagu | Baltimore Blast |
| Rookie of the Year | Pat Healey | Baltimore Blast |
| Coach of the Year | Danny Kelly | Baltimore Blast |
| Finals MVP | Sagu | Baltimore Blast |

### All-Rookie Team

| Person | Pos. | Team |
| Pat Healey | F | Baltimore Blast |
| Adrian Bumbut | F | Baltimore Blast |
| Joel Busti | M | Monterrey La Raza |
| Roberto Gallo | D | Rockford Rampage |
| Kevin Coleman | D | Philadelphia KiXX |
| Steve Reese | GK | Monterrey La Raza |

### All-NISL 1st Team

| Person | Pos. | Team |
| Byron Alvarez | F | Monterrey La Raza |
| Machel Millwood | F | Baltimore Blast |
| Ricardinho | M | Philadelphia KiXX |
| Pat Morris | D | Philadelphia KiXX |
| Genoni Martinez | D | Monterrey La Raza |
| Sagu | GK | Baltimore Blast |

### All-NISL 2nd Team

| Person | Pos. | Team |
| Hewerthon Moreira | F | Philadelphia Kixx |
| Bato Radoncic | F | Rockford Rampage |
| Matthew Stewart | M | Rockford Rampage |
| P.J. Wakefield | D | Baltimore Blast |
| Tijani Ayegbusi | D | Rockford Rampage |
| Sanaldo | GK | Rockford Rampage |