2014 North American Soccer League season

The 2014 North American Soccer League season was the 47th season of Division II soccer in the United States and the fourth season of the revived North American Soccer League. It was contested by ten teams including two from Canada. Joining the NASL in the Spring of 2014 were two new franchises, Indy Eleven and Ottawa Fury FC; originally Virginia Cavalry FC were to begin play this season but now plan to join in the 2016 season.[1] The defending Soccer Bowl champions are the New York Cosmos, while the Carolina Railhawks are the defending North American Supporters' Trophy winners. A split season format was used again for the 2014 season.[2]

North American Soccer League
Season2014
ChampionsSan Antonio Scorpions
North American Supporters' TrophyMinnesota United FC
Matches played135
Goals scored374 (2.77 per match)
Top goalscorerChristian Ramirez (20)
Biggest home winSAN 7 vs TB 0
(10/11)
Biggest away winNYC 3 @ TB 0
(5/17)
NYC 3 @ FTL 0
(5/31)
Highest scoringCAR 5 vs NYC 4
(9/20)
Longest winning runMIN (4 games)
(4/12 – 5/3)
(9/13-10/4)
Longest unbeaten runSAN (9 games)
(5/10 – 7/26)
Longest winless runIND (9 games)
(4/12 – 6/7)
Longest losing runATL (6 games)
(9/6 – 10/4)
Highest attendance34,047
OTT @ MIN
(8/2)
Lowest attendance2,158
CAR @ OTT
(4/26)
Total attendance742,695
(Spring & Fall)
Average attendance5,501
← 2013
2015 →

Teams, stadiums, and personnel

Stadiums and locations
Main article: List of NASL stadiums
Silverbacks
RailHawks
Strikers
United
Scorpions
Locations of NASL clubs

Personnel and sponsorship
Team Head coach Captain Kit producer Shirt sponsor
Atlanta Silverbacks Jason Smith Mike Randolph Nike People HRO
Carolina RailHawks Colin Clarke Kupono Low Adidas Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
FC Edmonton Colin Miller Albert Watson Adidas The Fath Group
Fort Lauderdale Strikers Günter Kronsteiner Iván Guerrero Acerbis
Indy Eleven Juergen Sommer Kristian Nicht Diadora Honda
Minnesota United FC Manny Lagos Aaron Pitchkolan Admiral Atomic Data / Mall of America
New York Cosmos Giovanni Savarese Carlos Mendes Nike Emirates
Ottawa Fury FC Marc Dos Santos Richie Ryan Admiral Heart and Crown[3]
San Antonio Scorpions Alen Marcina Adrian Cann Nike Toyota
Tampa Bay Rowdies Ricky Hill Frankie Sanfilippo Admiral Hard Rock

Player transfers
Main article: List of North American Soccer League transfers 2014

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Atlanta Silverbacks Brian Haynes Contract not renewed 9 December 2013[4] Pre-Season Eric Wynalda 7 January 2014[5]
Atlanta Silverbacks Eric Wynalda Voluntary move to team technical director 17 July 2014[6] 8th Jason Smith 18 July 2014[7]
Atlanta Silverbacks Jason Smith Fired 5 October 2014[8] 10th Alejandro Pombo – Interim Head Coach' 5 October 2014[8]
San Antonio Scorpions Alen Marcina End of interim period 22 November 2013 Pre-Season Alen Marcina 22 November 2013[9]
Indy Eleven Expansion team Juergen Sommer 11 June 2013[10]
Ottawa Fury FC Expansion team Marc Dos Santos 23 May 2013[11]

Spring season

The Spring season lasted for 9 games beginning on April 12 and ending on June 8. The schedule featured a single round robin format with each team playing every other team in the league a single time.[12] Half the teams will host 5 home games and play 4 road games whereas the other half of the teams will play 4 home games and 5 road games. The winner of the Spring season earns one of four berths in the playoffs, now known as The Championship.[13]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Minnesota United (S) 9 6 2 1 16 9 +7 20 Playoffs
2 New York Cosmos 9 6 1 2 14 3 +11 19
3 San Antonio Scorpions 9 5 2 2 13 9 +4 17
4 Carolina RailHawks 9 4 2 3 11 15 −4 14
5 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 9 4 1 4 18 18 0 13
6 Ottawa Fury 9 3 1 5 14 13 +1 10
7 Tampa Bay Rowdies 9 2 4 3 11 16 −5 10
8 Atlanta Silverbacks 9 3 1 5 12 20 −8 10
9 FC Edmonton 9 2 2 5 11 11 0 8
10 Indy Eleven 9 0 4 5 14 20 −6 4
Source: NASL Standings
(S) Spring season champion.

Results
Home \ Away ATL CAR FCE FTL IND MNU NYC OTT SAS TBR
Atlanta Silverbacks 3–3 1–2 2–1 1–2
Carolina RailHawks 2–0 4–1 1–0 2–0
Edmonton 1–2 6–1 1–3 0–1
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 4–0 3–2 0–3 2–0
Indy Eleven 1–1 1–2 2–4 1–2 1–1
Minnesota United 0–0 1–0 3–1 3–2
New York Cosmos 4–0 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1
Ottawa Fury 4–0 1–0 1–2 2–3 1–1
San Antonio Scorpions 3–0 0–0 2–2 0–2 0–1
Tampa Bay Rowdies 1–3 1–1 3–2 3–3 0–3
Updated to match(es) played on June 8, 2014. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fall season

The Fall season will begin following a break for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on July 19 and ending on November 2, with each team playing the others twice, once home and once away. The winner of the Fall season will earn automatic berth in The Championship.[13]

Standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 San Antonio Scorpions (F) 18 11 2 5 30 15 +15 35 Playoffs
2 Minnesota United 18 10 5 3 31 19 +12 35
3 FC Edmonton 18 8 5 5 23 18 +5 29
4 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 18 7 6 5 20 21 −1 27
5 Carolina RailHawks 18 7 3 8 27 28 −1 24
6 New York Cosmos 18 5 8 5 23 24 −1 23
7 Indy Eleven 18 6 5 7 21 26 −5 23
8 Tampa Bay Rowdies 18 5 5 8 25 34 −9 20
9 Ottawa Fury 18 4 5 9 20 25 −5 17
10 Atlanta Silverbacks 18 3 4 11 20 30 −10 13
Source: NASL Standings
(F) Fall season champion.

Results
Home \ Away ATL CAR FCE FTL IND MNU NYC OTT SAS TBR
Atlanta Silverbacks 0–2 1–0 2–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 0–3 0–1 1–1
Carolina RailHawks 0–2 2–3 1–1 1–2 2–2 5–4 3–0 3–1 3–4
Edmonton 2–1 3–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 1–0
Fort Lauderdale Strikers 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–1 0–3 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–0
Indy Eleven 2–4 0–1 1–1 0–0 2–0 2–2 1–2 1–0 1–2
Minnesota United 1–0 1–0 3–2 2–1 5–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–1
New York Cosmos 3–2 0–1 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–1 1–3 2–2
Ottawa Fury 2–0 2–2 0–2 1–2 1–2 2–3 0–1 1–1 0–2
San Antonio Scorpions 2–1 2–0 3–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 7–0
Tampa Bay Rowdies 3–2 0–1 1–1 2–3 2–2 2–3 3–1 0–2 0–2
Updated to match(es) played on November 2, 2014. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

The playoffs were contested by the winners of the spring and fall seasons hosting the next best two teams in the full year regular season table. The half-season champions earned the top two seeds, with the higher seed going to the team with the better full-season record. The two next-best teams earned the third and fourth seeds. The semifinals took place on November 8 and 9, with the #1 seed hosting the #4 seed and #2 hosting #3. The winners met in Soccer Bowl 2014 on November 15, hosted by the team with the higher seed.[14]

Combined standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Minnesota United (X) 27 16 7 4 47 28 +19 55 Championship qualifiers
2 San Antonio Scorpions (C) 27 16 4 7 43 24 +19 52
3 New York Cosmos 27 11 9 7 37 27 +10 42
4 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 27 11 7 9 38 39 −1 40
5 Carolina RailHawks 27 11 5 11 38 43 −5 38
6 FC Edmonton 27 10 7 10 34 29 +5 37
7 Tampa Bay Rowdies 27 7 9 11 36 50 −14 30
8 Ottawa Fury 27 7 6 14 34 38 −4 27
9 Indy Eleven 27 6 9 12 35 46 −11 27
10 Atlanta Silverbacks 27 6 5 16 32 50 −18 23
Source:
(C) Champion; (X) North American Supporters' Trophy winner.

The Championship

Participants

Semifinals
Minnesota United1–1 (a.e.t.)Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Ibarra  34'
Mendes  50'		 Report
Report		 Kronsteiner  71'
Anderson  83'
Nuñez  87'  90+1'
Marcelin  105'
Brito  118'
Penalties
Venegas
Calvano
Ibarra
Vicentini
Campos
Pitchkolan 		4 – 5 Hassan
Anderson
Picault
Núñez
Brito
Pecka
Attendance: 6,113
Referee: Fotis Bazakos
San Antonio Scorpions2–1 (a.e.t.)New York Cosmos
Castillo  19'  55'
DeRoux  83'
Restrepo  110'		 Report
Report		 Stokkelien  17'
Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 6,548
Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Soccer Bowl 2014
San Antonio Scorpions2–1Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Castillo  70'
Forbes  74'
Gentile  84'
Hassli  88'		 Report
Report		 Nuñez 62' (pen.)[15]
Ramírez  79'
Toyota Field, San Antonio, Texas
Attendance: 7,847
Referee: Ted Unkel

Attendance
Season Spring Season Weekly Averages
ATL CAR EDM FTL IND MN NY OTT SA TB League avg.
Week 1---3,10511,048-7,906-7,3817,0037,289
Week 25,0004,0074,399-10,421--3,457--5,457
Week 3---3,515-5,2874,1302,158-4,6703,952
Week 43,9224,0663,276--4,913--5,595-4,354
Week 5---3,10910,285-3,0912,1645,834-4,897
Week 6-5,527--10,2855,325--7,0874,8556,616
Week 7--2,961--6,78435812,432-4,3314,018
Week 85,0007,856-5,57210,285--3,207--6,384
Week 95,000-3,641---6,495-6,4844,1325,150
Spring Total18,92221,45614,27715,31052,32422,30921,62213,41832,38124,991237,010
Spring Avg4,7305,3643,5693,82510,4655,1574,3232,6846,4764,9985,267
Bold denotes league's highest attendance for the week[16]
Season Fall Season Weekly Averages
ATL CAR EDM FTL IND MN NY OTT SA TB League avg.
Week 1-3,0803,6093,092--3,806--3,8963,497
Week 23,011---10,5557,287-14,5936,958-8,481
Week 34,810-3,1523,257----7,8844,8684,711
Week 4-4,2942,8492,64810,28534,0474,649---10,896
Week 53,842---10,2855,1124,5244,814--5,652
Week 6-3,140---5,420-4,2777,8474,2734,209
Week 7-4,666-2,409-----4,2125,454
Week 8--3,111-10,285-3,9284,2065,734-4,755
Week 95,0003,1062,7963,00610,6597,024-5,269--5,303
Week 10-----6,2023,626-5,5944,3405,761
Week 113,0713,193----4,502---4,896
Week 123,0625,5934,3923,112---5,0948,3134,3135,568
Week 13--3,8303,05210,2855,744-3,105-3,8654,734
Week 14------6,225-5,963-5,009
Week 152,905-2,903-10,285-4,411-5,6832,5655,090
Week 163,0614,179-5,75610,9825,817-3,935--5,989
Week 175,000--5,756-6,4548,5654,172--5,989
Week 18-6,4603,0355,505----8,2056,3775,914
Fall Total33,76237,62129,67737,59394,18883,10744,23644,65162,18138,669505,685
Fall Avg3,7514,1803,2974,17710,4659,2344,9154,9616,9094,3005,619
Bold denotes league's highest attendance for the week[16]

Statistical leaders

Individual awards

Monthly awards

Month NASL Player of the Month
Player Nation Club Link
April Zack Schilawski  USA Carolina RailHawks 3G
May/June Christian Ramirez  USA Minnesota United FC 3G 3A
July Rafael Castillo  COL San Antonio Scorpions 3G
August Christian Ramirez  USA Minnesota United FC 6G 1A
September Miguel Ibarra  USA Minnesota United FC 4G 1A
October/November Christian Ramirez  USA Minnesota United FC 4G

League awards

NASL Best XI [26]
Position Players Team
Goalkeeper Jimmy MaurerNew York Cosmos
Defense Tiago CalvanoMinnesota United FC
Defense Justin DavisMinnesota United FC
Defense Darnell KingFort Lauderdale Strikers
Defense Carlos MendesNew York Cosmos
Midfield Miguel IbarraMinnesota United FC
Midfield Rafael CastilloSan Antonio Scorpions
Midfield Lance LaingFC Edmonton
Midfield Walter RestrepoSan Antonio Scorpions
Forward Fafà PicaultFort Lauderdale Strikers
Forward Christian RamirezMinnesota United FC

References

  1. "Virginia Cavalry FC To Begin Play In 2015". Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  2. "NASL 2014 Season Format Announced". NASL 2014 Season Format Announced. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
  3. OSEG Communications Heart and Crown Partners with OSEG and Fury FC" Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, Ottawa Fury FC, Ottawa, 11 April 2014. Retrieved on 11 April 2014.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-18. Retrieved 2014-01-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2014-01-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://ajc.com/news/sports/pro-sports/wynalda-calls-silverbacks-decision-very-difficult/nghZt/
  7. http://www.atlantasilverbacksfc.com/news/detail/uuid/1ujm954ii9pvo1q1mnam5wtlkc/smith-named-head-coach-wynalda-remains-technical-director#.U_EnkMVdWM5
  8. http://www.atlantasilverbacksfc.com/news/detail/uuid/350fzym73bcn15fd4inc74es7/jason-smith-relieved-of-head-coaching-duties#.VEB9cPldWjU
  9. "Alen Marcina Named Scorpions Head Coach". North American Soccer League. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  10. "Juergen Sommer to Lead Indy Eleven as Head Coach". indyeleven.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  11. "Ottawa Fury to name Canadian Marc Dos Santos as head coach – reports". Canadian Soccer News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  12. http://nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=6054
  13. http://www.nasl.com/article/uuid/19mjcfxw5twlf1kav40nm9i7w8/nasl-clubs-to-compete-for-the-championship#.UyWzWIWAetp
  14. "NASL Clubs To Compete For 'The Championship'". February 27, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  15. Wagner, Joe (November 16, 2014). "Scorpions Raise Soccer Bowl Trophy With 2-1 Win Over Strikers". nasl.com/.
  16. http://www.nasl.com/schedule
  17. "NASL Individual Leaders". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  18. "Minnesota United's Migual Ibarra Honored With The 2014 Golden Ball Award". North American Soccer League. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  19. "Minnesota Uniteds Christian Ramirez Wins 2014 Golden Boot Award". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  20. "FC Edmonton Goalkeeper John Smits Claims 2014 Golden Glove Award". North American Soccer League. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  21. "Minnesota United's Manny Lagos Named 2014 Coach of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  22. "Fans vote Christian Ramirez's Bicycle Kick as NASL Goal of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  23. "Forward Christian Ramirez Named Young Player of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  24. "Striker's Chris Nurse Named 2014 Humanitarian of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 12, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  25. "Rowdies Win Fair Play Award". North American Soccer League. November 11, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  26. "NASL Names 2014 Best XI". North American Soccer League. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
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