# 2023 National Independent Soccer Association season

The 2023 NISA season is the fifth season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. Michigan Stars are the defending champions, after winning the 2022 season.

## Teams

Of the eight teams that finished the 2022 season, five return for 2023, two (Flower City Union and Syracuse Pulse) merge to form a new team branded City Union, and one, California United Strikers, is on hiatus, with the aim to return in 2024.
The six teams are joined by three expansion clubs: Club de Lyon, Gold Star FC and Savannah Clovers FC.

### Stadiums and locations

* Participating club
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Albion San Diego | San Diego, CA | Canyon Crest Academy Stadium | 5,000 |
| Chattanooga FC | Chattanooga, TN | Finley Stadium | 20,668 |
| City Union | Rochester, NY Auburn, NY | Marina Auto Stadium Falcon Park | 13,768 2,800 |
| Club de Lyon | Daytona Beach, FL | Daytona Stadium | 9,601 |
| Gold Star FC | Livonia, MI | Gold Star Stadium | 5,000 |
| Los Angeles Force | Irvine, CA | Championship Stadium | 5,000 |
| Maryland Bobcats | Boyds, MD | Maryland SoccerPlex | 4,000 |
| Michigan Stars | Washington, MI | Romeo High School | 4,000 |
| Savannah Clovers | Savannah, GA | Memorial Stadium | 5,000 |

### Personnel and sponsorship

    Note: The league has signed a deal with Hummel to be the official kit manufacturer, but it still allows clubs to find their own provider.
| Team | Head coach | Captain(s) | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Albion San Diego | Diego Gómez | Tyler Gabarra | Capelli | DarkHorse |
| Chattanooga FC | Rod Underwood | Richard Dixon | Hummel | Volkswagen |
| City Union | Jordan Sullivan | Mumbi Kwesele | Hummel | — |
| Club de Lyon | Victor Balaguer | Victor Rojas | Adidas | — |
| Gold Star FC | Alex Lubyansky | Brandon Barnes | Adidas | — |
| Los Angeles Force | Matt Morse | Brandon Gomez | Xara | — |
| Maryland Bobcats | Alex Kao | Josselin Possian | Hummel | Holiday Inn College Park |
| Michigan Stars | | Tatenda Mkuruva | Hummel | HTC |
| Savannah Clovers | David Proctor | Shandon Wright | Umbro | Castro Wood Floors |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming coach | Date of appointment |
| Albion San Diego | Jeff Korytoski | Signed by Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | December 14, 2022 | Preseason | Diego Gómez | February 23, 2023 |
| City Union | Colton Bly (interim) | End of interim period | February 10, 2023 | Preseason | Jordan Sullivan | February 10, 2023 |
| Maryland Bobcats | Sylvain Rastello | Resigned | February 21, 2023 | Preseason | Alex Kao | March 1, 2023 |
| Los Angeles Force | Jesus Ochoa (interim) | End of interim period | April 23, 2023 | 5th | Matt Morse | April 23, 2023 |

## Regular season

The season started on March 31, with the nine teams playing an unbalanced schedule weighted on regional play.

### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Chattanooga FC (X) | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 41 | 12 | +29 | 52 | Qualification for the semifinals |
| 2 | Michigan Stars | 24 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 37 | 21 | +16 | 46 | Qualification for the semifinals |
| 3 | Los Angeles Force | 24 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 44 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 4 | Albion San Diego | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 31 | 21 | +10 | 41 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 5 | Maryland Bobcats | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 36 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 6 | City Union (C) | 24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 30 | 34 | −4 | 27 | Qualification for the playoffs |
| 7 | Club de Lyon | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 23 | |
| 8 | Savannah Clovers | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 47 | −28 | 19 | |
| 9 | Gold Star FC | 24 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 23 | 45 | −22 | 12 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | CHA | FLO | CLY | GOL | LAF | MAR | MIC | SAV | ALB | CHA | FLO | CLY | GOL | LAF | MAR | MIC | SAV | ALB | CHA | FLO | CLY | GOL | LAF | MAR | MIC | SAV |
| Albion San Diego | — | 0–5 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | | | | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 4–0 | — | | | | | | | | |
| Chattannooga | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | | | 5–0 | | — | | | | | | | |
| City Union | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 2–0 | | 0–2 | — | 1–1 | | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 4–2 | | | — | | | | | | |
| Club de Lyon | 1–2 | | 0–3 | — | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | | — | | | | 0–2 | 1–1 | | | | — | | | | | |
| Gold Star FC | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | | | 1–3 | | — | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | | | | | | — | | | | |
| L.A. Force | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | | 4–0 | | — | | | | 2–1 | | | 1–0 | | — | | | |
| Maryland Bobcats | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 4–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | | | | | | | — | | |
| Michigan Stars | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–0 | | | | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | — | | | | | | | | | — | |
| Savannah Clovers | 1–4 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | | 0–1 | | 2–2 | 0–5 | | | 0–1 | — | | | | | | | | | — |

## Playoffs

The playoffs will keep the same format from last year, and feature the top six teams from the regular season. The top two teams receive a bye into the semifinals. Teams finishing third through sixth play in the quarterfinals, with the winners being re-seeded before playing in the next round.

### Bracket

| Quarterfinal October 29 | Quarterfinal October 29 | Quarterfinal October 29 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Force | 2 |
| 6 | Flower City Union | 4 |
| Quarterfinal October 28 | Quarterfinal October 28 | Quarterfinal October 28 |
| 4 | Albion San Diego (p) | 0 (8) |
| 5 | Maryland Bobcats FC | 0 (7) |
| Semifinals November 4/5 | Semifinals November 4/5 | Semifinals November 4/5 | NISA Championship Final November 11 | NISA Championship Final November 11 | NISA Championship Final November 11 |
| 1 | Chattanooga FC | 0 (0) | | | |
| 6 | Flower City Union (p) | 0 (2) | | | |
| 6 | Flower City Union (p) | 0 (2) | 6 | Flower City Union | 1 |
| | | | 2 | Michigan Stars FC | 0 |
| 2 | Michigan Stars FC | 3 | 2 | Michigan Stars FC | 0 |
| 4 | Albion San Diego | 2 | | | |

### Schedule
#### NISA Championship Final
## Player statistics

    As of October 25, 2023

## Awards
### Individual awards

| Award | Winner | Team | Reason |
| Golden Boot | Markus Naglestad | Chattanooga FC | 15 goals in 23 games |
| Golden Glove | Jean Antoine | Chattanooga FC | 15 shutouts in 23 matches; 9 goals against |
| Coach of the Year | Diego Gomez | Albion San Diego | 11-8-5 record in his debut season |
| Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player) | Darwin Espinal | Maryland Bobcats | 11 goals, 5 assists in 22 matches |

### NISA Best XI

| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards | Ref. |
| Jean Antoine (CHA) | Aydan Bowers (CHA) Richard Dixon (CHA) Jimmy Filerman (MAR) Anatolie Prepeliță (CHA) | Daniel Bedoya (ALB) Tyler Gabarra (ALB) Alex McGrath (CHA) | Darwin Espinal (MAR) Leon Maric (MIC) Markus Naglestad (CHA) | |

### Player of the Month

| Month | Winner | Team | Reason |
| April | Jean Antoine | Chattanooga FC | 4 clean sheets |
| May | Ignacio Ten López | Club de Lyon | 4 goals scored |
| June | Edwin Rivas | Los Angeles Force | 3 assists in 136 minutes |
| July | Ben Roach | Albion San Diego | 3 clean sheets |
| August | Aldo Quintanilla | Los Angeles Force | Team went 4-0-0, scored hat-trick |
| September | Daniel Bedoya | Albion San Diego | 3 goals scored |

### Coach of the Month

| Month | Winner | Team | Reason |
| April | Alex Kao | Maryland Bobcats FC | 2-0-0 in league play; win in US Open Cup |
| May | Diego Gómez | Albion San Diego | 3-1-0 in league play |
| June | Rod Underwood | Chattanooga FC | Undefeated in June |
| July | Rod Underwood | Chattanooga FC | 3-1-0 in league play |
| August | Matt Morse | Los Angeles Force | 2-2-0 in league play |
| September | Alex Kao | Maryland Bobcats FC | 2-1-0 in league play |