# 1986–87 Major Indoor Soccer League season

The 1986–87 Major Indoor Soccer League season was the ninth in league history and ended with the Dallas Sidekicks winning their first MISL title over the Tacoma Stars.

## Recap

It was a topsy-turvy season. Attempts to stabilize the league's presence in New York by moving the league office and putting the league's newest franchise there were unsuccessful. The New York Express barely made it to the All-Star break. A stock sale had been a massive failure and results were equally bad on the field. With the club's record at 3-23, management announced on February 16 that they would be unable to finish the season.
As for matters on the field, league officials made plans to expand the schedule further despite losing the Pittsburgh Spirit the previous spring. Not only would each team play 52 games, the playoffs would be expanded to include two best-of seven rounds. With all but one of the six preceding series going to a deciding game, Game 7 of the championship series would be played on June 20, the latest date in MISL history and six days after the conclusion of the NBA Finals. Games 3 and 6 at Dallas' Reunion Arena were sellouts, and the Tacoma Dome attracted crowds of 20,284 and 21,728 for Games 5 and 7, the two largest crowds in MISL playoff history.
The San Diego Sockers' dominance ended this season, as long-term injuries to last year's playoff MVP Brian Quinn and other Sockers had the team uncharacteristically struggling. They would finish eight games behind the Stars, who were led by Steve Zungul and owned the MISL's best regular-season record. Despite Quinn's return for the playoffs, Tacoma defeated San Diego in Game 7 of their division final matchup. It was the first indoor playoff series loss ever for the Sockers, ending a run of 15 straight series wins dating back to the 1981–82 NASL Indoor season.
In the end, the Sidekicks epitomized the MISL season. The club folded in June 1986, yet a last-ditch effort by fans brought the club back to life within three weeks. Tatu led the league in goals and points, and earned both the regular-season and playoff MVP awards. Dallas rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to beat the Baltimore Blast in the first round, and won Games 6 and 7 of the championship series in overtime. Mark Karpun scored both overtime goals, and his Game 6 double overtime winner ended the longest game in MISL playoff history.
Six days after the Sidekicks' victory, the MISL granted a conditional franchise to NBA Denver Nuggets owner Sidney Shlenker for the 1988-89 season. When the planned "Denver Desperados" franchise had only 400 season tickets instead of the required 5,000 four months after the announcement, the franchise was revoked on November 5.

## Teams

| Team | City/Area | Arena |
| Baltimore Blast | Baltimore | Baltimore Arena |
| Chicago Sting | Rosemont, Illinois | Rosemont Horizon |
| Cleveland Force | Cleveland | Richfield Coliseum |
| Dallas Sidekicks | Dallas | Reunion Arena |
| Kansas City Comets | Kansas City, Missouri | Kemper Arena |
| Los Angeles Lazers | Inglewood, California | The Forum |
| Minnesota Strikers | Bloomington, Minnesota | Met Center |
| New York Express | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| San Diego Sockers | San Diego | 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 1986–87 regular season schedule ran from November 13, 1986, to May 3, 1987. The schedule was lengthened to 52 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 |
| Cleveland Force | 34 | 18 | .654 | -- | 252 | 218 | 20-6 | 14-12 |
| Baltimore Blast | 33 | 19 | .635 | 1 | 239 | 201 | 20-6 | 13-13 |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 28 | 24 | .538 | 6 | 209 | 197 | 15-11 | 13-13 |
| Minnesota Strikers | 26 | 26 | .500 | 8 | 205 | 198 | 14-12 | 12-14 |
| Chicago Sting | 23 | 29 | .442 | 11 | 263 | 265 | 15-11 | 8-18 |
| New York Express | 3 | 23 | .115 | 18 | 97 | 159 | 2-11 | 1-12 |
| Western Division | W | L | Pct. | GB | GF | GA | Home | Road |
| Tacoma Stars | 35 | 17 | .673 | -- | 249 | 211 | 17-9 | 18-8 |
| Kansas City Comets | 28 | 24 | .538 | 7 | 271 | 253 | 18-8 | 10-16 |
| San Diego Sockers | 27 | 25 | .519 | 8 | 214 | 200 | 16-10 | 11-15 |
| Wichita Wings | 27 | 25 | .519 | 8 | 268 | 265 | 18-8 | 9-17 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 19 | 33 | .365 | 16 | 195 | 224 | 13-13 | 6-20 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 16 | 36 | .308 | 19 | 183 | 254 | 12-14 | 4-22 |

## Playoffs

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

### Division Semifinals

Cleveland vs. Minnesota :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 9 | Minnesota 5 | Cleveland 4 | 11,461 |
| | Hector Marinaro scored at 2:07 of overtime | Hector Marinaro scored at 2:07 of overtime | Hector Marinaro scored at 2:07 of overtime |
| May 10 | Minnesota 6 | Cleveland 7 | 7,165 |
| May 13 | Cleveland 6 | Minnesota 5 | 5,766 |
| | Michael King scored at 12:55 of overtime | Michael King scored at 12:55 of overtime | Michael King scored at 12:55 of overtime |
| May 16 | Cleveland 4 | Minnesota 5 | 6,888 |
| May 19 | Minnesota 3 | Cleveland 7 | 11,808 |
| Cleveland wins series 3-2 ||||
Baltimore vs. Dallas :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 7 | Dallas 2 | Baltimore 3 | 6,224 |
| May 9 | Dallas 7 | Baltimore 6 | 7,306 |
| May 15 | Baltimore 3 | Dallas 2 | 9,182 |
| | Andy Chapman scored at 1:54 of overtime | Andy Chapman scored at 1:54 of overtime | Andy Chapman scored at 1:54 of overtime |
| May 17 | Baltimore 3 | Dallas 4 | 5,149 |
| | Tatu scored at 4:53 of overtime | Tatu scored at 4:53 of overtime | Tatu scored at 4:53 of overtime |
| May 19 | Dallas 7 | Baltimore 4 | 7,918 |
| Dallas wins series 3-2 ||||
Tacoma vs. Wichita :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 6 | Wichita 7 | Tacoma 9 | 9,385 |
| May 8 | Wichita 1 | Tacoma 9 | 11,842 |
| May 10 | Tacoma 3 | Wichita 10 | 6,846 |
| May 13 | Tacoma 2 | Wichita 6 | 9,023 |
| May 14 | Wichita 2 | Tacoma 4 | 7,254 |
| Tacoma wins series 3-2 ||||
Kansas City vs. San Diego :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 7 | San Diego 5 | Kansas City 4 | 8,141 |
| | Waad Hirmez scored at 5:58 of overtime | Waad Hirmez scored at 5:58 of overtime | Waad Hirmez scored at 5:58 of overtime |
| May 10 | San Diego 1 | Kansas City 5 | 8,127 |
| May 12 | Kansas City 9 | San Diego 7 | 7,685 |
| May 17 | Kansas City 2 | San Diego 5 | 7,946 |
| May 20 | San Diego 9 | Kansas City 5 | 11,136 |
| San Diego wins series 3-2 ||||

### Division Finals

Cleveland vs. Dallas :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 23 | Dallas 3 | Cleveland 5 | 12,034 |
| May 24 | Dallas 9 | Cleveland 6 | 13,051 |
| May 27 | Cleveland 2 | Dallas 5 | 9,107 |
| May 29 | Cleveland 4 | Dallas 9 | 16,824 |
| May 31 | Dallas 4 | Cleveland 3 | 8,859 |
| Dallas wins series 4-1 ||||
Tacoma vs. San Diego :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| May 22 | San Diego 6 | Tacoma 5 | 11,884 |
| May 24 | San Diego 2 | Tacoma 7 | 9,055 |
| May 27 | Tacoma 3 | San Diego 2 | 9,704 |
| May 30 | Tacoma 2 | San Diego 6 | 11,436 |
| May 31 | San Diego 6 | Tacoma 5 | 12,934 |
| June 2 | Tacoma 4 | San Diego 3 | 12,884 |
| June 4 | San Diego 5 | Tacoma 8 | 16,054 |
| Tacoma wins series 4-3 ||||

### Championship Series

Tacoma vs. Dallas :
| Date | Away | Home | Attendance |
| June 9 | Dallas 4 | Tacoma 10 | 11,496 |
| June 11 | Dallas 4 | Tacoma 7 | 14,643 |
| June 13 | Tacoma 3 | Dallas 5 | 16,824 |
| June 14 | Tacoma 3 | Dallas 6 | 13,597 |
| June 16 | Dallas 3 | Tacoma 5 | 20,284 |
| June 18 | Tacoma 4 | Dallas 5 | 16,824 |
| | Mark Karpun scored at 20:30 of overtime | Mark Karpun scored at 20:30 of overtime | Mark Karpun scored at 20:30 of overtime |
| June 20 | Dallas 4 | Tacoma 3 | 21,728 |
| | Mark Karpun scored at 9:23 of overtime | Mark Karpun scored at 9:23 of overtime | Mark Karpun scored at 9:23 of overtime |
| Dallas 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 |
| Tatu | Dallas Sidekicks | 51 | 73 | 38 | 111 |
| Jan Goossens | Minnesota Strikers | 45 | 51 | 44 | 95 |
| Kai Haaskivi | Cleveland Force | 49 | 34 | 55 | 89 |
| Steve Zungul | Tacoma Stars | 51 | 42 | 47 | 89 |
| Preki | Tacoma Stars | 51 | 41 | 47 | 88 |
| Chico Borja | Wichita Wings | 46 | 51 | 36 | 87 |
| Batata | Chicago Sting | 52 | 37 | 48 | 85 |
| Godfrey Ingram | Tacoma Stars | 51 | 52 | 29 | 81 |
| Dale Mitchell | Kansas City Comets | 48 | 51 | 24 | 75 |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 38 | 34 | 41 | 75 |

### 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 |
| Tino Lettieri | Minnesota Strikers | 35 | 2058 | 116 | 3.38 | 15 | 19 |
| Krys Sobieski | Dallas Sidekicks | 43 | 2525 | 145 | 3.45 | 24 | 19 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 24 | 1314 | 76 | 3.47 | 14 | 9 |
| Zoltán Tóth | San Diego Sockers | 33 | 1875 | 110 | 3.52 | 17 | 13 |
| Jim Gorsek | San Diego Sockers | 25 | 1265 | 82 | 3.89 | 10 | 12 |
| Keith Van Eron | Baltimore Blast | 26 | 1390 | 91 | 3.93 | 15 | 6 |
| Joe Papaleo | Tacoma Stars | 31 | 1808 | 120 | 3.98 | 22 | 9 |
| Slobo Illjevski | St. Louis Steamers | 46 | 2631 | 176 | 4.01 | 16 | 28 |
| Cris Vaccaro | Cleveland Force | 36 | 2012 | 116 | 4.02 | 20 | 9 |
| P.J. Johns | Cleveland Force | 24 | 1406 | 95 | 4.05 | 14 | 8 |

## Playoff Player Statistics
### Scoring leaders

GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Tatu | Dallas Sidekicks | 17 | 22 | 16 | 38 |
| Steve Zungul | Tacoma Stars | 19 | 21 | 17 | 38 |
| Preki | Tacoma Stars | 17 | 19 | 18 | 37 |
| Branko Segota | San Diego Sockers | 10 | 19 | 12 | 31 |
| Gary Heale | Tacoma Stars | 19 | 17 | 7 | 24 |

### 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 | Tacoma Stars | 9 | 535 | 32 | 3.59 | 5 | 4 |
| Scott Manning | Baltimore Blast | 4 | 187 | 12 | 3.84 | 1 | 2 |
| Krys Sobieski | Dallas Sidekicks | 16 | 989 | 70 | 4.25 | 11 | 5 |
| Zoltán Tóth | San Diego Sockers | 11 | 544 | 39 | 4.30 | 5 | 5 |
| Tino Lettieri | Minnesota Strikers | 5 | 302 | 23 | 4.56 | 2 | 3 |

## All-MISL Teams

| First Team | Position | Second Team |
| Krys Sobieski, Dallas | G | Tino Lettieri, Minnesota |
| Bruce Savage, Baltimore | D | Bernie James, Cleveland |
| Fernando Clavijo, San Diego | D | Kevin Crow, San Diego |
| Kai Haaskivi, Cleveland | M | Branko Segota, San Diego |
| Tatu, Dallas | F | Jan Goossens, Kansas City |
| Steve Zungul, Tacoma | F | Preki, Tacoma |
| Honorable Mention | Position |
| David Brcic, Los Angeles | G |
| Neil Megson, Tacoma | D |
| Victor Moreland, Dallas | D |
| Chico Borja, Wichita | M |
| Godfrey Ingram, Tacoma | F |
| Batata, Chicago | F |

## League awards

* Most Valuable Player: Tatu, Dallas
* Scoring Champion: Tatu, Dallas
* Pass Master: Kai Haaskivi, Cleveland
* Defender of the Year: Bruce Savage, Baltimore
* Rookie of the Year: John Stollmeyer, Cleveland
* Newcomer of the Year: Steve Kinsey, Minnesota
* Goalkeeper of the Year: Tino Lettieri, Minnesota
* Coach of the Year: Dave Clements, Kansas City
* Championship Series Most Valuable Player: Tatu, Dallas

## Team attendance totals

| Club | Games | Total | Average |
| Cleveland Force | 26 | 366,887 | 14,111 |
| Kansas City Comets | 26 | 323,622 | 12,447 |
| Tacoma Stars | 26 | 269,974 | 10,384 |
| Baltimore Blast | 26 | 258,333 | 9,936 |
| San Diego Sockers | 26 | 253,444 | 9,748 |
| Dallas Sidekicks | 26 | 224,536 | 8,636 |
| Wichita Wings | 26 | 209,800 | 8,069 |
| St. Louis Steamers | 26 | 182,984 | 7,038 |
| Minnesota Strikers | 26 | 181,441 | 6,977 |
| Chicago Sting | 26 | 152,861 | 5,879 |
| New York Express | 13 | 67,752 | 5,212 |
| Los Angeles Lazers | 26 | 113,831 | 4,376 |
| OVERALL | 299 | 2,605,465 | 8,714 |