American Soccer League (1988–89)

This article is about the original soccer league that was active from 1988 to 1989. For the present-day league, see American Soccer League (2014).

For other uses, see American Soccer League (disambiguation).

American Soccer League

Country	United States
Founded	1988
Folded	1989
Promotion to	None
Relegation to	None

The American Soccer League has been a name used by four different professional soccer sports league in the United States. In 1988, the third American Soccer League was created as an East Coast counterpart to the West Coast-based Western Soccer Alliance. The third iteration of the ASL lasted only two seasons, merging with the WSA in 1990 to form the American Professional Soccer League.

History

The league comprised ten teams on the East Coast. During its second season, the league champion Fort Lauderdale Strikers played the San Diego Nomads, champions of the Western Soccer Alliance in a "national championship" game. By 1990, the ASL and WSA had merged to form the American Professional Soccer League.

Champions

Year	Winner (number of titles)	Runners-up	Top Scorer
1988	Washington Diplomats (1)	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	Jorge Acosta
1989	Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1)	Boston Bolts	Ricardo Alonso Mirko Castillo

Complete team list

Albany Capitals (1988–89) Boston Bolts (1988–89) Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–89) Maryland Bays (1988–89) Miami Sharks (1988–89)

New Jersey Eagles (1988–89) Orlando Lions (1988–89) Tampa Bay Rowdies (1988–89) Washington Diplomats (1988–89) Washington Stars (1988–89)

External links

• Historical overview of the Soccer Wars
• Year by year standings