# 1987–88 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1987–88 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the tenth in league history and ended with the San Diego Sockers winning their sixth indoor title in seven years over the Cleveland Force.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena |
| Baltimore Blast | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Arena |
| Chicago Sting | Chicago, Illinois | Rosemont Horizon |
| 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 |
| 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 1987-88 regular season schedule ran from November 4, 1987, to April 17, 1988. The schedule was lengthened to 56 games per team, the longest to date in MISL history.

## Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.
| Eastern Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Strikers | 31 | 25 | .554 | - | 274 | 252 | 22-6 | 9-19 |
| Cleveland Force | 30 | 26 | .536 | 1 | 242 | 219 | 20-8 | 10-18 |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 28 | 28 | .500 | 3 | 200 | 204 | 22-6 | 6-22 |
| Baltimore Blast | 25 | 31 | .446 | 6 | 235 | 249 | 18-10 | 7-21 |
| Chicago Sting | 24 | 32 | .429 | 7 | 227 | 247 | 15-13 | 9-19 |
| Western Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| San Diego Sockers | 42 | 14 | .750 | - | 277 | 189 | 23-5 | 19-9 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 31 | 25 | .554 | 11 | 291 | 266 | 17-11 | 14-14 |
| Kansas City Comets | 29 | 27 | .518 | 13 | 294 | 290 | 19-9 | 10-18 |
| Tacoma Stars | 27 | 29 | .482 | 15 | 259 | 285 | 21-7 | 6-22 |
| Wichita Wings | 23 | 33 | .411 | 19 | 232 | 261 | 18-10 | 5-23 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 18 | 38 | .321 | 24 | 214 | 280 | 12-16 | 6-22 |

## Playoffs

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Championship Series | Championship Series | Championship Series |
| E1 | Minnesota Strikers | 3 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Baltimore Blast | 1 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Baltimore Blast | 1 | E1 | Minnesota Strikers | 1 | | | |
| | | | E2 | Cleveland Force | 4 | | | |
| E2 | Cleveland Force | 3 | E2 | Cleveland Force | 4 | | | |
| E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 1 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Dallas Sidekicks | 1 | | | | E2 | Cleveland Force | 0 |
| | | | | | | W1 | San Diego Sockers | 4 |
| W1 | San Diego Sockers | 3 | | | | | | | W1 | San Diego Sockers | 4 |
| W4 | Tacoma Stars | 1 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Tacoma Stars | 1 | W1 | San Diego Sockers | 4 | | | |
| | | | W3 | Kansas City Comets | 3 | | | |
| W2 | Los Angeles Lazers | 0 | W3 | Kansas City Comets | 3 | | | |
| W3 | Kansas City Comets | 3 | | | | | | |
* QUARTER-FINALS:
** Minnesota defeated Baltimore, 5–3, 4–2, 1–5, 9-4
** Cleveland defeated Dallas, 3–2, 3–6, 5-4 (2OT), 5-2
** Kansas City defeated Los Angeles, 9–6, 4–2, 7-5
** San Diego defeated Tacoma, 6–2, 3-4 (OT), 7–2, 7-6
* SEMI-FINALS:
** Cleveland defeated Minnesota, 7–3, 0–7, 5–4, 5–2, 7-2
** San Diego defeated Kansas City, 4–5, 5–4, 6-7(OT), 3–7, 7–1, 6–1, 8-5
* CHAMPIONSHIP:
** San Diego defeated Cleveland, 6-5(OT), 6–1, 3–2, 7-4

### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Erik Rasmussen | Wichita Wings | 51 | 55 | 57 | 112 |
| Preki | Tacoma Stars | 56 | 53 | 58 | 111 |
| Jan Goossens | Kansas City Comets | 53 | 45 | 56 | 101 |
| Chico Borja | Los Angeles Lazers | 54 | 47 | 51 | 98 |
| Dale Mitchell | Kansas City Comets | 51 | 48 | 47 | 95 |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 45 | 56 | 33 | 89 |
| Thompson Usiyan | Los Angeles Lazers | 51 | 52 | 36 | 88 |
| Peter Ward | Tacoma Stars | 52 | 47 | 41 | 88 |
| Steve Zungul | Tacoma Stars | 52 | 47 | 41 | 88 |
| Hector Marinaro | Minnesota Strikers | 56 | 58 | 23 | 81 |

## All-MISL Teams

| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Zoltan Toth, San Diego | G | Krys Sobieski, Dallas |
| Kevin Crow, San Diego | D | Bruce Savage, Baltimore |
| Fernando Clavijo, San Diego | D | Chris Whyte, Los Angeles |
| Branko Segota, San Diego | M | Chico Borja, Los Angeles |
| Preki, Tacoma | F | Hector Marinaro, Minnesota |
| Erik Rasmussen, Wichita | F | Jan Goossens, Kansas City |

## League awards

Most Valuable Player: Erik Rasmussen, Wichita
Scoring Champion: Erik Rasmussen, Wichita
Pass Master: Preki, Tacoma
Defender of the Year: Kevin Crow, San Diego
Rookie of the Year: David Doyle, Kansas City
Newcomer of the Year: Nanad Zigante, Wichita
Goalkeeper of the Year: Zoltan Toth, San Diego
Coach of the Year: Ron Newman, San Diego
Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Hugo Perez, San Diego
Championship Series Unsung Hero: George Fernandez, San Diego