# 1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1988–89 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the eleventh in league history and would end with the San Diego Sockers repeating as MISL champions. It was the Sockers' seventh indoor title in eight NASL and MISL seasons. The Sockers would win seventh games in both the semifinals and championship series.

## Recap

The league very nearly did not make it to the fall of 1988 as both labor negotiations and rising costs threatened to fold the league. The St. Louis Steamers, Minnesota Strikers, Cleveland Force and Chicago Sting dropped out over the course of the summer. Plans for a 60-game schedule were scrapped, and a new labor agreement was signed on July 16.
The remaining seven teams would play a 48-game schedule that would see the top five teams qualify for the playoffs. The fourth and fifth-place teams would play each other, while the first-place team would play the winner in the league semifinals. The second and third-place teams played in the other semifinal, and the semifinal winners would play in the league championship series.
After the season, the Los Angeles Lazers folded and new franchises were placed in St. Louis and Cleveland for the 1989–90 season.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena |
| Baltimore Blast | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena |
| Dallas Sidekicks | Dallas, Texas | Reunion Arena |
| Kansas City Comets | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena |
| Los Angeles Lazers | Inglewood, California | The Forum |
| San Diego Sockers | San Diego, California | San Diego Sports Arena |
| Tacoma Stars | Tacoma, Washington | Tacoma Dome |
| Wichita Wings | Wichita, Kansas | Kansas Coliseum |

## Regular Season Schedule

The 1988–89 regular season schedule ran from November 4, 1988, to April 18, 1989. At 48 games, it was a decrease of eight games per team compared to the previous season.

## Final standings

| Team | Pld | HW | HL | AW | AL | GF | GA | GD | GB | PCT | Qualification |
| Baltimore Blast | 48 | 16 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 215 | 208 | +7 | — | .604 | Playoffs |
| San Diego Sockers | 48 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 220 | 168 | +52 | 2 | .563 | Playoffs |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 48 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 185 | 206 | −21 | 5 | .500 | Playoffs |
| Tacoma Stars | 48 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 208 | 207 | +1 | 6 | .479 | Playoffs |
| Wichita Wings | 48 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 212 | 208 | +4 | 6 | .479 | Playoffs |
| Kansas City Comets | 48 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 218 | 222 | −4 | 8 | .438 | |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 48 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 194 | 233 | −39 | 8 | .438 | |

## Playoffs

| Wildcard Series | Wildcard Series | Wildcard Series | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Championship Series | Championship Series | Championship Series |
| 4 | Tacoma Stars | 1 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Wichita Wings | 3 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Wichita Wings | 3 | 1 | Baltimore Blast | 4 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Wichita Wings | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | | 1 | Baltimore Blast | 3 |
| | | | | | | 2 | San Diego Sockers | 4 |
| | | | 2 | San Diego Sockers | 4 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 3 | | | |

### Wildcard Series

Tacoma vs. Wichita :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| April 28 | Wichita 4 | Tacoma 1 | 4,193 |
| April 29 | Wichita 4 | Tacoma 1 | 4,338 |
| May 6 | Tacoma 5 | Wichita 4 | 9,320 |
| May 8 | Tacoma 2 | Wichita 6 | 6,200 |
| Wichita wins series 3-1 ||||

### Semifinals

Baltimore vs. Wichita :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 13 | Wichita 4 | Baltimore 5 | 7,105 |
| | David Byrne scored at 5:20 of overtime | David Byrne scored at 5:20 of overtime | David Byrne scored at 5:20 of overtime |
| May 16 | Wichita 4 | Baltimore 6 | 5,450 |
| May 18 | Baltimore 6 | Wichita 4 | 6,027 |
| May 19 | Baltimore 3 | Wichita 6 | 6,102 |
| May 22 | Baltimore 5 | Wichita 7 | 6,187 |
| May 24 | Wichita 1 | Baltimore 11 | 6,194 |
| Baltimore wins series 4-2 ||||
San Diego vs. Dallas :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 3 | Dallas 4 | San Diego 7 | 6,483 |
| May 6 | Dallas 5 | San Diego 4 | 9,289 |
| May 12 | San Diego 5 | Dallas 4 | 6,285 |
| | Steve Zungul scored at 11:12 of overtime | Steve Zungul scored at 11:12 of overtime | Steve Zungul scored at 11:12 of overtime |
| May 13 | San Diego 3 | Dallas 7 | 7,015 |
| May 16 | San Diego 1 | Dallas 4 | 5,407 |
| May 18 | Dallas 2 | San Diego 8 | 7,664 |
| May 20 | Dallas 0 | San Diego 1 | 11,604 |
| San Diego wins series 4-3 ||||

### Championship Series

Baltimore vs. San Diego :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 29 | San Diego 3 | Baltimore 4 | 6,539 |
| | Billy Ronson scored at 7:02 of overtime | Billy Ronson scored at 7:02 of overtime | Billy Ronson scored at 7:02 of overtime |
| May 30 | San Diego 5 | Baltimore 4 | 6,280 |
| | Steve Zungul scored at 2:46 of overtime | Steve Zungul scored at 2:46 of overtime | Steve Zungul scored at 2:46 of overtime |
| June 2 | Baltimore 2 | San Diego 5 | 11,484 |
| June 4 | Baltimore 3 | San Diego 4 | 11,147 |
| June 6 | Baltimore 6 | San Diego 3 | 12,884 |
| June 8 | San Diego 0 | Baltimore 7 | 6,990 |
| June 10 | San Diego 6 | Baltimore 5 | 11,220 |
| 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 |
| Preki | Tacoma Stars | 48 | 51 | 53 | 104 |
| Chico Borja | Wichita Wings | 45 | 34 | 53 | 87 |
| Dale Mitchell | Kansas City Comets | 47 | 46 | 36 | 82 |
| Erik Rasmussen | Wichita Wings | 48 | 42 | 36 | 78 |
| Hector Marinaro | Los Angeles Lazers | 44 | 47 | 28 | 75 |
| Gary Heale | Los Angeles Lazers | 48 | 37 | 29 | 66 |
| Tatu | Dallas Sidekicks | 43 | 35 | 29 | 64 |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 31 | 29 | 34 | 63 |
| Peter Ward | Tacoma Stars | 47 | 41 | 19 | 60 |
| Carl Valentine | Baltimore Blast | 46 | 31 | 26 | 57 |

### 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 |
| Victor Nogueira | San Diego Sockers | 33 | 1996 | 95 | 2.86 | 19 | 13 |
| P.J. Johns | Tacoma Stars | 31 | 1946 | 114 | 3.51 | 18 | 13 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 29 | 1596 | 102 | 3.83 | 17 | 9 |
| Joe Papaleo | Dallas Sidekicks | 24 | 1463 | 94 | 3.86 | 13 | 11 |
| Cris Vaccaro | Wichita Wings | 40 | 2298 | 154 | 4.02 | 22 | 14 |
| Krys Sobieski | Dallas Sidekicks | 23 | 1415 | 98 | 4.16 | 11 | 12 |
| Slobo Ilijevski | Baltimore Blast | 23 | 1232 | 89 | 4.34 | 12 | 9 |
| Kris Peat | Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 1273 | 94 | 4.43 | 14 | 8 |
| Mike Dowler | Tacoma Stars | 17 | 1068 | 82 | 4.60 | 5 | 12 |

## Playoff Player Statistics
### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Billy Ronson | Baltimore Blast | 13 | 17 | 8 | 25 |
| Domenic Mobilo | Baltimore Blast | 13 | 16 | 6 | 22 |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 12 | 12 | 10 | 22 |
| Chico Borja | Wichita Wings | 10 | 10 | 9 | 19 |
| David Byrne | Baltimore Blast | 13 | 10 | 7 | 17 |

### 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 |
| Joe Papaleo | Dallas Sidekicks | 4 | 237 | 9 | 2.28 | 3 | 1 |
| Victor Nogueira | San Diego Sockers | 14 | 829 | 52 | 3.76 | 8 | 6 |
| P.J. Johns | Tacoma Stars | 3 | 171 | 11 | 3.86 | 1 | 2 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 13 | 740 | 48 | 3.89 | 7 | 5 |
| Cris Vaccaro | Wichita Wings | 10 | 569 | 44 | 4.64 | 5 | 5 |

## All-MISL Teams

| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Victor Nogueira, San Diego | G | Scott Manning, Baltimore |
| Kevin Crow, San Diego | D | Tim Wittman, Baltimore |
| Bruce Savage, Baltimore | D | Chico Moreira, Wichita |
| Chico Borja, Wichita | M | Branko Segota, San Diego |
| Preki, Tacoma | F | Hector Marinaro, Los Angeles |
| Dale Mitchell, Kansas City | F | Erik Rasmussen, Wichita |
| Honorable Mention | Position |
| P.J. Johns, Tacoma | G |
| Fernando Clavijo, Los Angeles | D |
| Mike Powers, Dallas | D |
| Kai Haaskivi, Baltimore | M |
| Tatu, Dallas | F |
| Carl Valentine, Baltimore | F |

## League awards

Most Valuable Player: Preki, Tacoma
Scoring Champion: Preki, Tacoma
Pass Master: Preki, Tacoma/Chico Borja, Wichita
Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego
Rookie of the Year: Rusty Troy, Baltimore
Newcomer of the Year: Domenic Mobilio, Baltimore
Goalkeeper of the Year: Victor Nogueira, San Diego
Coach of the Year: Kenny Cooper, Baltimore
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Victor Nogueira, San Diego
Championship Series Unsung Hero: Paul Daugherty, San Diego

## Team Attendance Totals

| Club | Games | Total | Average |
| Kansas City Comets | 24 | 221,465 | 9,228 |
| Wichita Wings | 24 | 207,465 | 8,644 |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 24 | 205,607 | 8,567 |
| San Diego Sockers | 24 | 201,186 | 8,383 |
| Baltimore Blast | 24 | 196,068 | 8,170 |
| Tacoma Stars | 24 | 162,751 | 6,781 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 24 | 116,774 | 4,866 |
| OVERALL | 168 | 1,311,316 | 7,805 |