# 2015 North American Soccer League season

The 2015 North American Soccer League season was the 48th season of Division II soccer in the United States and the fifth season of the North American Soccer League. It was contested by eleven teams including two from Canada. Jacksonville Armada FC made their NASL debut this season. The defending Soccer Bowl champions were the San Antonio Scorpions, while Minnesota United FC were the defending North American Supporters' Trophy winners. A split season format was used for the 2015 season.

## Teams, stadiums, and personnel
### Personnel and sponsorship

| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit producer | Shirt sponsor |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | Gary Smith | Simon Mensing | Reto Sports | |
| Carolina RailHawks | Colin Clarke | Connor Tobin | Adidas | Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC |
| FC Edmonton | Colin Miller | Albert Watson | Adidas | The Fath Group |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Günter Kronsteiner | Iván Guerrero | Nike | Azul Airlines |
| Indy Eleven | Tim Regan (interim) | Kristian Nicht | Diadora | Honda |
| Jacksonville Armada FC | Eric Dade (interim) | Marcos Flores | Nike | Winn-Dixie |
| Minnesota United FC | Manny Lagos | Aaron Pitchkolan | Inaria | Atomic Data / Mall of America |
| New York Cosmos | Giovanni Savarese | Carlos Mendes | Nike | Emirates |
| Ottawa Fury FC | Marc Dos Santos | Richie Ryan | Admiral | The Heart and Crown |
| San Antonio Scorpions | Alen Marcina | Adrian Cann | Nike | Toyota |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | Stuart Campbell | Marcelo Saragosa | Nike | Hard Rock |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | Alejandro Pombo | End of interim period | November 2, 2014 | Pre-Season | Gary Smith | December 23, 2014 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Günter Kronsteiner | Not Returning | December 5, 2014 | Pre-Season | Marcelo Neveleff | January 19, 2015 |
| Jacksonville Armada | Expansion team | Expansion team | Expansion team | Expansion team | José Luis Villarreal | June 14, 2014 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | Ricky Hill | Fired | November 18, 2014 | Pre-Season | Thomas Rongen | December 3, 2014 |
| Jacksonville Armada | José Luis Villarreal | Resigned | May 22, 2015 | 6th | Guillermo Ángel Hoyos | June 14, 2015 |
| Indy Eleven | Juergen Sommer | Fired | June 2, 2015 | 11th | Tim Regan (interim) | June 2, 2015 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Marcelo Neveleff | Resigned | June 7, 2015 | 10th | Iván Guerrero (interim) | June 7, 2015 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Iván Guerrero (interim) | End of interim period | June 30, 2015 | 8th | Günter Kronsteiner | June 30, 2015 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | Thomas Rongen | Fired | August 21, 2015 | 10th | Stuart Campbell | August 26, 2015 |
| Jacksonville Armada | Guillermo Ángel Hoyos | Fired | September 21, 2015 | 11th | Eric Dade (interim) | September 21, 2015 |

## Spring season

The Spring season began on April 4 and ended on June 13. The schedule featured a single round robin format with each team playing every other team in the league a single time. Each team hosted 5 home games and played 5 road games. The winner of the Spring season earned one of four berths in the playoffs, known as The Championship.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New York Cosmos (S) | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 20 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 19 | |
| 3 | Carolina RailHawks | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 14 | |
| 4 | Minnesota United | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 13 | +2 | 14 | |
| 5 | Indy Eleven | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 12 | +1 | 13 | |
| 6 | Jacksonville Armada | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 18 | −3 | 12 | |
| 7 | San Antonio Scorpions | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 12 | |
| 8 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 11 | |
| 9 | Ottawa Fury | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 11 | |
| 10 | FC Edmonton | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 22 | −6 | 9 | |
| 11 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 13 | −6 | 8 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ATL | CAR | FCE | FTL | IND | JAX | MNU | NYC | OTT | SAS | TBR |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | | | | | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |
| Carolina RailHawks | 1–2 | | | | | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 1–1 |
| Edmonton | 4–2 | 1–1 | | 3–2 | | | 2–2 | | | 2–3 | |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 0–0 | 0–1 | | | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | | | |
| Indy Eleven | | 1–1 | 3–0 | | | | 1–3 | 1–1 | | | 2–2 |
| Jacksonville Armada | | 0–4 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | | | | 0–0 | 2–1 | |
| Minnesota United | 1–0 | | | 2–3 | | 3–2 | | 1–1 | | 2–2 | |
| New York Cosmos | | | 4–2 | | | 3–3 | | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 |
| Ottawa Fury | | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | | | | 0–0 |
| San Antonio Scorpions | | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–2 | | | | 0–0 | | 1–3 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 3–2 | 0–0 | | | | |

## Fall season

The Fall season began on July 4 and ended on November 1. The schedule featured each team playing every other team in the league once at home and once away. The winner of the Fall season earned one of four berths in The Championship.

### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Ottawa Fury (F) | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 15 | +22 | 45 | Playoffs |
| 2 | Minnesota United | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 39 | |
| 3 | New York Cosmos | 20 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 31 | 21 | +10 | 36 | |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 37 | 27 | +10 | 30 | |
| 5 | FC Edmonton | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 26 | |
| 6 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 25 | |
| 7 | Carolina RailHawks | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 29 | 39 | −10 | 21 | |
| 8 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 28 | −10 | 20 | |
| 9 | Indy Eleven | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 23 | 36 | −13 | 20 | |
| 10 | San Antonio Scorpions | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 30 | 37 | −7 | 19 | |
| 11 | Jacksonville Armada | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 18 | 31 | −13 | 19 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ATL | CAR | FCE | FTL | IND | JAX | MNU | NYC | OTT | SAS | TBR |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 |
| Carolina RailHawks | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Edmonton | 1–3 | 3–0 | | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | | 7–1 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Indy Eleven | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Jacksonville Armada | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Minnesota United | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 |
| New York Cosmos | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 1–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Ottawa Fury | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| San Antonio Scorpions | 3–3 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 3–0 |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | |

## Playoffs

The Championship, culminating with Soccer Bowl 2015, was contested by the winners of the spring and fall seasons hosting the next best two teams in the full year regular season table. The half-season champions earned the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, with the higher seed going to the team with the better full-season record. The two next-best teams earned the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The semi-finals had the No. 1 seed hosting the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed hosting the No. 3 seed. The winners met in the Soccer Bowl 2015 hosted by the team with the higher seed.

### Combined standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New York Cosmos (C, X) | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 56 | Championship qualifiers |
| 2 | Ottawa Fury | 30 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 42 | 23 | +19 | 56 | Championship qualifiers |
| 3 | Minnesota United | 30 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 54 | 39 | +15 | 53 | Championship qualifiers |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 41 | Championship qualifiers |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 33 | 37 | −4 | 39 | |
| 6 | Carolina RailHawks | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 35 | |
| 7 | FC Edmonton | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 35 | |
| 8 | Atlanta Silverbacks | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 33 | |
| 9 | Indy Eleven | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 33 | |
| 10 | San Antonio Scorpions | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 31 | |
| 11 | Jacksonville Armada | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 31 | |
* ↑ As spring season champions
* ↑ As fall season champions
* ↑ As next best teams in overall standings

### The Championship
#### Participants

* New York Cosmos (Spring season champion)
* Ottawa Fury (Fall season champion)
* Minnesota United
* Fort Lauderdale Strikers

#### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Soccer Bowl | Soccer Bowl | Soccer Bowl |
| 1 | New York Cosmos | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1 | 1 | New York Cosmos | 3 |
| | | | 2 | Ottawa Fury | 2 |
| 2 | Ottawa Fury (a.e.t.) | 2 | 2 | Ottawa Fury | 2 |
| 3 | Minnesota United | 1 | | | |

#### Soccer Bowl 2015
## Attendance

| Club | GP | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| Indy Eleven | 15 | 147,139 | 10,524 | 8,500 | 9,809 | -6.3% |
| Minnesota United | 15 | 131,499 | 9,418 | 5,890 | 8,767 | 9.9% |
| Jacksonville Armada | 15 | 118,905 | 16,164 | 5,652 | 7,927 | N/A |
| San Antonio Scorpions | 15 | 101,043 | 8,053 | 4,105 | 6,736 | -0.3% |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 15 | 84,739 | 7,010 | 4,219 | 5,649 | 24.2% |
| Ottawa Fury | 15 | 77,464 | 6,899 | 3,023 | 5,164 | 24.5% |
| New York Cosmos | 15 | 75,927 | 12,550 | 3,326 | 5,062 | 7.6% |
| Carolina RailHawks | 15 | 68,080 | 7,217 | 3,055 | 4,539 | -0.1% |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 15 | 67,067 | 11,691 | 1,278 | 4,471 | 9.9% |
| Atlanta Silverbacks | 15 | 60,366 | 5,511 | 2,302 | 4,024 | -0.7% |
| FC Edmonton | 15 | 43,329 | 4,240 | 1,112 | 2,889 | -14.6% |
| Total | 165 | 975,558 | 16,164 | 1,112 | 5,912 | 7.5% |
Source: NASL

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | NASL Player of the Month | NASL Player of the Month | NASL Player of the Month | NASL Player of the Month |
| Month | Player | Club | Stats | Ref |
| April | Jimmy Maurer | New York Cosmos | 12SV, 1GA | |
| May | Raúl | New York Cosmos | 3G | |
| June | Romuald Peiser | Ottawa Fury | 9SV, 0GA | |
| July | Christian Ramirez | Minnesota United | 4G, 2A | |
| August | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 6G, 1A | |
| September | Romuald Peiser | Ottawa Fury | 11SV, 2GA | |
| October | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 4G, 3A | |

### Weekly awards

| Week | NASL Player of the Week | NASL Player of the Week | NASL Play of the Week | NASL Play of the Week |
| Week | Player | Club | Player | Club |
| Week 1 | Stefan Antonijevic | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Jemal Johnson | Jacksonville Armada |
| Week 2 | PC | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | PC | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
| Week 3 | Sainey Nyassi | FC Edmonton | Sergio Peña | Indy Eleven |
| Week 4 | Maicon Santos | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Zourab Tsiskaridze | San Antonio Scorpions |
| Week 5 | Alhassane Keita | Jacksonville Armada | Omar Cummings | San Antonio Scorpions |
| Week 6 | Carlos Mendes | New York Cosmos | Bochy Hoyos | Jacksonville Armada |
| Week 7 | Billy Forbes | San Antonio Scorpions | Andrés Flores | New York Cosmos |
| Week 8 | Raúl | New York Cosmos | Nicki Paterson | Ottawa Fury |
| Week 9 | Kyle Hyland | Indy Eleven | Lionel Brown | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
| Week 10 | Victor Pineda | Indy Eleven | Brian Shriver | Tampa Bay Rowdies |
| Week 11 | Pascal Millien | Jacksonville Armada | Hagop Chirishian | New York Cosmos |
| Week 12 | Lance Laing | FC Edmonton | Wojciech Wojcik | Indy Eleven |
| Week 13 | Omar Cummings | San Antonio Scorpions | Wojciech Wojcik | Indy Eleven |
| Week 14 | Nacho Novo | Carolina RailHawks | Jaime Chavez | Atlanta Silverbacks |
| Week 15 | Carl Haworth | Ottawa Fury | Dylan Mares | Indy Eleven |
| Week 16 | Rafael Alves | Ottawa Fury | Pedro Mendes | Atlanta Silverbacks |
| Week 17 | Pedro Mendes | Atlanta Silverbacks | Junior Burgos | Atlanta Silverbacks |
| Week 18 | Jaime Castrillón | Jacksonville Armada | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
| Week 19 | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Justin Davis | Minnesota United |
| Week 20 | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
| Week 21 | Zach Steinberger | Indy Eleven | Marvin Ceballos | Indy Eleven |
| Week 22 | Rafael Castillo | San Antonio Scorpions | Pablo Campos | Minnesota United |
| Week 23 | Siniša Ubiparipović | Ottawa Fury | Pedro Mendes | Atlanta Silverbacks |
| Week 24 | Tom Heinemann | Ottawa Fury | Kalif Alhassan | Minnesota United |
| Week 25 | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Kris Tyrpak | San Antonio Scorpions |
| Week 26 | Pablo Campos | Minnesota United | Giuseppe Gentile | San Antonio Scorpions |
| Week 27 | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Brad Ring | Indy Eleven |
| Week 28 | Richard Menjivar | Tampa Bay Rowdies | Mechack Jérôme | Jacksonville Armada |
| Week 29 | Raúl | New York Cosmos | Junior Burgos | Atlanta Silverbacks |

### League awards

* Golden Ball (MVP): Stefano Pinho (Fort Lauderdale Strikers)
* Golden Boot: Stefano Pinho (Fort Lauderdale Strikers)
* Golden Glove: Romuald Peiser (Ottawa Fury)
* Coach of the Year: Marc Dos Santos (Ottawa Fury)
* Goal of the Year: Junior Burgos (Atlanta Silverbacks)
* Young (U24) Player of the Year: Leo Fernandes (New York Cosmos)
* Humanitarian of the Year: Drew Beckie (Ottawa Fury)
* Fair Play Award: Ottawa Fury
NASL Best XI :
| Position | Player | Team |
| Goalkeeper | Romuald Peiser | Ottawa Fury |
| Defense | Rafael Alves | Ottawa Fury |
| Defense | Justin Davis | Minnesota United |
| Defense | Carlos Mendes | New York Cosmos |
| Defense | Kevin Venegas | Minnesota United |
| Midfield | Richie Ryan | Ottawa Fury |
| Midfield | Lance Laing | FC Edmonton |
| Midfield | Ibson | Minnesota United |
| Midfield | James Marcelin | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
| Forward | Stefano Pinho | Fort Lauderdale Strikers |
| Forward | Christian Ramirez | Minnesota United |