1996 USISL Select League
The USISL Select League was a professional men's soccer league which featured teams from the United States, which existed for just one year in 1996. During its single season in 1996 it shared Division II status in the American soccer pyramid with the A-League, before the two leagues merged in 1997. History. The league had its origins in the United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL), which was the de facto second tier of American soccer during the early 1990s, and until 1995 confined itself to organising regional leagues. The USISL Pro League, which had  been at the third tier of the pyramid in 1995, split into two leagues in 1996; the best teams joined the new USISL Select League, while the remainder (plus expansion teams) remained in the USISL Pro League, which retained its Division III status. Both the A-League and the new USISL Select League had Division II status in 1996. In an attempt to counteract the fact that a number of top A-League players had left to join MLS in 1995 and 1996 six of the seven remaining A-League teams – Montreal Impact, Colorado Foxes, Seattle Sounders, Rochester Raging Rhinos , Vancouver 86ers and Atlanta Ruckus, plus two planned A-League expansion teams (Toronto Lynx and Hershey Wildcats) merged with the USISL Select League to form a consolidated Division II league before the 1997 season. The resulting merged league retained the A-League name, and the USISL Select League name was abandoned. Playoffs. First round. Second round. Minnesota Thunder vs Milwaukee Rampage. Hampton Roads Mariners vs Carolina Dynamos. California Jaguars vs Sacramento Scorpions. Select Six Tournament. The Select Six Tournament consisted of six teams. The Richmond Kickers participated as hosts. The Charleston Battery entered as the champion of the 1996 USISL  Professional League. The other four teams came from the winners of the second round playoff games.