| Season | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Montreal Impact (1st title) |
| Premiers | Seattle Sounders (1st title) |
| Top goalscorer | Paul Wright (12 goals) |
← 1993 | |
The 1994 season of the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was the fifth in the history of the league, which was the top level of club soccer in the United States from 1990 to 1995. It was planned to be contested by eight teams in the U.S. and Canada and took place between July 1 and October 15, partially overlapping with the 1994 FIFA World Cup.[1] The Tampa Bay Rowdies folded and the Toronto Blizzard were replaced by the Toronto Rockets, who were formed from the North York Rockets of the Canadian Soccer League. Two expansion teams, the Houston Force and Seattle Sounders, were also added.[2][3]
The Force postponed their first two matches and played against the Los Angeles Salsa before the APSL revoked their franchise on July 22, 1994. The league cited financial issues that the ownership group were unwilling to address.[4] The season continued with 20 regular season matches for each team, including new fixtures to replace Houston's schedule, and a two-round playoffs for the top four teams.[5] The playoffs semifinals were played in a best-of-three format, with a 30-minute third match following the second leg and a penalty shootout if necessary. The third match was held on the same day as the second leg due to budget constraints.[6]
Regular season
| Place | Team | GP | W | L | WN | WE | WS | LN | LE | LS | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 20 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 16 | +22 | 121 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Salsa | 20 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 36 | 2 | +14 | 106 |
| 3 | Montreal Impact (C) | 20 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 18 | +9 | 93 |
| 4 | Colorado Foxes | 20 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 26 | +0 | 92 |
| 5 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 20 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 33 | -10 | 72 |
| 6 | Vancouver 86ers | 20 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 41 | -16 | 65 |
| 7 | Toronto Rockets | 20 | 5 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 33 | -19 | 44 |
Playoffs
Bracket
| Semifinals Best-of-3 | 1994 APSL Final Single match | ||||||||||
| 1 | Seattle Sounders | 0 | 4 | 0(1) | |||||||
| 4 | Colorado Foxes | 2 | 1 | 0(2) | |||||||
| 4 | Colorado Foxes | 0 | |||||||||
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | Los Angeles Salsa | 1 | 3 | 0(1) | |||||||
| 3 | Montreal Impact | 2 | 0 | 0(2) | |||||||
Semifinal 1
| Colorado Foxes (CO) | 2–0 | Seattle Sounders (WA) |
|---|---|---|
Ted Eck  12'Bryan Haynes 77' |
| Seattle Sounders (WA) | 4–1 | Colorado Foxes (CO) |
|---|---|---|
| Dick McCormick 19', 28' Jason Dunn 71', 72' |
67' Ted Eck |
| Seattle Sounders (WA) | 0–0 | Colorado Foxes (CO) |
|---|---|---|
| Penalties | ||
Neil Megson  Gary Heale  David Hoggan Dick McCormick Jason Dunn |
1–2 | Kim Roentved Mark Santel Robert Lipp Ted Eck Jeff Hooker |
Semifinal 2
| Montreal Impact (QB) | 2–1 | Los Angeles Salsa (CA) |
|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Barker 5' (Rizi) Jean Harbor 12'Enzo Concina   69' |
Report 1 Report 2 |
32' (pen.) Paulinho 80' Arturo Velazco |
| Los Angeles Salsa (CA) | 3–0 | Montreal Impact (QB) |
|---|---|---|
| Thor Lee 40' Paulinho 78', 86' |
Report |
| Los Angeles Salsa (CA) | 0–0 | Montreal Impact (QB) |
|---|---|---|
| Report 1 Report 2 |
||
| Penalties | ||
| Omid Namazi ? ? Paulinho Danny Pena Yari Allnutt |
1 – 2 | Rudy Doliscat ? ? Lloyd Barker Gustavo Echevarria Patrick Diotte |
Final
| Montreal Impact (QB) | 1–0 | Colorado Foxes (CO) |
|---|---|---|
| Jean Harbor 21', 75' |
Report | 23' Iain Fraser 38' Bryan Haynes 41' Anthony McCreath |
MVP: Rudy Doliscat
Points leaders
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Wright | Los Angeles Salsa | 12 | 3 | 27 |
| Paulinho | Los Angeles Salsa | 11 | 5 | 27 | |
| 3 | Chance Fry | Seattle Sounders | 11 | 4 | 26 |
| 4 | Jason Dunn | Seattle Sounders | 10 | 3 | 23 |
| 5 | Jean Harbor | Montreal Impact | 8 | 4 | 20 |
| 6 | Dale Mitchell | Vancouver 86ers | 5 | 9 | 19 |
| 7 | Domenic Mobilio | Vancouver 86ers | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| 8 | Ted Eck | Colorado Foxes | 6 | 4 | 16 |
| 9 | Lloyd Barker | Montreal Impact | 6 | 1 | 13 |
| Jason Farrell | Seattle Sounders | 3 | 7 | 13 | |
| Shawn Medved | Seattle Sounders | 1 | 11 | 13 | |
| David Hoggan | Seattle Sounders | 5 | 3 | 13 | |
| 13 | Chad Ashton | Colorado Foxes | 3 | 4 | 10 |
Honors
- MVP: Paulinho
- Leading goal scorer: Paul Wright
- Leading goalkeeper: Marcus Hahnemann
- Rookie of the Year: Jason Dunn
- Coach of the Year: Alan Hinton
- First Team All League
- Goalkeeper: Marcus Hahnemann
- Defenders: Robin Fraser, Danny Pena, Neil Megson, Steve Trittschuh
- Midfielders: Paulinho, Dale Mitchell, Shawn Medved, Ted Eck
- Forwards: Chance Fry, Paul Wright
- Second Team All League
- Goalkeeper: Pat Harrington
- Defenders: Jeff Agoos, Billy Crook, James Dunn, Robert Lipp
- Midfielders: Nick Dasovic, Jason Farrell, David Hoggan, Dominic Kinnear
- Forwards: Jean Harbor, Jason Dunn
References
- ↑ Phillips, Randy (March 11, 1994). "Impact kicks off season on July 1". Montreal Gazette. p. D6. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Keating, Jack (June 30, 1994). "Move over Cup, APSL is back". The Province. p. A73. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Keating, Jack (February 2, 1994). "Shaky APSL changes '94 schedule". The Province. p. A41. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The Force no longer with APSL". The Province. July 24, 1994. p. A63. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Giase, Frank (September 25, 1994). "Two leagues must hook up". The Record. p. S4. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Padilla, Doug (October 3, 1994). "Montreal edges Salsa in semifinals shootout". The San Bernardino Sun. p. C3. Retrieved December 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.