2023 National Independent Soccer Association season

The 2023 NISA season is the fifth season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. Michigan Stars are the defending champions, after winning the 2022 season.

National Independent Soccer Association
Season2023
DatesMar. 31 – Oct. 25 (regular season)
Oct. 28 – Nov. 11 (playoffs)
ChampionsCity Union
Regular season titleChattanooga FC
Matches played108
Goals scored268 (2.48 per match)
Top goalscorerMarkus Naglestad (15)
2022
2024
All statistics correct as of November 11, 2023.

Teams

edit

Of the eight teams that finished the 2022 season, five return for 2023, two (Flower City Union and Syracuse Pulse) merge to form a new team branded City Union, and one, California United Strikers, is on hiatus, with the aim to return in 2024.[1]

The six teams are joined by three expansion clubs: Club de Lyon, Gold Star FC and Savannah Clovers FC.[1]

Stadiums and locations

edit
Locations of announced clubs
  •   Participating club
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Albion San Diego San Diego, CA Canyon Crest Academy Stadium 5,000
Chattanooga FC Chattanooga, TN Finley Stadium 20,668
City Union Rochester, NY
Auburn, NY
Marina Auto Stadium
Falcon Park
13,768
2,800
Club de Lyon Daytona Beach, FL Daytona Stadium 9,601
Gold Star FC Livonia, MI Gold Star Stadium 5,000
Los Angeles Force Irvine, CA Championship Stadium 5,000
Maryland Bobcats Boyds, MD Maryland SoccerPlex 4,000
Michigan Stars Washington, MI Romeo High School 4,000
Savannah Clovers Savannah, GA Memorial Stadium 5,000

Personnel and sponsorship

edit
Note: The league has signed a deal with Hummel to be the official kit manufacturer, but it still allows clubs to find their own provider.[2]
Team Head coach Captain(s) Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Albion San Diego   Diego Gómez   Tyler Gabarra   Capelli DarkHorse
Chattanooga FC   Rod Underwood   Richard Dixon   Hummel Volkswagen
City Union   Jordan Sullivan   Mumbi Kwesele   Hummel
Club de Lyon   Victor Balaguer   Victor Rojas   Adidas
Gold Star FC   Alex Lubyansky   Brandon Barnes   Adidas
Los Angeles Force   Matt Morse   Brandon Gomez   Xara
Maryland Bobcats   Alex Kao   Josselin Possian   Hummel Holiday Inn College Park
Michigan Stars   Tatenda Mkuruva   Hummel HTC
Savannah Clovers   David Proctor   Shandon Wright   Umbro Castro Wood Floors

Coaching changes

edit
Team Outgoing coach Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming coach Date of appointment
Albion San Diego   Jeff Korytoski Signed by Chattanooga Red Wolves SC December 14, 2022[3] Preseason   Diego Gómez February 23, 2023
City Union   Colton Bly (interim) End of interim period February 10, 2023   Jordan Sullivan February 10, 2023[4]
Maryland Bobcats   Sylvain Rastello Resigned February 21, 2023   Alex Kao March 1, 2023[5]
Los Angeles Force   Jesus Ochoa (interim) End of interim period April 23, 2023 5th   Matt Morse April 23, 2023[6]

Regular season

edit

The season started on March 31, with the nine teams playing an unbalanced schedule weighted on regional play.[7]

Standings

edit
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Chattanooga FC (X) 24 15 7 2 41 12 +29 52 Qualification for the semifinals
2 Michigan Stars 24 13 7 4 37 21 +16 46
3 Los Angeles Force 24 13 5 6 33 21 +12 44 Qualification for the playoffs
4 Albion San Diego 24 11 8 5 31 21 +10 41
5 Maryland Bobcats 24 11 3 10 31 22 +9 36
6 City Union (C) 24 8 3 13 30 34 −4 27
7 Club de Lyon 24 6 5 13 23 45 −22 23
8 Savannah Clovers 24 4 7 13 19 47 −28 19
9 Gold Star FC 24 3 3 18 23 45 −22 12
Source: nisasoccer.com
Rules for classification: 1) points per game; 2) goal differential; 3) goals for; 4) head-to-head; 5) goals against
(C) Champions; (X) Regular season winner

Results

edit
Home \ Away ALB CHA FLO CLY GOL LAF MAR MIC SAV ALB CHA FLO CLY GOL LAF MAR MIC SAV ALB CHA FLO CLY GOL LAF MAR MIC SAV
Albion San Diego 0–5 2–0 3–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 3–0 0–0 2–2 4–0
Chattannooga 2–0 1–0 1–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 5–0
City Union 1–1 0–1 2–4 2–0 1–3 0–3 2–3 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–1 2–0 4–2
Club de Lyon 1–2 0–3[A] 3–2 0–0 0–3 0–4 1–2 2–1 0–2 1–1
Gold Star FC 0–1 1–2 2–3 1–2 0–3 2–0 2–3 1–1 1–3 0–1 0–1 2–4
L.A. Force 1–1 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 4–0 2–1 1–0
Maryland Bobcats 0–1 1–2 1–0 5–1 3–1 2–1 0–2 4–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 0–0 0–1
Michigan Stars 0–1 0–0 2–0 3–1 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–2
Savannah Clovers 1–4 3–2 0–3 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 0–5 0–1
Source: nisasoccer.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

edit

The playoffs will keep the same format from last year, and feature the top six teams from the regular season. The top two teams receive a bye into the semifinals. Teams finishing third through sixth play in the quarterfinals, with the winners being re-seeded before playing in the next round.

Bracket

edit
Quarterfinal
October 29
   
3 Los Angeles Force 2
6 Flower City Union 4
Quarterfinal
October 28
   
4 Albion San Diego (p) 0 (8)
5 Maryland Bobcats FC 0 (7)
Semifinals
November 4/5
NISA Championship Final
November 11
      
1 Chattanooga FC 0 (0)
6 Flower City Union (p) 0 (2)
6 Flower City Union 1
2 Michigan Stars FC 0
2 Michigan Stars FC 3
4 Albion San Diego 2


Schedule

edit

Quarter-finals

edit
October 28, 2023 (2023-10-28) Albion San Diego 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(8–7 p)
Maryland Bobcats FCSan Diego, California
5:30 PM PDT
Report
Stadium: Canyon Crest Academy Stadium
Penalties
October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29) Los Angeles Force2–4 Flower City Union Whittier, California
6:00 PM PDT
Report
Stadium: Rio Hondo College Stadium

Semi-finals

edit
November 4, 2023 (2023-11-04) Michigan Stars FC 3–2Albion San DiegoWashington Township, Michigan
3:30 PM EST
Report
Stadium: Romeo High School

NISA Championship Final

edit
November 11, 2023 (2023-11-11) Michigan Stars FC0–1 Flower City Union Washington Township, Michigan
Report
Stadium: Romeo High School

Player statistics

edit
As of October 25, 2023

Awards

edit

Individual awards

edit
Award Winner Team Reason Ref.
Golden Boot   Markus Naglestad Chattanooga FC 15 goals in 23 games [10]
Golden Glove   Jean Antoine Chattanooga FC 15 shutouts in 23 matches; 9 goals against [10]
Coach of the Year   Diego Gomez Albion San Diego 11-8-5 record in his debut season [10]
Golden Ball (Most Valuable Player)   Darwin Espinal Maryland Bobcats 11 goals, 5 assists in 22 matches [10]

NISA Best XI

edit
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards Ref.
  Jean Antoine (CHA)   Aydan Bowers (CHA)
  Richard Dixon (CHA)
  Jimmy Filerman (MAR)
  Anatolie Prepeliță (CHA)
  Daniel Bedoya (ALB)
  Tyler Gabarra (ALB)
  Alex McGrath (CHA)
  Darwin Espinal (MAR)
  Leon Maric (MIC)
  Markus Naglestad (CHA)
[10]

Player of the Month

edit
Month Winner Team Reason Ref.
April   Jean Antoine Chattanooga FC 4 clean sheets [11]
May   Ignacio Ten López Club de Lyon 4 goals scored [12]
June   Edwin Rivas Los Angeles Force 3 assists in 136 minutes [13]
July   Ben Roach Albion San Diego 3 clean sheets [14]
August   Aldo Quintanilla Los Angeles Force Team went 4-0-0, scored hat-trick [15]
September   Daniel Bedoya Albion San Diego 3 goals scored [16]

Coach of the Month

edit
Month Winner Team Reason Ref.
April   Alex Kao Maryland Bobcats FC 2-0-0 in league play; win in US Open Cup [11]
May   Diego Gómez Albion San Diego 3-1-0 in league play [12]
June   Rod Underwood Chattanooga FC Undefeated in June [13]
July   Rod Underwood Chattanooga FC 3-1-0 in league play [14]
August   Matt Morse Los Angeles Force 2-2-0 in league play [15]
September   Alex Kao Maryland Bobcats FC 2-1-0 in league play [16]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Forfeited by Club de Lyon due to lack of approved venue availability.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "NISA announces 2023 clubs and format". www.nisaofficial.com. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  2. ^ "NISA announces kit sponsorship deal". Twitter.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "Ziggy Korytoski named head coach of Chattanooga Red Wolves SC". December 14, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Flower City Union Announces 2023 Head Coach". February 10, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "President of the Youth Academy and Assistant Coach Alex Kao to become Head Coach of Maryland Bobcats FC Senior Team". March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "Matt Morse Named Los Angeles Force Coach". April 27, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  7. ^ "NISA releases opening weekend match schedule". www.nisaofficial.com. February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "NISA Match Forfeit and Postponement". Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "NISA player statistics". nisasoccer.com. NISA. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e "NISA Honors 2023 Annual Award Recipients". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  11. ^ a b "NISA Announces April 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "NISA Announces May 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "NISA Announces June 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. July 19, 2023. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "NISA Announces July 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. August 11, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "NISA Announces August 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. September 12, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "NISA Announces September 2023 Performers of the Month Awards". NISAofficial.com. National Independent Soccer Association. October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
edit