Wikipedia

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

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Stadiums and locations

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Main article: List of NASL stadiums
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Locations of NASL clubs

Personnel and sponsorship

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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

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Main article: List of North American Soccer League transfers 2014

Managerial changes

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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

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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

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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

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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: [14]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Fall season

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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

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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

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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: [1]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

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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.[15]

Combined standings

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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: [16]
(C) Champions; (X) North American Supporters' Trophy winner

The Championship

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Participants

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Semifinals

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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'
Attendance: 6,548
Referee: Ricardo Salazar

Soccer Bowl 2014

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San Antonio Scorpions2–1Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Castillo   70'
Forbes   74'
Gentile   84'
Hassli   88'		 Report
Report		 Nuñez   62' (pen.)[17]
Ramírez   79'
Attendance: 7,847
Referee: Ted Unkel

Attendance

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Season Spring Season Weekly Averages
ATL CAR EDM FTL IND MN NY OTT SA TB League avg.
Week 1 - - - 3,105 11,048 - 7,906 - 7,381 7,003 7,289
Week 2 5,000 4,007 4,399 - 10,421 - - 3,457 - - 5,457
Week 3 - - - 3,515 - 5,287 4,130 2,158 - 4,670 3,952
Week 4 3,922 4,066 3,276 - - 4,913 - - 5,595 - 4,354
Week 5 - - - 3,109 10,285 - 3,091 2,164 5,834 - 4,897
Week 6 - 5,527 - - 10,285 5,325 - - 7,087 4,855 6,616
Week 7 - - 2,961 - - 6,784 3581 2,432 - 4,331 4,018
Week 8 5,000 7,856 - 5,572 10,285 - - 3,207 - - 6,384
Week 9 5,000 - 3,641 - - - 6,495 - 6,484 4,132 5,150
Spring Total 18,922 21,456 14,277 15,310 52,324 22,309 21,622 13,418 32,381 24,991 237,010
Spring Avg 4,730 5,364 3,569 3,825 10,465 5,157 4,323 2,684 6,476 4,998 5,267
Bold denotes league's highest attendance for the week[18]
Season Fall Season Weekly Averages
ATL CAR EDM FTL IND MN NY OTT SA TB League avg.
Week 1 - 3,080 3,609 3,092 - - 3,806 - - 3,896 3,497
Week 2 3,011 - - - 10,555 7,287 - 14,593 6,958 - 8,481
Week 3 4,810 - 3,152 3,257 - - - - 7,884 4,868 4,711
Week 4 - 4,294 2,849 2,648 10,285 34,047 4,649 - - - 10,896
Week 5 3,842 - - - 10,285 5,112 4,524 4,814 - - 5,652
Week 6 - 3,140 - - - 5,420 - 4,277 7,847 4,273 4,209
Week 7 - 4,666 - 2,409 - - - - - 4,212 5,454
Week 8 - - 3,111 - 10,285 - 3,928 4,206 5,734 - 4,755
Week 9 5,000 3,106 2,796 3,006 10,659 7,024 - 5,269 - - 5,303
Week 10 - - - - - 6,202 3,626 - 5,594 4,340 5,761
Week 11 3,071 3,193 - - - - 4,502 - - - 4,896
Week 12 3,062 5,593 4,392 3,112 - - - 5,094 8,313 4,313 5,568
Week 13 - - 3,830 3,052 10,285 5,744 - 3,105 - 3,865 4,734
Week 14 - - - - - - 6,225 - 5,963 - 5,009
Week 15 2,905 - 2,903 - 10,285 - 4,411 - 5,683 2,565 5,090
Week 16 3,061 4,179 - 5,756 10,982 5,817 - 3,935 - - 5,989
Week 17 5,000 - - 5,756 - 6,454 8,565 4,172 - - 5,989
Week 18 - 6,460 3,035 5,505 - - - - 8,205 6,377 5,914
Fall Total 33,762 37,621 29,677 37,593 94,188 83,107 44,236 44,651 62,181 38,669 505,685
Fall Avg 3,751 4,180 3,297 4,177 10,465 9,234 4,915 4,961 6,909 4,300 5,619
Bold denotes league's highest attendance for the week[18]

Statistical leaders

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Individual awards

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Monthly awards

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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

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NASL Best XI[28]
Position Players Team
Goalkeeper   Jimmy Maurer New York Cosmos
Defense   Tiago Calvano Minnesota United FC
Defense   Justin Davis Minnesota United FC
Defense   Darnell King Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Defense   Carlos Mendes New York Cosmos
Midfield   Miguel Ibarra Minnesota United FC
Midfield   Rafael Castillo San Antonio Scorpions
Midfield   Lance Laing FC Edmonton
Midfield   Walter Restrepo San Antonio Scorpions
Forward   Fafà Picault Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Forward   Christian Ramirez Minnesota United FC

References

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  1. ^ "Virginia Cavalry FC To Begin Play In 2015". Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  2. ^ "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. ^ "Club Declines Contract Extension on Haynes". Archived from the original on January 18, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "Club Eliminates Coaching Position, Wynalda To Manage From Technical Director Role". Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  6. ^ Wynalda calls Silverbacks decision very difficult ajc.com Archived 21 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Smith named head coach". Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Jason Smith relieved of head coaching duties". Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
  9. ^ "Alen Marcina Named Scorpions Head Coach". North American Soccer League. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  10. ^ "Juergen Sommer to Lead Indy Eleven as Head Coach". indyeleven.com. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. 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. ^ Soccer Bowl Rematch Highlights 2014 NASL Season Openers Archived 20 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ a b "Oops! Sorry, Something Went Wrong | Nasl".
  14. ^ "Schedule". NASL. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  15. ^ "NASL Clubs To Compete For 'The Championship'". February 27, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  16. ^ "NASL".
  17. ^ Wagner, Joe (November 16, 2014). "Scorpions Raise Soccer Bowl Trophy With 2-1 Win Over Strikers". nasl.com/.
  18. ^ a b "Schedule | NASL".
  19. ^ a b "NASL Individual Leaders". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  20. ^ "Minnesota United's Migual Ibarra Honored With The 2014 Golden Ball Award". North American Soccer League. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  21. ^ "Minnesota Uniteds Christian Ramirez Wins 2014 Golden Boot Award". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  22. ^ "FC Edmonton Goalkeeper John Smits Claims 2014 Golden Glove Award". North American Soccer League. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  23. ^ "Minnesota United's Manny Lagos Named 2014 Coach of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  24. ^ "Fans vote Christian Ramirez's Bicycle Kick as NASL Goal of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  25. ^ "Forward Christian Ramirez Named Young Player of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  26. ^ "Striker's Chris Nurse Named 2014 Humanitarian of the Year". North American Soccer League. November 12, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  27. ^ "Rowdies Win Fair Play Award". North American Soccer League. November 11, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
  28. ^ "NASL Names 2014 Best XI". North American Soccer League. November 13, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
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