# 1985–86 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1985–86 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the eighth in league history and ended with the San Diego Sockers winning their third MISL title in four seasons over the Minnesota Strikers. It was the Sockers' fifth straight indoor title, as they had also won the North American Soccer League's indoor league in 1982 and 1984.

## Recap

For the most part, the league format remained unchanged. A 48-game season would be followed with an eight-team playoff, similar to the playoff system used from 1982 to 1984. There would be one major change in gameplay, however. The shootout, part of the MISL since its inception, was dropped in favor of multiple overtime periods to decide games, if necessary. There was a steady national TV contract for the first time since 1983, as ESPN would televise 15 regular-season games and assorted playoff games.
The East and West division races were a study in contrasts. San Diego ran away with the West again, despite selling reigning league MVP Steve Zungul to the Tacoma Stars for $200,000 halfway through the regular season. Tacoma would go 11-8 with Zungul, who won the league scoring title for the sixth time in the MISL's eight years. However, the Stars lost in four games to the Sockers in the league semifinals.
In the East, the six-team division was separated by only four games. The playoff positions were only confirmed when the Baltimore Blast defeated the Pittsburgh Spirit in the season finale. The Dallas Sidekicks switched divisions and promptly won 13 more games than the previous year, making the playoffs for the first time and earning Gordon Jago Coach of the Year honors.
For the second straight year, the Strikers and Sockers went to a deciding game in their playoff matchup. San Diego became the first team to rally from a two-game deficit to win a MISL playoff series, as the Strikers' 3-1 lead in the championship series disappeared under three straight Socker wins. In the first seventh game in MISL history, the Sockers held off a late Minnesota charge to win 5-3. San Diego's Brian Quinn scored two goals and an assist on his way to playoff MVP honors.
After the season, the Spirit folded, and the league made plans to return to New York with an expansion franchise.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena |
| Baltimore Blast | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena |
| Chicago Sting | Chicago | Chicago Stadium |
| Cleveland Force | Cleveland, Ohio | Richfield Coliseum |
| Dallas Sidekicks | Dallas, Texas | Reunion Arena |
| Kansas City Comets | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena |
| Los Angeles Lazers | Inglewood, California | The Forum |
| Minnesota Strikers | Bloomington, Minnesota | Met Center |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) |
| San Diego Sockers | San Diego, California | San Diego Sports Arena |
| St. Louis Steamers | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis Arena |
| Tacoma Stars | Tacoma, Washington | Tacoma Dome |
| Wichita Wings | Wichita, Kansas | Kansas Coliseum |

## Regular season schedule

The 1985–86 regular season schedule ran from October 25, 1985, to April 6, 1986. Despite the loss of two teams from the 1984-85 lineup, the schedule remained at 48 games.

## Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.
| Eastern Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| Cleveland Force | 27 | 21 | .563 | -- | 252 | 212 | 15-9 | 12-12 |
| Minnesota Strikers | 26 | 22 | .542 | 1 | 232 | 242 | 16-8 | 10-14 |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 25 | 23 | .521 | 2 | 220 | 231 | 16-8 | 9-15 |
| Baltimore Blast | 24 | 24 | .500 | 3 | 211 | 201 | 17-7 | 7-17 |
| Chicago Sting | 23 | 25 | .479 | 4 | 196 | 196 | 14-10 | 9-15 |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | 23 | 25 | .479 | 4 | 221 | 237 | 18-6 | 5-19 |
| Western Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| San Diego Sockers | 36 | 12 | .750 | -- | 308 | 195 | 21-3 | 15-9 |
| Wichita Wings | 27 | 21 | .563 | 9 | 258 | 226 | 15-9 | 12-12 |
| Tacoma Stars | 23 | 25 | .479 | 13 | 208 | 232 | 15-9 | 8-16 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 23 | 25 | .479 | 13 | 223 | 233 | 16-8 | 7-17 |
| Kansas City Comets | 18 | 30 | .375 | 18 | 217 | 268 | 12-12 | 6-18 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 13 | 35 | .271 | 23 | 197 | 270 | 9-15 | 4-20 |

## Playoffs

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Championship Series | Championship Series | Championship Series |
| E1 | Cleveland Force | 3 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Baltimore Blast | 2 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Baltimore Blast | 2 | E1 | Cleveland Force | 1 | | | |
| | | | E2 | Minnesota Strikers | 3 | | | |
| E2 | Minnesota Strikers | 3 | E2 | Minnesota Strikers | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 1 | | | | E2 | Minnesota Strikers | 3 |
| | | | | | | W1 | San Diego Sockers | 4 |
| W1 | San Diego Sockers | 3 | | | | | | | W1 | San Diego Sockers | 4 |
| W4 | St. Louis Steamers | 1 | | | | | | |
| W4 | St. Louis Steamers | 1 | W1 | San Diego Sockers | 3 | | | |
| | | | W3 | Tacoma Stars | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Wichita Wings | 1 | W3 | Tacoma Stars | 1 | | | |
| W3 | Tacoma Stars | 3 | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals

Cleveland vs. Baltimore :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 8 | Baltimore 2 | Cleveland 7 | 8,666 |
| April 13 | Baltimore 8 | Cleveland 3 | 19,468 |
| April 15 | Cleveland 6 | Baltimore 8 | 7,631 |
| April 18 | Cleveland 4 | Baltimore 3 | 12,232 |
| | Kai Haaskivi scored at 3:21 of overtime | Kai Haaskivi scored at 3:21 of overtime | Kai Haaskivi scored at 3:21 of overtime |
| April 20 | Baltimore 1 | Cleveland 5 | 16,626 |
| Cleveland wins series 3-2 ||||
Minnesota vs. Dallas :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 12 | Dallas 3 | Minnesota 5 | 7,101 |
| April 13 | Dallas 2 | Minnesota 7 | 5,151 |
| April 16 | Minnesota 3 | Dallas 4 | 10,218 |
| April 19 | Minnesota 7 | Dallas 4 | 13,908 |
| Minnesota wins series 3-1 ||||
San Diego vs. St. Louis :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 10 | St. Louis 6 | San Diego 7 | 7,506 |
| | Gary Collier scored at 11:31 of overtime | Gary Collier scored at 11:31 of overtime | Gary Collier scored at 11:31 of overtime |
| April 12 | St. Louis 3 | San Diego 5 | 10,123 |
| April 16 | San Diego 7 | St. Louis 8 | 7,506 |
| April 19 | San Diego 10 | St. Louis 4 | 9,464 |
| San Diego wins series 3-1 ||||
Wichita vs. Tacoma :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 9 | Tacoma 5 | Wichita 6 | 7,382 |
| April 12 | Tacoma 5 | Wichita 4 | 9,561 |
| April 16 | Wichita 4 | Tacoma 5 | 14,162 |
| | Fran O'Brien scored at 8:02 of overtime | Fran O'Brien scored at 8:02 of overtime | Fran O'Brien scored at 8:02 of overtime |
| April 18 | Wichita 1 | Tacoma 3 | 17,094 |
| Tacoma wins series 3-1 ||||

### Semifinals

Cleveland vs. Minnesota :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 25 | Minnesota 2 | Cleveland 5 | 18,797 |
| April 27 | Minnesota 6 | Cleveland 2 | 16,877 |
| May 2 | Cleveland 5 | Minnesota 6 | 10,254 |
| | Thompson Usiyan scored at 2:08 of overtime | Thompson Usiyan scored at 2:08 of overtime | Thompson Usiyan scored at 2:08 of overtime |
| May 4 | Cleveland 3 | Minnesota 7 | 10,351 |
| Minnesota wins series 3-1 ||||
San Diego vs. Tacoma :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 23 | Tacoma 4 | San Diego 10 | 8,308 |
| April 29 | Tacoma 2 | San Diego 7 | 9,432 |
| May 1 | San Diego 3 | Tacoma 4 | 15,290 |
| May 7 | San Diego 8 | Tacoma 5 | 19,476 |
| San Diego wins series 3-1 ||||

### Championship Series

San Diego vs. Minnesota :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 9 | Minnesota 2 | San Diego 7 | 10,370 |
| May 11 | Minnesota 6 | San Diego 1 | 9,172 |
| May 16 | San Diego 2 | Minnesota 7 | 15,756 |
| May 18 | San Diego 3 | Minnesota 4 | 15,849 |
| May 21 | Minnesota 4 | San Diego 7 | 10,613 |
| May 23 | San Diego 6 | Minnesota 3 | 15,944 |
| May 26 | Minnesota 3 | San Diego 5 | 10,613 |
| San Diego wins series 4-3 ||||

## Regular season player statistics
### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Steve Zungul | San Diego/Tacoma | 46 | 55 | 60 | 115 |
| Erik Rasmussen | Wichita Wings | 47 | 67 | 41 | 108 |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 45 | 60 | 46 | 106 |
| Tatu | Dallas Sidekicks | 44 | 49 | 32 | 81 |
| Craig Allen | Cleveland Force | 43 | 50 | 31 | 81 |
| Stan Stamenkovic | Baltimore Blast | 45 | 37 | 44 | 81 |
| Karl-Heinz Granitza | Chicago Sting | 43 | 28 | 47 | 75 |
| Chico Borja | Wichita Wings | 37 | 33 | 41 | 74 |
| Preki | Tacoma Stars | 48 | 41 | 30 | 71 |
| Hugo Perez | San Diego Sockers | 41 | 41 | 25 | 66 |

### Leading goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
| Player | Team | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L |
| Keith Van Eron | Baltimore Blast | 27 | 1491 | 91 | 3.66 | 14 | 10 |
| Jim Gorsek | San Diego Sockers | 24 | 1323 | 82 | 3.72 | 19 | 2 |
| David Brcic | Pittsburgh Spirit | 43 | 2659 | 167 | 3.77 | 21 | 22 |
| Mike Dowler | Tacoma Stars | 23 | 1327 | 92 | 4.16 | 9 | 12 |
| Zoltán Tóth | San Diego Sockers | 28 | 1562 | 109 | 4.19 | 17 | 9 |
| Cris Vaccaro | Cleveland Force | 36 | 2012 | 143 | 4.26 | 19 | 14 |
| Victor Nogueira | Chicago Sting | 37 | 1905 | 137 | 4.31 | 17 | 14 |
| Tino Lettieri | Minnesota Strikers | 41 | 2386 | 175 | 4.40 | 24 | 15 |
| Krys Sobieski | Dallas Sidekicks | 40 | 2469 | 182 | 4.42 | 24 | 16 |
| Slobo Illjevski | St. Louis Steamers | 39 | 2178 | 163 | 4.49 | 19 | 17 |

## Playoff player statistics
### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 13 | 13 | 19 | 32 |
| Brian Quinn | San Diego Sockers | 13 | 13 | 10 | 23 |
| Jan Goossens | Minnesota Strikers | 15 | 12 | 9 | 21 |
| Jean Willrich | San Diego Sockers | 15 | 9 | 10 | 19 |
| Thompson Usiyan | Minnesota Strikers | 15 | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| Juli Veee | San Diego Sockers | 15 | 8 | 11 | 19 |

### Leading goalkeepers

Note: GP = Games played; Min – Minutes played; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; W = Wins; L = Losses
| Player | Team | GP | Min | GA | GAA | W | L |
| P.J. Johns | Cleveland Force | 5 | 277 | 14 | 3.03 | 3 | 1 |
| Tino Lettieri | Minnesota Strikers | 15 | 866 | 51 | 3.52 | 9 | 6 |
| Zoltán Tóth | San Diego Sockers | 7 | 414 | 27 | 3.09 | 5 | 2 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 3 | 175 | 13 | 4.45 | 3 | 1 |
| Seamus McDonough | Wichita Wings | 2 | 128 | 10 | 4.65 | 1 | 1 |

## All-MISL teams

| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| David Brcic, Pittsburgh | G | Jim Gorsek, San Diego |
| Kim Roentved, Wichita | D | Bruce Savage, Baltimore |
| Fernando Clavijo, San Diego | D | Bernie James, Cleveland |
| Branko Segota, San Diego | M | Chico Borja, Wichita |
| Steve Zungul, San Diego/Tacoma | F | Tatu, Dallas |
| Erik Rasmussen, Wichita | F | Craig Allen, Cleveland |
| Honorable Mention | Position |
| Krys Sobieski, Dallas | G |
| Kevin Crow, San Diego | D |
| Victor Moreland, Dallas | D |
| Brian Quinn, San Diego | F |
| Stan Stamenkovic, Baltimore | F |

## League awards

* Most Valuable Player: Steve Zungul, San Diego/Tacoma
* Scoring Champion: Steve Zungul, San Diego/Tacoma
* Pass Master: Steve Zungul, San Diego/Tacoma
* Defender of the Year: Kim Roentved, Wichita
* Rookie of the Year: Dave Boncek, Kansas City Comets
* Goalkeeper of the Year: Keith Van Eron, Baltimore
* Coach of the Year: Gordon Jago, Dallas
* Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Brian Quinn, San Diego

## Team attendance totals

| Club | Games | Total | Average |
| Cleveland Force | 24 | 307,040 | 12,793 |
| Kansas City Comets | 24 | 298,269 | 12,428 |
| Baltimore Blast | 24 | 246,046 | 10,252 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 24 | 244,543 | 10,189 |
| San Diego Sockers | 24 | 229,935 | 9,581 |
| Wichita Wings | 24 | 202,725 | 8,447 |
| Pittsburgh Spirit | 24 | 186,597 | 7,775 |
| Tacoma Stars | 24 | 182,696 | 7,612 |
| Chicago Sting | 24 | 176,287 | 7,345 |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 24 | 165,694 | 6,904 |
| Minnesota Strikers | 24 | 156,071 | 6,503 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 114,480 | 4,770 |
| OVERALL | 288 | 2,510,383 | 8,717 |